Cast Iron Storefronts (New Braunfels)

Hill Country Trail Region
South Seguin Ave. New Braunfels, Texas

As you make your way along Seguin and San Antonio Streets, notice the decorative elements of the buildings. Many of the colorful façades appear to be stone, but are actually pressed metal, detailed to look like stone.

Cast iron storefronts became popular inexpensive alternatives to carved stone since they could be ordered from catalogs and shipped via rail to remote towns. Some were used for new construction but they were also used as fast modernizing slipcovers for older wooden buildings. Spot the factory mark, there are at least five from Mesker Brothers Iron Works of Evansville, Indiana in town.

Mapped location of Cast Iron Storefronts (New Braunfels)

Cast Iron Storefronts (New Braunfels)

South Seguin Ave. New Braunfels, Texas