Town Square Walk-Around
Take a walk… around the squares, main streets and plazas of historic Texas towns. Some feel unchanged, some are now metropolitan, but all reveal their beginnings and evolution in the walkable cultural landscape of today.
“You can read a town like a book…with plot points of its history revealed in its organization and architecture.”
-Brantley Hightower, former editor of Texas Architect magazine
Many cities in this tour participate in the Texas Main Street and Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Programs.
Texas Main Street Program
Texas determination and ingenuity is on display when visiting a historic Texas downtown. The National Main Street initiative to revitalize historic downtowns through preservation was formed more than 30 years ago by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Main Street Program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation, with more than 87 fully designated communities.
Through a successfully proven four point strategy of organization, economic restructuring, design and promotion, locally funded programs work with the Texas Historical Commission to achieve preservation-based economic and quality of life goals. This strategy often reintroduces the historic downtown as the activity hub and heart of the community for locals while also resulting in a great experience for the visitor.
Featured Historic Courthouses
Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program
Texas has more historic courthouses than any other state—235 are still in active government use. With decades or even centuries of use, these structures deteriorate due to inadequate maintenance, insensitive modifications, or weather-related damage.
The Texas Historical Commission's nationally recognized and award-winning Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program works to restore these treasured historic landmarks.
Established in 1999 by the Texas Legislature and Gov. George W. Bush through House Bill 1341, the program provides partial funding to Texas counties to restore their historic courthouses. To date, the program has restored over 75 Texas courthouses and another 28 have received emergency or planning grants to complete small projects.