Lake Theater
Address: 3 Circle Way St, Lake Jackson, TX 77566Lake Theater was designed by Alden B. Dow in 1944, and it was the first building in Lake Jackson to have air conditioning!The theater has seen some changes. One that stands out the most is the color. Originally, the building was the natural color of the bricks it was made of. Later, it was painted white to look similar to the buildings around it. It has been painted again to be cream with blue at the bottom.You will also notice changes to the structure over time. The theater was designed as a mid-century modern building. One feature of this style was the flat roofs over different tiers. In the second and third pictures you can see the building had three tiers, or levels. Twenty-five years later the theater was renovated to fit the “plantation style” that was being used across downtown businesses. These renovations included removing the bottom tier, replacing metal posts along the walkway with brick columns, and adding lamps to the columns.
Alden B. Dow Office Museum
Address: 101 S Parking Pl, Lake Jackson, TX 77566This was the office of Alden B. Dow when he was designing the city of Lake Jackson. It was built in 1943, and was intended to be a temporary building. However, it is still being used today. After serving as Alden’s office the building became the first City Hall, a barber shop, land development office, and more! The building was originally much longer, which you can see in the fourth image.Alden was known for his unique use of color, which you can see in the pink, yellow, and teal details.You’ll also notice the deep overhanging roof which provides a covering over the walkway. Keep an eye out for this at the other stops!
Professional Building
Address: 98 Parking Way St, Lake Jackson, TX 77566The Professional Building in downtown Lake Jackson was designed by Philip Willard in two phases. In addition to this building, Willard also created some of the most distinct houses in town. Not only was he an architect, but he was also a builder. Willard managed the leases in this building and his wife Virginia had an interior design studio in one of the spaces.Willard was known for his masonry and concrete work. If you look closely you may notice some brick details, specifically on the first story. There are a few lighter bricks that make a rectangle pattern on the building.Another unique feature of this building is the recessed, or pushed back, second story.
Masonic Building/Wells Fargo
Address: 107 Parking Way St, Lake Jackson, TX 77566This building was built during the years 1953 and 1954, and originally served as a meeting place for the Freemasons. Fun fact, the plans originally included a bowling alley on the first floor!Like our last two stops, brick details can be spotted on this building. These details are more subtle, but create a nice frame around the second story windows.This building later housed the Lake Jackson Post Office on the first floor. Can you find the post office marker on the sidewalk?
Plantation-Style Commercial Building
Address: 130 Parking Way St, Lake Jackson, TX 77566You may notice this building looks a little different from others on our tour so far. That’s because this is not a mid-century modern style building! This is known as “plantation style” which has been mentioned in earlier stops. Let’s learn about Lake Jackson’s downtown revitalization!The revitalization of Lake Jackson’s downtown area began in 1964. Local business leaders decided to update downtown buildings with plantation style features, including columns along exteriors of buildings, carriage lamps attached to these columns, and balustrades, or decorative iron railings along balconies.Can you point out these features in this building?
The Filling Station/Lake Drug/Retail Space
Address: 105 This Way St, Lake Jackson, TX 77566This row of buildings were originally mid-century modern, but due to remodels they no longer have characteristics of the style.Originally, the buildings had deep overhanging roofs covering the walkway, and large grid windows taking up most of the walls. The buildings were also connected by a continuous roof over the breezeway. This unified the buildings and allowed for an open breezeway between them. However, the roof was later truncated, or shortened, which required metal posts to be installed for support.
