{"nrhp_refnum":"76002061","name":"Thiele, J., Building","other_names":["Hotel Miles or Miles Opera House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Robinson and 2nd Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Miles","county":"Runnels County","state":"TX","lat":31.598612125000045,"lon":-100.18356539399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story rough-hewn limestone commercial and theater building at the northwest corner of Robinson and Second Streets in Miles, Runnels County, Texas, built in 1904 for Joe Thiele. It is also known as the Miles Opera House and Hotel Miles.","why_significant":"The building was the social and commercial center of Miles through the first half of the 20th century. Several firsts for the town happened there, including its first bank, post office and telephone exchange. Its upstairs opera house hosted public, political and social events. The building has changed only slightly, so it remains a link to the town's early history.","narrative":"Built in 1904 for Joe Thiele, a German-born sheep rancher, this two-story limestone building stands at Robinson and Second Streets in Miles, Texas. Brothers John and Antone Willeke, stonemasons, built it from rough-hewn ashlar blocks quarried on Thiele's land. The ground floor held businesses, while the second floor housed an opera house with a stage, dressing rooms and seating for about 200. The building became the center of town life. It housed Miles' first bank, post office and telephone exchange, and the theater hosted school plays, political rallies, Chautauqua events and other gatherings. In 1930 Henry Bigler converted the upper floor into a hotel, and a dining room operated downstairs into the 1960s. Its chamfered corner entrance, arched openings and cast-iron columns remain, and the roof was restored in 1974. A bank occupies part of the ground floor, and restoration plans were underway at the time of listing.","period_of_significance":"1904-present","architect_builder":"John and Antone Willeke (builders)","architectural_style":"Eclectic, Richardsonian and commercial style elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Partially occupied, with a bank on the ground floor; plans called for acquisition and restoration to a 1904-1930 period, with the upper floor used again as a theater and the lower level for community activities.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.252548-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/9732/40973284/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/76002061.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002061/b6610bd20a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002061/b6610bd20a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J._THIELE_BUILDING,_MILES,_RUNNELS_COUNTY,_TX.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J._THIELE_BUILDING,_MILES,_RUNNELS_COUNTY,_TX.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973284","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001299"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/runnels-county/thiele-j-building-76002061/"}