{"nrhp_refnum":"78002999","name":"Wichita Falls Route Building","other_names":["Kemp and Kell Depot"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"503 8th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wichita Falls","county":"Wichita County","state":"TX","lat":33.913698113000066,"lon":-98.48850683499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick commercial and railroad building at 503 Eighth Street in Wichita Falls, Texas, built in 1909 by Moore and Richolt for the Wichita Falls Route railroad. Also known as the Kemp and Kell Depot, only half of the original building remains.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is the oldest surviving railroading structure in Wichita Falls and housed the offices of the railroads built by Joseph A. Kemp and Frank Kell, who drove the city's early economic growth. It is also cited for its fine masonry detail, a simplified take on Romanesque Revival design.","narrative":"Built in 1909 at 503 Eighth Street in Wichita Falls, Texas, this two-story brick building served as a depot, office block and shop space for the Wichita Falls Route railroad. Moore and Richolt constructed it for Joseph A. Kemp and Frank Kell, whose rail lines ran out of the city to the surrounding grain, cattle and coal country. Its design is a small, simplified version of Romanesque Revival, with darker brick imitating rusticated stone, a large basket arch and stained glass showing an elk and grapes. Tracks once ran through an alley in the middle of the building so cars could unload on either side. Later it housed cafes, a bus station and several hotels. A fire in 1974 destroyed the western half. It is described as the oldest remaining railroading structure in Wichita Falls, since the adjacent Union Station was demolished in 1968. The city bought it in 1977 and planned its restoration.","period_of_significance":"1909","architect_builder":"Moore and Richolt (Lee Moore and J. A. Richolt)","architectural_style":"Simplified Romanesque Revival, with Richardson-style influence","criteria":[],"status_note":"Unoccupied at the time of nomination, owned by the City of Wichita Falls, which planned to lease it to the Heritage Society for restoration. Half of the building was destroyed by fire on February 10, 1974, but the remainder is described as structurally sound.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.932182-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/9739/40973971/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002999.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002999/65cad7a62d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002999/65cad7a62d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wichita_Falls_Route_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</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:Wichita_Falls_Route_Building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973971","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000502"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/wichita-county/wichita-falls-route-building-78002999/"}