Brick Streets Neighborhood Historic District
Why it's listed
Brick Streets Neighborhood Historic District covers 29 blocks in south central Tyler, Texas, about half a mile south of the courthouse square. Development began around 1848 with the Bell-Jones House and gathered pace from the 1880s through several platted subdivisions. Growth peaked between about 1890 and 1940, and the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1930-31 created a housing shortage that led to new bungalows, duplexes and four-plexes. Most of the 586 resources are single-family houses and their garages, built in Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Craftsman styles, mostly by local craftsmen. A few commercial buildings, a school and a church are also present. Red brick paving, laid beginning in the mid-1920s, survives on many streets and forms the largest such concentration in the city, along with concrete curbs, stone walls and a stone-lined drainage channel built under Depression-era programs. Mature trees and consistent setbacks tie the varied architecture together.
Significance in brief: The district preserves a mid-19th to mid-20th century neighborhood of eclectic revival-style houses, commercial buildings, a school and a church, shaped by Tyler's growth and the East Texas oil boom of 1930-31. It holds the largest concentration of surviving red brick-paved streets in the city. It reflects its late 19th and early 20th century development more strongly than any other Tyler neighborhood.
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 04000379, listed April 28, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by South Broadway, W. Dobbs St., S. Kennedy Ave., S. Vine Ave., Interior Propery Lines, S. College Ave., Tyler |
|---|---|
| County | Smith County |
| Listed | April 28, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000379 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival; Tudor Revival; Classical Revival; Spanish Colonial Revival; Mediterranean Revival; Dutch Colonial Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman; Art Moderne; Minimal Traditional; Ranch; Queen Anne; Free Classic Queen Anne; Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most properties are in good to fair condition; the district is nearly fully developed, with only a few scattered vacant parcels. Historic uses continue today. |
| Acreage | 132.6 |
| Coordinates | 32.34253, -95.30458 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 04000379.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999617
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.