Presenter/Contact
Presenter
Caleb Gasparek, Assistant Planner
Contact Info
(830) 221-4086 - cgasparek@nbtexas.org
Subject Header
Subject:
Title
HST20-213 Discuss and consider a request for a Certificate of Alteration to attach 2 hanging signs on the awning of the L.A. Hoffman Building currently addressed as 165 S. Seguin Avenue, which is located in the Downtown Historic District.
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Background:
Case #: HIST20-213
Applicant: Drew Freiley
165 S. Seguin Ave.
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Historic Context:
The subject property is an interior lot of approximately 12,000 sq. ft. City records and editions of the Herald-Zeitung indicate the building was constructed in 1890 by the building’s namesake, Leo A. Hoffman. The 1900 census indicates that Hoffman was a “dealer of fancy dry goods.” Hoffman also owned the building next door at 173 S. Seguin which was at one point known as the Hoffman Opera House. A number of businesses have occupied the building over the years including a general goods store, a saloon, photo studio, newspaper office, insurance office, and a jewelry store.
The building is an excellent representation of the Italianate style that was popular for downtown commercial buildings through the late 1800’s. Defining characteristics include tall, narrow windows, decorative brackets beneath the eaves, flat roof, and large windows on the first floor that would have been used to advertise commercial goods. The building is also one of several confirmed “Mesker Brother’s” buildings in New Braunfels. The Mesker Brother’s Iron Works of St. Louis was a manufacturer of ornamental sheet-metal facades and cast iron storefronts that were popular in the late 1800’s. Mesker storefronts were made popular by the proliferation of building catalog books that were widely distributed throughout the US in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Request:
The applicant is requesting a Certificate of Alteration to attach 2 hanging signs within the awning of the building. Each sign is 36 inches in diameter and will provide 9 feet of clearance below the sign. The signs feature a black background with gold artwork and lettering that reads “Southernist.” The signs will be hung by chains or clips.
Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Alteration to attach 2 hanging signs to the awning of the L.A. Hoffman Building. Old photographs indicate that the awning is not of historic age and can easily be removed without alteration to the historic building.
In considering approval of a Certificate of Alteration, the commission considers the following criteria from Section 66-58 “Criteria for approval of an alteration certificate”
1) Every reasonable effort shall be made to adapt the property in a manner which requires minimal alteration of the building, structure, object, or site and its environment. The signs are proposed to be attached by chains or clips to the non-historic awning. Removal of the sign can be accomplished without altering or harming the historic Hoffman Building.
2) The distinguishing original qualities or character of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment shall not be destroyed when possible. The removal or alteration of any historic material or distinctive architectural features should be avoided when possible. N/A
3) All buildings, structures, objects, and sites shall be recognized as products of their own time. Alterations that have no historical basis and which seek to create an earlier appearance shall be discouraged. Hanging signs are typically seen as an appropriate use of signage in historic downtowns in that they can be easily removed and often don’t require alterations to the historic structure.
4) Changes which may have taken place in the course of time are evidence of the history and development of a building, structure, object, or site and its environment. These changes may have acquired significance in their own right, and this significance shall be recognized and respected. N/A
5) Distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship which characterize a building, structure, object, or site shall be kept where possible. Signage will not alter the defining Italianate characteristics of the Hoffman Building.
6) Deteriorated architectural features shall be repaired rather than replaced, wherever possible. In the event replacement is necessary, the new material shall reflect the material being replaced in composition, design, color, texture, and other visual qualities. Repair or replacement of missing architectural features should be based on accurate duplications of features, substantiated by historical, physical, or pictorial evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different architectural elements from other buildings or structures. N/A
7) The surface cleaning of structures shall be undertaken with the gentlest means possible. Sandblasting and other cleaning methods that will damage the historic building materials shall not be undertaken. N/A
8) Every reasonable effort shall be made to protect and preserve archeological resources affected by, or adjacent to, any project. N/A
9) Contemporary design for alterations and additions to existing properties shall not be discouraged when such alterations and additions do not destroy significant historical, architectural, or cultural material, and such design is compatible with the size, scale, color, material, and character of the property, neighborhood, or environment. The signs are proposed to be placed in an appropriate place along the non-historic awning. Additionally, the use of hanging signage adds to the historic commercial use of the property.
Attachments:
1. Application
2. 1928 Ad
3. 1967 Ad
4. 1974 Photograph
5. Photographs of Proposed Signage
6. Aerial Map