{"nrhp_refnum":"78002996","name":"Grand Opera House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. North and N. Getty Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Uvalde","county":"Uvalde County","state":"TX","lat":29.210317435000036,"lon":-99.78665548899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick opera house and commercial building at the corner of North Street (Old Market Square) and Getty Street in Uvalde, Texas, built in 1891 to plans by San Antonio architect B. F. Trester.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an architectural landmark and a noteworthy example of a small-town Victorian theater/commercial building with Richardsonian Romanesque details. It served as Uvalde's entertainment and social center. It also housed the offices of prominent citizens, notably John Nance Garner, later Speaker of the House and Vice President.","narrative":"Built in 1891 at the corner of North and Getty Streets in Uvalde, this two-story brick building combined a commercial ground floor with an opera house and offices upstairs. San Antonio architect B. F. Trester designed it in a Texas version of Richardsonian Romanesque, with a rounded corner turret under a conical copper roof, arched windows, light stone trim against brick, and a cast iron pediment mask. Patrick F. Doyle was paid $13,600 to build it for the Uvalde Real Estate and Building Company. Traveling theatrical companies played there for days at a time, and the hall also hosted local orchestras, dances and high school commencements. Downstairs, a mercantile firm, grocers, a drug store, a cafe and later a variety store occupied the space, and the ground floor was remodeled in 1941. Upstairs offices included that of John Nance Garner, whose family bought the building in 1916. It is valued as a typical Texas opera house form and for its Garner association.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1891)","architect_builder":"B. F. Trester (architect); Patrick F. Doyle of Bexar County (general contractor)","architectural_style":"Victorian; Richardsonian Romanesque influence","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied in part and unoccupied in part. The ground floor is commercial space, and the second-floor theatre and offices had been vacant for about 30 years. The building is described as remarkably sound.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.3266-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/64/9738/40973864/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002996.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002996/c461f9af85-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002996/c461f9af85-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uvalde_grand_opera_house_2007.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uvalde_grand_opera_house_2007.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004009","name":"Uvalde Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/uvalde-downtown-historic-district-100004009/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973864","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Opera_House_(Uvalde,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5594853"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/uvalde-county/grand-opera-house-78002996/"}