Liberty Hall opened in 1930 and operated for several decades before closing. It now is called Liberty Hall and presents movies and performances.

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The Art-Deco style theater was opened in 1930 by a Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Shields. The movie house operated for fifty years before closing and remaining vacant until the City of Tyler purchased the building in 2008. Extensive renovations headed up by architect Mike Butler resulted in the pristine Art-Deco architecture, 330 seats in the auditorium, and a stage that allows for both on screen movie showings as well as live performances. Renamed Liberty Hall, the theater began its second life in September of 2011.

Liberty Hall (Liberty Theater)

This walking tour starts at City Hall and works its way through the downtown area including stops at several historic buildings and museums. Highlights of the tour include the Blackstone Building, the Cotton Belt Depot Museum, and the former Smith County Jail which was built in 1881. The tour concludes at the Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum

Unlike many parts of the country, Tyler, in general, did not suffer serious consequences from the Great Depression. Oil was discovered near Tyler in 1930, which jumpstarted the oil industry in East Texas and provided the city and region with economic stability and growth for the next few decades. This was the context in which City Hall (and several other civic buildings), was constructed. Before it was built in 1938, the city and federal government erected other government buildings including the courthouse and post office, a new hospital, and additions to schools. The city prioritized these projects over a new city hall. When it was built, City Hall became the Tyler's first building that housed all city government departments. This situation continued until 1956 when more space was needed and some departments relocated elsewhere. City Hall continues to be one of the city's enduring historic landmarks thanks to its Art Deco architecture and connection to Depression-era public works programs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Designed by architect T. Shirley Simons, Sr. in the Art Deco style, this building has served as Tyler City Hall since its construction in 1938. It is three stories tall with two-and-a-half-story wings on the north and south sides. Notable features include Classical Revival ornamentation, fluted pilasters (columns), green marble blocks between the windows, and square blocks above the words "City Hall" that protrude from the wall. The building is also historically significant for its connection to the Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided the funding to the city to build it. The PWA was one of several programs the federal government established in the 1930s to provide jobs and support the national economy during the Great Depression. 

Tyler City Hall

The Tyler Methodist church&nbsp;history begins with that of the city's. Tyler became the seat of Smith County in 1846, and multiple denominations began to meet together in order to hold church services. At this time, the religious groups used the twenty by twenty foot courthouse that could accommodate about twenty people.&nbsp; During these pioneer days circuit preachers would come to visit the multi-denominational churches. The Methodist Episcopal Church formed in 1849&nbsp;becoming the first organized congregation in the area. The construction of the church building began in 1890.&nbsp;The&nbsp;completed church featured a Gothic-style architecture with elaborate brickwork and stained glass windows. It locally became known as the "Cathedral of the West."&nbsp; In 1891 the church decided to name itself after&nbsp;Bishop Enoch Mather Marvin, a Confederate Army chaplain who had visited Tyler after the Civil War. The Marvin United Methodist Church still operates today, and the building is listed on the Register of Historic Places as well as is considered a Texas Historic Landmark.

The Gothic style church building belongs to the first organized church congregation in Tyler: The Methodist Episcopal Church South. They constructed this elaborately-adorned church building in 1890, and named themselves after the Bishop Enoch Mather Marvin, a Confederate Army chaplain who had visited Tyler after the Civil War. Today, the church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as considered a Texas Historic Landmark. 

Marvin Methodist Episcopal Church

Tyler was established in 1850 and almost from the beginning was an important economic hub. Agriculture, logging and milling, Blacksmithing, and tanning were the primary industries in the early years. The economy grew rapidly after the railroads arrived in 1873. By the 1890s, Tyler had solidified its status as a key regional political and economic center and continued to thrive in the coming decades. As alluded to above, the 1930s brought even more prosperity after oil was found near the city in October 1930. Tyler was the largest city in the county and as such was the best equipped to benefit from the industry given the business and professional services already in place. This was the context in which Linsey decided to construct the new office building, which cost around $910,000 to build. It was, at the time, one of the largest construction project west of the Mississippi River and the tallest building in East Texas. For the next couple of decades, the People's National Bank Building was the most prestigious business building in the city. During World War II, Texas oil supplied most of the oil for the Allies' war effort and much of it was produced in East Texas. The building, then, gains even more significance for its association with oil produced for the war. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.In terms of architecture, the building features a symmetrical facade on the College Avenue side of the building and a asymmetrical facades on the other sides, stepped massing at the top portion of the building, smooth and fluted Black granite facades on the first floor, and an Art Deco banking lobby made with marble and granite. Other notable elements of the building include polished aluminum handrails, limestone and terrazzo floors, and marble-faced elevator entrances.

