{"nrhp_refnum":"81000632","name":"Gates Memorial Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"317 Stilwell Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Arthur","county":"Jefferson County","state":"TX","lat":29.87868173100003,"lon":-93.92738194999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-05-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Classical Revival library building at 317 Stilwell Blvd. in Port Arthur, Texas, on city park land overlooking a lake on the Texas-Louisiana boundary. Built 1916-1917 and designed by Warren and Wetmore, with George A. Fuller as builder.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a faithful example of Classical Revival style that is unique in the Port Arthur area. It was a gift to the city from Mrs. Dellora R. Gates in memory of her husband John W. Gates, an industrialist and philanthropist. It is one of three building complexes the Gates estate built on city park land.","narrative":"Overlooking a lake that marks the Texas-Louisiana line, this Port Arthur library is a severe, carefully proportioned example of Classical Revival design. Six limestone Corinthian columns, 23 feet tall, front a 90-foot-wide facade, and half-columns line the sides. The reinforced concrete structure is faced in Indiana limestone. Warren and Wetmore of New York designed it, and George A. Fuller Contracting Company built it between 1916 and 1917 at roughly $75,000. Mrs. Dellora R. Gates funded it in memory of her husband John W. Gates, a wire and steel manufacturer and oil investor who became the city's leading philanthropist and also founded the Port Arthur Business College and built a Methodist church. She gave the library and land to the city in 1918. A one-story addition in 1952 added reading, work and meeting rooms. Lamar University took title in 1980 and continues to run it as a library and home of a local historical museum.","period_of_significance":"1917, 1918","architect_builder":"Warren and Wetmore: Architects; George A. Fuller: Builder","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a library; title passed to Lamar University in 1980, which plans to keep it as a library with a Port Arthur Public Library branch and the Port Arthur Historical Society museum. Condition rated excellent, altered by a 1952 addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.660731-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/9726/40972694/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/81000632.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000632/618aa0e956-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000632/618aa0e956-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Michael Reed","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gates_Memorial_Library_by_Michael_Reed_fastturtles.org_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Reed</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gates_Memorial_Library_by_Michael_Reed_fastturtles.org_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972694","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107317923"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/jefferson-county/gates-memorial-library-81000632/"}