C. F. Marschner Building

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the C. F. Marschner Building in Galveston.

Local contractor Otto Haase erected this building in 1905 and 1906. It was built to serve two purposes at once: the lower floors would house the Texas Bottling Works, and the upper floor would be home to C. F.

Marschner and his wife Marie. A building that was meant to be a fresh start for a family and a business both. But here's the thing.

C. F. Marschner never got to see it finished.

He died shortly before the building was complete. Now Marie Marschner inherited the bottling works, and rather than let it sit idle, she ran it. With the help of her sons, she kept Texas Bottling Works going, and the company earned a distinction worth noting: it was the first in Galveston to bottle distilled water.

That is not a small thing in a city that knew what it meant to need clean water. Texas Bottling Works operated right there in that building until 1929, when Triple XXX Bottling Company moved in and took over the location. In the 1930s, Otto Marschner, one of those sons who had once helped his mother keep the family business alive, became general manager of Triple XXX.

The name on the door had changed, but the Marschner connection ran right through the place. Triple XXX kept the bottles moving into the mid-1940s, and soft drinks were being bottled there all the way into the 1960s. Then in 1965, the building shifted gears and was leased as office and storage space, and various businesses came and went through the 1980s.

Then came the 1990s and a restoration. The upper floor became a residence again, the way it was always meant to be, and the lower floor, which had once held bottling equipment and fizzing water, was given over to classic automobiles. The building itself has held up with some style, decorated brickwork, arched window openings, and an elaborate stepped parapet crowned with brick and ball finials.

A man named C. F. Marschner never got to live in it.

But his widow ran the business inside it, his son managed its successor, and the building is still standing in Galveston telling the whole story.

What the marker says

Erected in 1905-06 by local contractor Otto Haase, this building housed the Texas Bottling Works and the family residence of C. F. and Marie Marschner. Shortly before the completion of the building, C. F. Marschner died. His widow inherited the bottling works and operated the business with the assistance of her sons. The company was the first in Galveston to bottle distilled water. Texas Bottling Works remained in this location until 1929, when Triple XXX Bottling Company moved here. Otto Marschner became general manager of Triple XXX in the 1930s. Triple XXX continued to operate at this location into the mid-1940s. The plant was used for bottling soft drinks until the 1960s. The building was leased as office and storage space beginning in 1965. Followed by various businesses through the 1980s. The structure was restored in the 1990s and the upper floor again became a residence while the lower floor housed classic automobiles. A good example of an early 20th century commercial structure, the Marschner Building features decorative brick work, arched window openings, and an elaborate stepped parapet with brick and ball finials. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996