Sorenson-Stair Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. We're talking about a building in Rockport, Aransas County, that has seen more than its share of history, and it starts with a man who crossed an ocean to get here. Simon Sorenson, a native of Denmark, bought a place called Brunner's Mercantile at this site in 1886.

Now, that building was originally two stories tall, and it stood right there until 1895, when fire came through and took it down. They rebuilt. That right there tells you something about the kind of people we're dealing with.

You don't cross an ocean and then let a fire have the last word. The Sorensons got back to business, and they ran that mercantile with a particular flair that you don't see much anymore. They received weather reports by telegraph, posted the updates right there in the display windows so the whole town could read them, and when things got serious, they raised warning flags.

In a coastal town, that's not a small thing. That's a lifeline. But even a building with that kind of history can't outrun everything.

Hurricane Celia came through in 1970 and damaged the building and its stock. The place took the hit and kept standing. Then by 1978, the Estelle Stair Gallery and the Rockport Art Association had made their home here, and a woman named Stair was nurturing the growing art community right inside those walls.

From mercantile to gallery, from weather station to art house. And the building itself is something to look at. Load-bearing masonry, a distinctive five-bay brick façade, brick entry arches and pilasters capped along a stepped parapet.

It was built to last, and it has. That's the Sorenson-Stair Building, and it's still got something to say.

What the marker says

Simon Sorenson, a native of Denmark, bought Brunner's Merchantile at this site in 1886. The building was originally two stories, rebuilt after an 1895 fire. The Sorensons received weather reports by telegraph, posted updates in the display windows and raised warning flags as necessary. Hurricane Celia damaged the building and stock in 1970. In 1978 the Estelle Stair Gallery and the Rockport Art Association were housed here. Stair nurtured the growing art community. The load-bearing masonry building features a distinctive five-bay brick façade, with brick entry arches and pilasters capped along the stepped parapet. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2008