Clark Hotel
Why it's listed
Built in stages between 1901 and 1929 from concrete blocks made on the site, this two-story building at 112 Broadway is the oldest surviving structure in Van Horn and Culberson County. It began as a small office building and was enlarged in 1905-06 by the Cox brothers to hold offices, an opera house, a dance hall and lodge rooms upstairs, with a saloon, pool hall, drug store and newspaper office below. When Culberson County was organized in 1911, county officials used part of it as a courthouse, and the first district court met in the opera house. Fred Clark, Sr. converted it to a hotel in 1918, and it operated as one until the late 1960s. The arrival of U.S. Highway 80 led to the front and rear facades being reversed. A French mahogany bar from 1876 remains inside. The post office occupies part of the building, and a museum is planned.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the oldest existing structure in Van Horn and Culberson County and the first substantial commercial building in town. It served as a commercial, social and judicial center, housing offices, an opera house, a saloon and the first county court sessions. It is considered locally significant for commerce and social history, not for architecture.
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 79002929, listed July 19, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 112 Broadway St., Van Horn |
|---|---|
| County | Culberson County |
| Listed | July 19, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002929 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1901-1929 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Fair condition, with deterioration mainly in the roof and second floor; the post office occupies part of the building and the historical society plans to convert space to a museum. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 31.04014, -104.83167 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 79002929.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q107323018
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.