In 1900, Corpus Christi was a small coastal village of 4,703 people. Since 1871, city government had been headquartered in a large wooden building on Mesquite Street in the triangle created by the convergence of Peoples and Schatzell Streets.
This first “City Hall” had to share space with the city’s meat and vegetable markets which gave the building its name. ”Market Hall”
The city’s volunteer fire brigades were also quartered in this building. The arrangement was fine for a small city, but things were changing rapidly. By 1910, the population had doubled and city government found itself unable to function in the space provided in Market Hall.
In July, 1911, a large group of businessmen and citizens held a meeting to organize efforts to petition the city for a bond election to fund a new City Hall. The City Council took up discussion of the proposal in early August, and instructed the City Attorney to call a bond election to raise $50,000 for construction. After bonds were approved by the voters, the city hired architects, H.A. Renter of San Antonio and C.D. Hill of Dallas to design a new City Hall building. Market Hall was to be torn down, and the new City Hall built on the site. Architectural plans were approved by the city on January 11, 1912.
The ornate building would be three stories tall with city offices and the council chambers located on the second floor. The fire department would occupy a portion of the ground floor with the remaining space being rented for markets, retail shops, and offices. (The city figured that rents would pay for maintenance of the new building). Tenants included a meat market, an oil company, a Chiropractor, the Western Union Telegraph Co., and a plumber). The third floor would remain unfinished, but available for use as needs arose. Gross Construction Co. would build the new reinforced concrete and brick City Hall, turning it over to the city in December of 1912. The building would serve as City Hall for the next 40 years.
At first, the 18,500-square-foot building seemed more than adequate for the city’s needs. But, with the opening of the Port in 1926 and the discovery of oil in the nearby Saxet fields, the city’s population exploded to more than 27,000 in 1930. City services and responsibilities also exploded. As new city departments were created, all had to have space in City Hall. La Retama Library moved into the building in 1931 and the Corpus Christi Police Department and jail were also housed in the building.
By 1941, the 1912 City Hall building was in such bad shape that a major renovation of the entire structure was necessary. The city’s population had grown to over 57,000, seven times larger than it had been in 1912. Many city departments had been forced to move to larger quarters in other locations. A new, larger building was desperately needed. Unfortunately, with World War II coming, the federal government had halted all construction of new municipal buildings across the country. The City Council decided to make space on the ground floor by constructing a new Central Fire Station on Carancahua (which was allowed under federal law). After 30 years in the City Hall Building, the Fire Department moved out in 1942.
Calls for the construction of a new City Hall grew louder after the war. Finally, on December 17, 1949, voters approved bonds for constructing a city auditorium (the Coliseum), a new building for La Retama Library, another new fire station, a new police station and a new City Hall.
The new City Hall on Shoreline would be completed in 1952. So what became of the once majestic 1912 City Hall? In 1954, the building was demolished down to its concrete skeleton. A totally new design was used to construct a new building to house La Retama Library, which opened in 1955.
It would serve as the Central Library until 1986 when a new Library would be constructed on Comanche. The old library and the last remnants of the 1912 City Hall were demolished in July 1987.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.
