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Texas: Central, South, and Gulf Coast » South Texas » Corpus Christi (Nueces County) » Central Corpus Christi » M. Lichtenstein and Sons Department Store

M. Lichtenstein and Sons Department Store

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1941, Vogler and Decker. 410 N. Chaparral St.
  • View from Chapparal Street (Elwood M. Payne)

This is a notable exception to the two-part commercial blocks and Spanish Mediterranean high-rises along Chaparral Street that was, traditionally, the city's main commercial artery. A family retail establishment dating to 1874, the Lichtensteins' decision to move from their older two-part commercial block to a new Moderne locale signaled the acceptance of contemporary styles by the city's entrepreneurial elite, a trend that would come to full fruition following World War II. The four-story, buff brick, round-cornered building retains its canopy, display windows, and ribboned fenestration pattern at its top floors. Unfortunately, a distinctive, vertical, concave decorative metal feature that once offset its round corner and was topped with the store's name is now missing.

At 715–719 N. Chaparral Street, the Ritz Theater (1930), by W. Scott Dunne, is mission-like, twin-towered entertainment venue missing its ornate marquee and vertical sign. This and other contemporaneous buildings along Chaparral Street illustrate the commercial thoroughfare's emerging new face after its virtual leveling in the Storm of 1919 and the economic expansion following the opening of the port.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Gerald Moorhead et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Corpus Christi Cathedral
U.S. Post Office and Custom House
Britton-Evans House
Southern Minerals Company Building
Artesian Park

Citation

Gerald Moorhead et al., "M. Lichtenstein and Sons Department Store", [Corpus Christi, Texas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TX-01-CC6.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Texas

Buildings of Texas: Central, South, and Gulf Coast, Gerald Moorhead and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, 238-238.

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