{"nrhp_refnum":"90000469","name":"Schuerenberg, F. W., House","other_names":["Marek House","#137"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"503 W. Alamo","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brenham","county":"Washington County","state":"TX","lat":30.165410525000027,"lon":-96.40289691499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story frame Victorian house at 503 West Alamo in Brenham, Washington County, Texas, built about 1895 by local contractor Alex Griffin for Frederick William Schuerenberg II and Bertha Reichardt Schuerenberg, with a contributing one-car garage.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C as one of two exceptional residential interpretations of the Queen Anne and Eastlake styles in Brenham. It remains relatively intact and reflects the prosperity of the Schuerenberg family business during Brenham's growth. It is part of the context 'Community Development and Regional Expansion in Brenham, 1870-1941.'","narrative":"Built around 1895 at 503 West Alamo in Brenham, this 2 1/2-story frame house combines Queen Anne and Eastlake design. Contractor Alex Griffin built it for Frederick William Schuerenberg II and his wife Bertha in one of the first additions in West Brenham. Schuerenberg built eight rental houses nearby and kept this large lot for his own home. His family's business began as a blacksmith shop and farm implement store and grew to include five downtown buildings. The house has a multi-sided turret with cresting, decorative gables with sunburst woodwork, clapboard and shingle siding, and two-story wraparound galleries with turned columns and jigsawn fretwork. Its style suggests the owners wanted to make a statement to the community, and the design was probably borrowed from pattern books. It is considered one of the two finest Victorian houses in Brenham, along with the Wood-Hughes House. Although showing neglect, it keeps most original features and is currently unoccupied.","period_of_significance":"c.1895","architect_builder":"Griffen, Alex","architectural_style":"Victorian/Queen Anne/Eastlake","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition with signs of neglect (painting, roof and siding deterioration); unoccupied and owned by heirs of the Schuerenbergs.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.388088-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/9706/40970661/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/90000469.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000469/10c75306f3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000469/10c75306f3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schuerenberg_house_brenham_2013.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:Schuerenberg_house_brenham_2013.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970661","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Schuerenberg_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24260831"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/washington-county/schuerenberg-f-w-house-90000469/"}