Reaching a height of 15 stories, the People's Petroleum Building is one of the most prominent landmarks in Tyler. Noted Houston architect architect Alfred C. Finn (1883-1964) designed it in the Art Deco style. The building, which was first known as the People's National Bank Building (its main tenant), was built by prominent local businessman, real estate developer, and attorney Samuel A. Lindsey (c.1863-1961) in 1932. He recognized the need for office space for geologists, companies, engineers, and attorneys involved in the oil industry, which was booming at the time in East Texas. The Texas Bank & Trust company and other tenants occupy the building today. 

People's Petroleum Building

The library's origins date back to 1902 when Andrew Carnegie sent the city a sum of $15,000 on the condition that the city donate a site for the library and promise to furnish and maintain it for $1,500 per year. Residents helped pay for the books, landscaping, furnishings, and telephone services. Architecture firm Patton and Miller designed the library in the Italian Renaissance style. It features an overhanging red clay hipped roof, windows with keystones and cut stone embellishments, and a main entrance with a broken pediment. In addition to the normal amenities found in a library including reading rooms and a checkout desk, the new library was the first building to have running water in the downtown area. Additionally, the library features an auditorium (and a stage) on the second floor; for a time this was the sole public auditorium in the city. Inside, the library features a number of murals depicting scenes of American life. One of them was painted by artist Douthitt Wilson, who was sponsored by Public Works Art Project, which was one of the federal programs created during the Great Depression. The library was expanded in 1936 and operated until 1980 when it moved to the modern building across the street. The Smith County Historical Society has been located in the library since the mid-1980s.

Housed in the historic Carnegie Library building, the Smith County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and promoting the county's history. The building includes a museum and archives, and the Society hosts a variety of events throughout the year. The museum's permanent exhibit explores the county's past during the 20th century. The archives contains a wide range of materials including photographs, family records, books, newspapers, and maps. The Society also operates the nearby Camp Ford, which was the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi River. As for the building itself, it was erected in 1904 and named after philanthropist and steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie, who donated funds to build many other Carnegie libraries around the country. 

Smith County Historical Society

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is very well preserved and serves as a physical reminder of a prosperous period in Tyler's history, when cotton and railroading were important economic drivers. As with&nbsp;many other small towns in the 19th century, with prosperity also came the need for jails and Tyler's need was no exception.&nbsp;

The 1881 Smith County Jail was the first building constructed in Smith County following the Civil War. It was the fourth jail (or possibly the 3rd) in Smith County. It was designed by architect Eugene T. Heiner in the Late Victorian style and includes elements of Italianate architecture. In 1894, a second floor was added which doubled its cell space. A new jail was built in 1916 and Jefferson Y. Lewis purchased the building and converted it into Lewis Hotel, which operated until 1986. Today, the building serves as the headquarters for Randal B. Gilbert Attorney at Law. An original jail cell stands just outside the building.

Smith County Jail / Lewis Hotel

The former Cotton Belt Depot is now a public museum filled with artifacts related to rail transportation, such as lanterns, stoves, switch keys, and various tools. There is also an impressive model train collection, featuring 200 locomotives and 1,600 cars. The depot was used for passenger service from 1905, when it was built by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, until 1956. Its architecture is typical of train depots during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, incorporating Prairie, Mission Revival, and Craftsman architectural styles. It is the oldest remaining railroad-related building in Tyler and an important symbol of the city's history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The museum opened in the early 2000s.

