Description: Prominent Palestine architect Theodore S. Maffitt designed the Denby Building, which was constructed about 1935. The building presents a horizontal character that is achieved by the grouping of pivoting windows on the second and third floors and by the use of side-facing brickwork in the parapet. It is classified as a Two-Part Commercial Block, the most common type of commercial property in downtown Palestine, and is one of the city’s best examples dating back to the 1930’s. The building’s longest association was with the Denby Furniture Store, which began occupying the space at the time of construction and remained through the 1950’s. During the 1950’s, the façade was covered over with aluminum, but this was removed and the façade has been restored to its original appearance. Although it lacks the exuberant ornamentation seen on most of the city’s late 19th and early 20th century commercial properties, the Denby Building reflects a popular trend in commercial architecture of the 1930’s that emphasized simplicity in design and appearance. It was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1998 - Building #98000694.

Description: This property is one of thirteen historic churches in Palestine. The building occupies a prominent corner lot, making the church a prominent landmark in the residential neighborhood north of the city’s central business district. The church displays Classical Revival features, and the most notable architectural element is the elliptical archway in the brickwork façade. This church, alternately called Grace Methodist Church and Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in early city directories, was built on this site in 1916 by contractor Will Pheifer. There has been a practicing Methodist congregation in Palestine since 1850; the earliest members met in Bascom’s Chapel, an extant building since converted into a private dwelling located at 812 N. Mallard. During the mid-1910’s the congregation split, with some members forming this church and others forming the First United Methodist Church, located on S. Magnolia. Sometime before 2006, it changed hands and is now the One Way Apostolic Faith Holy Temple Headquarters.

Description: This house, more commonly known nowadays as the Bowers Mansion, is one of the most outstanding domestic buildings in Palestine. The oldest parts of the house date back to 1878 and display Victorian Italianate elements. The small cupola with its bracketed eaves and narrow, paired windows is indicative of the style. In 1894 major modifications were completed, giving the house a more Queen Anne style architectural character. The 2-tiered porch with its turned- and jigsawn- wood trim are noteworthy features. Since the 1894 renovations, the house has remained virtually unaltered and retains its integrity to a remarkable degree. Palestine merchant and Prussian-native Henry Ash and his wife Amelia Emilie Ash built this house in 1878 and resided here until 1884, when the property was purchased by Andrew L. and Nellie O’Connell Bowers. Around 1886 the Bowers hired local architect-builder Walter W. Wainwright to add the cupola, gazebo, and circular galleries; later, in 1897, St. Louis architect Charles Dunbar designed more renovations, including the addition of an ornate staircase with stained glass. A North Carolina native, Andrew L. Bowers (1852-1926) was an official of the I&GN Railroad, president of the Palestine Salt & Coal Company, and president of several banks, including ...

Description: During the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, the Queen Anne style enjoyed considerable popularity locally, especially among more affluent citizens. This large, 2-story frame residence is one such example, although the application of asbestos siding over the wood siding detracts from the property’s overall historic character. Other than the new siding, the house appears to have changed little since its construction in 1903. Judge Thomas Benton Greenwood (1832-1900) and his wife Lucy Henry Gee built a one-story house on this site in the 1870s, which later was enlarged into the present 2-story building around the turn of the century. A native of Mississippi and a Confederate veteran, Mr. Greenwood was a prominent Palestine lawyer during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In 1872 he formed a law partnership with John Young Gooch (later a state senator); subsequently, the two men formed a law firm with John H. Reagan, the former Postmaster General of the Confederacy and U.S. congressman. Dr. Bethune F. McDonald, a physician and surgeon with offices at 103 ½ W. Oak, purchased this house in 1935. He and his wife Josephine continued to live here through the early 1940s, when Mr. McDonald died. Mrs. McDonald ...

Description: The Redlands Hotel is a Two-Part Vertical Block building at the northeast corner of N. Queen Street and W. Oak Street in Palestine’s historic district. The hotel, which has a U-shaped plan and load-bearing masonry walls, displays architectural elements indicative of the Renaissance Revival style. Noteworthy features include the quoin-like brick in the end bays of the west and south elevations, and the entablature with large brackets. The Redlands Hotel is in good condition and has changed only minimally on the exterior since completion in 1914. During the mid-1910’s, the Young Men’s Business League (which later became the Palestine Chamber of Commerce) recognized the need for a downtown hotel that would attract visitors and businesses to downtown Palestine, as well as confirm the city’s growing status as an important regional center of commerce and transportation. The burning of the tree story Commercial Hotel in 1914 intensified the need for a new hotel. Members of the organization formed the Palestine Hotel Company, a consortium of private citizens and financial institutions, to raise funds, purchase suitable land, and oversee construction of the new building. In 1914, the Palestine Hotel Company purchased three downtown lots facing W. Oak at the corner of N. ...