{"nrhp_refnum":"84001875","name":"Grimes Garage","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"110 N. Waco St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsboro","county":"Hill County","state":"TX","lat":32.012272762000066,"lon":-97.12992263299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A vernacular brick service station and garage at 110 North Waco Street in Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas, built in 1914 by Fred O. Grimes, Sr. It has an L-shaped plan with one-and-a-half stories plus a single-story garage.","why_significant":"The building is significant as one of the earliest and best-advertised gas stations in Texas, built on the main highway between Waco and Dallas. Its builder pioneered automotive service in Hill County and helped organize early highway routes. The garage was advertised on billboards across the state and known for its elaborate glass-tiled lounges and restrooms.","narrative":"Built in 1914 at 110 North Waco Street in Hillsboro, this brick service station and garage served motorists on the main highway between Waco and Dallas. Fred O. Grimes, Sr., a pioneer in automotive service, had earlier opened the first garage in Hill County and improvised the first motorized gas pump in Hillsboro. His first garage, opened in 1906, failed within a year because too few automobiles were in the county; the present business began in 1913 and moved here the next year. Billboards advertised it across Texas, and it was known for glass-tiled lounges and restrooms. Grimes also worked with highway associations to organize early routes and served on the Chamber of Commerce Highway Commission for 35 years. The L-shaped building has a painted white brick exterior with a red stripe, black-and-white ceramic-tile window surrounds, a shaped parapet with limestone coursing, and a tin ceiling inside. It remains largely unaltered and in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Fred O. Grimes, Sr.","architectural_style":"Vernacular early-20th-century commercial (service station)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Physical condition is listed as excellent, with minor alterations (some windows painted over); current use is service station/garage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.69813-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/9696/40969617/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001875.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969617","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107319726"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hill-county/grimes-garage-84001875/"}