{"nrhp_refnum":"91000852","name":"The Gem","other_names":["Rosers Customs Service Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 E. 13th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brownsville","county":"Cameron County","state":"TX","lat":25.90009053400007,"lon":-97.49763740799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-06-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2-story brick commercial building at 400 East 13th Street in downtown Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, built about 1848. It has a rectangular plan, a flat roof, and a full-width balcony on the upper level.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is tied to Brownsville's earliest planned development and to two locally prominent leaders, Robert S. Leman, the city's first mayor, and Joseph Palmer, a newspaper and bookstore proprietor. It is also called the most intact local example of mid-19th-century Rio Grande Valley commercial architecture with classical characteristics. A 1989 rehabilitation removed 1950s facade coverings and restored the historic appearance.","narrative":"Built about 1848 in downtown Brownsville, this two-story brick building near the Rio Grande was one of the town's first brick commercial structures. It was probably built by the Brownsville Township Company, and merchants and early civic figures later used it as storehouse, home and business space. An 1851 account names it the principal cafe of the place, and local sources describe it as a gathering spot where politics were discussed. Robert S. Leman, the city's first mayor, lived there, and so did Joseph Palmer, who ran a bookstore and newspapers from it. In 1864 a Union supporter gave a speech from its balcony. Architecturally it shows the Valley's mid-19th-century commercial form: load-bearing brick walls, symmetrical double doors, a corbelled parapet and a shed-roofed balcony. Alterations in the 1950s hid the original facades, but a 1989 rehabilitation based on historic photographs restored them. Local significance rests on community development, politics and architecture.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1848-1867","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Other: Vernacular","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and retaining integrity; restored in 1989. The ground floor is used as offices and the upper story as a residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.431618-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/75/9714/40971475/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/91000852.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000852/cc009e8476-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000852/cc009e8476-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gem_La_Joya.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</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:The_Gem_La_Joya.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004008","name":"Central Brownsville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/central-brownsville-historic-district-100004008/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971475","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107319010"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/cameron-county/the-gem-91000852/"}