Old Federal Building

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and I'll give it to you straight from the official record. You're looking at a building that took two years to rise up out of Victoria, Texas, construction running from 1911 to 1913, and it was built with a purpose. This is the Old Federal Building, dressed in the style of the Italian Renaissance Revival, and from the moment it was finished it carried the weight of the United States government on its shoulders, housing both the Post Office and the Federal Courthouse right here in the same walls.

The contractor was Otto P. Kroeger and Company out of San Antonio, and the supervising architect was a man named James Knox Taylor. Those two names don't show up in a lot of campfire stories, but they should, because what they put together has been standing and serving ever since.

Federal offices called this place home for nearly half a century, right up until 1961, when they packed up and moved on to a new site. The building went quiet, at least for a little while. But four years later, 1965, a regional entertainment company by the name of Frels Theatres, Incorporated, moved in and made it their headquarters.

From federal courthouse to the business of entertainment, same walls, same Renaissance Revival bones. That building has worn more than one hat, and it is still wearing them.

What the marker says

This Italian Renaissance Revival building was constructed in 1911-13 to serve as the United States Post Office and Federal Courthouse. Otto P. Kroeger and Company of San Antonio was the contractor, and James Knox Taylor served as the supervising architect. Federal offices were located here until they moved to a new site in 1961. Four years later, the building became headquarters for Frels Theatres, Inc., a regional entertainment company. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981