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San Angelo City Hall is one of the most unique buildings in the city. Designed by famed El Paso firm Trost & Trost, it was built in 1928 and is an excellent—and rare for the region—example of Moderne architecture. The building features a stepped appearance and three, large French Romanesque arched doorways, and a smooth coursed stone facade. Additionally, inside there is an auditorium decorated with stenciled walls. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and is also a Texas Historic Landmark.
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Located across the street from City Hall, First Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest major churches in the city. Built in 1908, it is an impressive example of Victorian and Romanesque architecture. The church features fine buff brick with stone trim, a corner tower, three arched door openings, and a rose window over the main entrance. Inside, the building features original pews, an organ with painted pipes, and a restored beaded board wooden ceiling.
Designed by architect John G. Becker and built in 1929, the Emmanuel Episcopal Church is home to congregation founded in 1884. The church is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and was built using stone taken from the 1885 courthouse which was demolished in 1927. It features gothic arches, a tower, a rose window with stained glass above the main entrance, and lancet windows that also have stained glass. Modern buildings are located adjacent to the church, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Thomas Green was a soldier who fought in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36 as well as the Civil War, where he fought for the Confederacy and became a brigadier general. He died in the Red River Campaign during the Civil War.
Tom Green County, where San Angelo is the county seat, was officially established in 1874. It was on a trail of the California Gold Rush and was part of the Bexar Land District in the Republic of Texas until 1846. The county was named after Confederate brigadier general Thomas Green.
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The Tom Green County Courthouse is an excellent and unmistakeable example of Classical Revival architecture. Designed by architect Anton Korn, the two-story building was erected in 1928 and features colonnades with large Corinthian columns on two sides. It was built in the midst of the 1920s, which was a prosperous decade for the city and the entire country. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 for its architecture and the role it has played in the civic life of the county. It is named after Confederate General Tom Green, who was killed in action during the Civil War in 1864.
Though a simple two-story building, the historic Freeze Building is significant for what it represents: San Angelo's transition from a rural town to the thriving city it is today. Danish immigrant Peter K. Freeze built in 1887 (before railroads reached the town) as his Blacksmith and wheelwright shop. It features three arched openings on the first floor (one is the main entrance and the other two are windows) and was constructed with sandstone. The modern canopy seen today replaces the original one, which appeared in an early picture of the building. Today the building appears to house a retail or commercial establishment.
As a frontier town in the late 1800s, San Angelo was awash with many of the same sights and amenities typical to the early cities of western expansion. As the first street in the old “Santa Angela,” Concho Avenue once catered to the rough types who settled from eastern states in search of work. With hundreds of men and few women living and working in these rugged towns, the frontier brothel played a central role in the leisurely activities of workers and businessmen. Dating back to 1902, Miss Hattie’s Bordello once stood as the central brothel in the area, and it operated for 50 years until the Texas Rangers finally raided the place and shut it down. With a museum housed in the historic 1898 building where Miss Hattie’s was located, visitors can discover a new side to the old west that they may have never encountered before. With a tour through Miss Hattie’s Bordello, visitors can discover the life and times of the frontier brothel while exploring the stories of the women who worked in these institutions in San Angelo. Although Miss Hattie’s operated as a brothel, tours of the museum are kid-friendly.
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Located across the street from the Cactus Hotel, the O. C. Fisher Federal Building is one of San Angelo's most architecturally significant buildings. Erected in 1911 (and later expanded in 1932), the building is an especially fine example of Italian Renaissance Revival architecture. Designed by architect James Knox Taylor, it is named after Ovie Fisher Clark (1903-1904), a conservative Democrat who served in the U.S. Congress from 1942-1974. The construction of the building was significant in that it represented San Angelo's status as a well-established city—worthy of federal presence—in the early 1900s. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the building continues to serve as a federal courthouse. A local office of the Internal Revenue Service is also located in the building.
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Reaching a height of 165 feet, the Cactus Hotel is the tallest buildings in San Angelo and has remained an important landmark since it was built in 1928. Originally called the Hilton Hotel, the fourteen-story building was designed by architect Anton Korn in a combination of Southwestern motifs and classical elements. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it resembles a Renaissance palace and features a mission-tile roof.
This mural depicts the history of San Angelo Army Air Field and is one of fourteen murals that are part of the Historic Murals of San Angelo project. The project dates back to 1997, when founder Susan Morris moved to San Angelo from Louisiana and discovered that the downtown area was in dire need of revitalization. This mural was completed in 2012 and shows the origins of San Angelo Army Air Field as a World War II training base for pilots and air crews to Goodfellow Air Force Base and its modern mission of training firefighters, linguists, and military intelligence personnel.
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is located in downtown San Angelo along the scenic Concho River. Since its opening in 1985, this museum has featured over 350 exhibits covering all mediums in its three spacious galleries, and it currently caters to hundreds of thousands of residents in 15 counties throughout West Texas. With a mission to educate and entertain the general public in San Angelo and the rural communities of the Concho Valley, the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts sets the standard for the local and statewide artistic community. Because of the variety and depth of the exhibits featured at this museum over the years, it has received the Citizen of the Year Award from the Chamber of Commerce in 1992 and 2005, the National Award for Museum Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2003, and the Award of Excellence in Museums from the Texas Historical Commission in 2011. The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts gained accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2005.
Fort Concho dates back to the years following the Civil War, when American settlers were moving westwards across the United States to discover new economic and social opportunities. To protect these frontier settlers, the United States Army built Fort Concho in 1867 to replace the previous Fort Chadbourne north of San Angelo. For over 22 years, Fort Concho protected settlers, the United States postal service, stagecoaches, wagon trains, and trade routes. Furthermore, Fort Concho was used in the late 1800s as a launching point for military campaigns against Comanches tribes. At the height of Fort Concho’s strength, it housed around 400 to 500 men and it consisted of 40 buildings on 40 acres. After the railroad arrived and the need for military protection waned, the fort was deactivated in 1889. Today, Fort Concho is open to the public and it features the original fort along with 23 main structures. However, the most popular structure is the Fort Concho Museum, which houses over 35,000 artifacts and introduces visitors to life, culture, and the role of the military in the American expansion westwards.
After the Civil War, the United States Congress created six new US Army regiments specifically designed for Black troops. The Tenth Cavalry was one of these regiments and was formed in 1867 under Col. Benjamin Grierson. The order to create the Black regiments contained a stipulation that they must be led by white commanding officers. Due to problems of racial discrimination faced at the regiment’s original station at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the regiment moved to Fort Concho in San Angelo in 1875.
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Opened in 1994, the Railway Museum of San Angelo showcases the history of railroading in San Angelo and the surrounding region. It features exhibits, model trains, and a research library. A locomotive and a few other railroad stock are on display outside. The museum is housed in the historic Santa Fe Passenger Depot, which was built in 1910 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Now called the Santa Fe Crossing Senior Center, the Santa Fe Railway Freight Depot is a historic train station built around 1925 by the Santa Fe Railway. It is a long building that is simple in design, which matches its original utilitarian purpose. The southwest portion of the building is two-stories tall while the rest is one-story. This latter part features large doors and is where freight was loaded to and from trains and trucks. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walk through historic San Angelo begins at City Hall and includes historical markers, museums, landmarks, and many of the city's oldest churches and buildings. The tour concludes at the Santa Fe Railway Freight Depot and the Railway Museum of San Angelo.