Cotton Belt Depot Museum

Hotel Blackstone was a 5-story building constructed in 1922 and&nbsp;featured a downtown atmosphere. Some years after it opened, a 9-story tower was added to the existing building which allowed for the addition of 64 guest rooms.&nbsp;When the Blackstone Building was constructed in 1939, it was strictly to be used as office space. Housing a variety of business professionals during its years, it also was the center for the Union Bus Terminal from the 1930s to the 1950s.&nbsp;Designed in the Art Deco-style by Preston M. Geren, an architect from Fort Worth, the building is a highly-prized historical site. It underwent a large renovation and expansion during the 1950s, which included the addition of an east wing featuring 30 additional rooms and a parking garage as well as New Orleans-style exterior features. Unfortunately, the Blackstone Building's older sister building, the hotel, was closed in 1975 and imploded a decade later. A parking lot has taken its place.

Built in 1939, the Art Deco-style building was designed by Preston M. Geren. The six-story building's purpose was to provide more office space for the expanding city of Tyler in the age of the East Texas oil boom. It stood along side the Blackstone Hotel, which was built in 1929 and owned by the same company--unfortunately, the hotel is no longer there because it was demolished in 1985. Some of the professionals who originally occupied the Blackstone Building included oil entrepreneurs, geologists, attorneys, and engineers. The building also housed the Union Bus Terminal from 1938 to the 1950s. Today, the building is still used for office space as well as the headquarters for the Tyler Chamber of Commerce. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Blackstone Building

A couple years after&nbsp;building what owner Samuel Gallatin Smith called Bonnie Castle, the Civil War began. Smith, who was an attorney, sold the home at the onset of the War; he became a Confederate Army captain. A school teacher named Franklin N. Gary bought the home.&nbsp;Unfortunately, Smith was killed during a battle in Louisiana.&nbsp; In 1866, Bonnie Castle was sold by Gary&nbsp;to a retired doctor named Samuel Adams Goodman. A year later, Dr. Goodman's son William Jefferies Goodman, who was also a doctor and served as a Civil War Major and Chief Surgeon, bought the home from his father, and his and his wife's, Mary Priscillia Gaston, moving in marked the&nbsp;beginning of&nbsp;four generations of Goodman family that would reside there for the next 73 years. &nbsp;While in the home,&nbsp;W.J. and Mary had three children and they added a second story,&nbsp;designed in the Italianate-style.&nbsp; The home was passed to&nbsp;Sallie Gertrude Goodman, the oldest of the Goodman children. After&nbsp;marrying James H. LeGrand in 1893, she and he lived the rest of their lives in the family home. Sallie and James remodeled the home in 1926 in the Classic Revival-style, which is the way it appears today. Sallie kept a diary in which she detailed much of the goings on of the home.&nbsp;She wrote about who had lived there and what guests had been hosted there as well as gave accounts about family trips and the origins of much of the furnishing of the home.&nbsp;Additionally, her entries describe the elaborate social affairs that took place in the home, such as receptions for State&nbsp;politicians. In her will, Sallie instructed that the entire Goodman-LeGrand estate be donated to the City of Tyler for the purpose of a museum. Sallie passed away, after her husband, and as the last property heir in 1939 and the city took ownership of the estate in 1940. Between 2010 and 2011, the home's original colors were restored. Much of the house features the original possessions of the Goodman-LeGrand family, and many&nbsp;artifacts even predate the home. According to the museum's official website, "[t]he museum offers visitors a chance to view such items as antique handcarved furniture and musical instruments, a grandfather clock, fine silver and crystal, hand-painted Limoges china, original clothing, medical books dating back to the early 1800s, Civil War-era surgical tools and medical cases, original paintings and photographs, and many other rare and interesting items."

Built in 1859 and originally named Bonnie Castle by first owner Samuel Gallatin Smith, the home was originally a one-story, four bedroom structure. Smith was unfortunately killed in the Civil War, and the home was sold to Franklin N. Gary. After Gary, the next homeowners were the Goodmans. W. J. Goodman, a Civil War surgeon and local doctor, bought the house in 1867 from his father. He and his wife Priscilla lived there the rest of their lives. Much of what is known about the home, which is now a museum, comes from the diary of Dr. Goodman's daughter Sallie, who detailed the goings on of the home from the house's role in the Civil War to the social parties hosted there.

Tyler Texas History Walking Tour

Liberty Hall (Liberty Theater)

Introduction

Images

Sources

Additional Information