Park Hotel
Also known as: The Plaza Hotel
Why it's listed
Rising five stories above the courthouse square in Seguin, Texas, this hotel at 217 S. River Street opened on January 9, 1917. San Antonio architect Leo M. J. Dielmann designed it, and Robert Uhr of San Antonio built it for a bid of $40,000. A reinforced concrete skeleton faced with brown brick forms a two-story base topped by a three-story shaft, a flat roof and a terra cotta cornice. Its design reflects Chicago School ideas, with a curvilinear gable drawn from Spanish Colonial Revival. The hotel was built during a local building boom, when two rival companies raced to open the town's finest hotel. The other, the City Hotel, opened first in November 1916. The Park Hotel offered a ballroom, roof garden, elevator and private baths. It operated as a hotel until 1954, then served as a college dormitory and later as apartments. At the time of listing it stood vacant, with its exterior largely unaltered and plans for office and retail use.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel is architecturally significant as the work of a prominent architect and as an early example of Chicago School skeleton-frame construction in Texas, here in reinforced concrete. It is historically significant because it was one of two hotels built by rival companies during a Seguin building boom, and it was among the town's first modern high-rise buildings.
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 80004124, listed May 23, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 217 S. River St., Seguin |
|---|---|
| County | Guadalupe County |
| Listed | May 23, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80004124 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | Leo M. J. Dielmann, architect; Robert Uhr of San Antonio, builder (construction bid) |
| Architectural style | Chicago School characteristics with a Spanish Colonial Revival curvilinear gable in the cornice |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant and unoccupied at the time of the form; the owner intended to renovate it for office and retail space. The exterior is virtually unaltered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 29.56748, -97.96382 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 80004124.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002091
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.