Schmid Brothers Buildings, Commerce & Park Streets, Brenham, Washington County, TX

1984 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Third Place
Significance: Schmid Brothers Grocery was founded in 1880 in Industry, Texas and moved to Brenham, Texas in 1898 to build a new spacious building. Joseph, Sigmund, and Ben Schmid built the Schimd Bros. Building, also known as the Savitall Grocery, in 1899 for $28,000. The handsome two story red brick building is in the Romanesque style and contains many of its original features including a hand operated freight elevator, hardwood floors, wood cooler, furnishings, and interior finishes. The building housed a dry goods store, saloon, hardware store and grocery, which is still in operation. The upper story was used for storage and meetings with a large ballroom on the west end. The store front was finished with costly plate glass windows and doors, many of which are still in place. A severe storm in 1900 caused the loss of the original pressed metal cornice along the roofline. This has been reconstructed for illustrative purposes through the use of historic photographs and documents.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-153
Survey number: HABS TX-300