Lerma's Nite Club
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Why it's listed
Built around 1948 on San Antonio's historically Hispanic West Side, this five-unit commercial block on North Zarzamora Street is of stuccoed concrete masonry with rounded corners, octagonal storefront windows and a tiled wainscot. Its southern unit housed Lerma's Nite Club, which Pablo Lerma turned into an exclusively live conjunto music venue after taking over the lease of the earlier El Sombrero club. Conjunto, built around the accordion and bajo sexto, was the music of working-class Tejanos. Lerma's operated continuously until summer 2010 and is described as the longest-running live conjunto venue in Central and South Texas. Performers there included Eva Ybarra, Santiago Jimenez and Valerio Longoria. The building was listed for its role in entertainment and Hispanic heritage, with a period of significance of 1948 to 1961. Structural problems from clay soil movement and a decayed roof leave it vacant and at risk, though much historic fabric remains intact beneath later alterations.
Significance in brief: Lerma's operated at this location from the late 1940s through summer 2010 and is described as the longest-running live conjunto music venue in Central and South Texas. It is a rare example of a San Antonio night club devoted solely to conjunto, a working-class Tejano music tradition. It is nominated under Criterion A for Entertainment/Recreation and Hispanic Ethnic Heritage at the local level.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 11000135, listed March 21, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1602-1612 N Zarzamora, San Antonio |
|---|---|
| County | Bexar County |
| Listed | March 21, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000135 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1948-1961 |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: Art Moderne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Hispanic |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant and not in use; the structure is badly deteriorated, with a bowed roof in danger of collapse, cracked and out-of-plumb walls, and a threat of demolition by the city as an unsafe structure. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 29.44606, -98.52503 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 11000135.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q110002713
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.