{"nrhp_refnum":"86002335","name":"Old West Texas Utilities Company","other_names":["Gail's Hallmark Shop"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"127 E. McHarg","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stamford","county":"Jones County","state":"TX","lat":32.94579643000003,"lon":-99.80207112699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish Colonial Revival commercial building at 127 E. McHarg on the town square in Stamford, Jones County, Texas, built in 1928 by the West Texas Utilities Company as its local office.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an excellent example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, which was rare in Stamford. It is also an early example of West Texas Utilities' 1920s expansion into small West Texas towns, when the company built stylish buildings in Spanish Colonial Revival or Art Deco styles. It is described as one of the best surviving, largely unaltered examples and a local landmark.","narrative":"Located on the town square in Stamford, this long, narrow buff-brick building was constructed in 1928 as the local office of the West Texas Utilities Company. Its concrete frame shows on the exterior through brick-veneered piers with ornamental cast-stone panels. Large wood-framed plate-glass windows light the retail front, and a copper awning shades the McHarg Street entrance. The two east side entrances are the focal points, with cast-stone transom panels, wrought-iron grilles over small niches, and gabled tiled parapets. The building was listed for its architecture and its place in local history. Spanish Colonial Revival was common across the Southwest in the 1920s but uncommon in Stamford. The utility built many stylish buildings in small West Texas towns during its expansion, and this is among the best surviving unaltered examples. After the company sold it in the mid-1970s and a decade of neglect, it was restored for retail use and again serves as a local landmark.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"West Texas Utilities Company (builder)","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as altered but in good condition; restored after about a decade of neglect and now in retail use as a gift shop.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.80302-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/9697/40969748/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/86002335.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002335/95e620d51d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002335/95e620d51d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_West_Texas_Utilities_Company_Stamford_TX.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:Old_West_Texas_Utilities_Company_Stamford_TX.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969748","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001241"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/jones-county/old-west-texas-utilities-company-86002335/"}