Leinweber Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. Now, Hondo, Texas has seen its share of buildings come and go, but some structures just plant themselves into a town and refuse to budge. The Leinweber Building is one of those.

Three stories of brick rising up in 1907, built for a man named Ernest Roland Leinweber, born in 1869 and gone by 1922, but not before leaving his mark on Hondo as one of its prominent businessmen. Three stories was no small statement in South Texas in 1907. That was a declaration.

And the man behind the construction was no ordinary builder either. His name was Gus Birkner, a prolific South Texas contractor, and if that name sounds like it belongs on a building of some consequence, well, consider this: Birkner also participated in the construction of the Texas State Capitol. The man knew what he was doing when he laid a foundation.

Now, the brick Birkner worked with wasn't hauled in from somewhere distant and expensive. It was locally produced brick, which means this building is, in a very real sense, made of the same ground it stands on. And Birkner dressed it up with something worth noticing: influences of Classical and Romanesque styles of architecture, those heavy, dignified shapes that make a building look like it expects to be taken seriously.

Over the years, the Leinweber Building has housed a variety of professional and commercial offices, which is just another way of saying that generation after generation of Hondo's working life has passed through those doors. Some buildings are monuments. This one has been a neighbor.

And it's still standing.

What the marker says

Built in 1907 for Ernest Roland Leinweber (1869-1922), a prominent Hondo businessman, this three-story commercial building was constructed by prolific South Texas contractor Gus Birkner, who also participated in the construction of the Texas State Capitol. Built with locally produced brick, the structure features some influences of. Classical and Romanesque styles of architecture. The Hondo landmark has housed a variety of professional and commercial offices. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1986