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One
end of the Block
Photo by John Troesser, 5-03 |
The Kyle Block is one of the best examples of Zig Zag
architecture in Texas
The name Kyle is fairly common in Texas. There is Kyle Field in College
Station, the town of Kyle,
Texas, and the former Kyle Hotel in Temple.
The name Kyle here is that of a Beaumont businessman. His name is
also linked to the Temple hotel for being that building's principal
investor. |
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View
of the entire Kyle block looking south
Photo by John Troesser, 5-03 |
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Abstract
flora and sunbursts.
Photo by John Troesser, 5-03 |
The
Kyle Block is featured in the chapter Modernistic Modes of Design
in Jay C. Henry's Architecture
in Texas : 1895-1945 (See Amazon.com).
Although no date is given and no cornerstone was found, Professor
Henry compares the Kyle Block to the similar, but less ambitious Paramount
Block in downtown Amarillo
which was built in 1932. |
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One
of the Zig Zag designs.
Photo by John Troesser, 5-03 |
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Henry describes the Kyle block as: "divided into five
segments, with a two-story block on each corner, then a section of
single-story shops, and finally another two-story increment in the
center." The individual stores are mostly vacant due to the current
lack of traffic in downtown Beaumont
- all the better to view this interesting building.
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