Palacios Area Historical Association
"City by the Sea Museum"

The City By the Sea Museum - Palacios Pavilions

Historical Marker Text

In 1903 the Palacios townsite company arranged with the Southern Pacific Railroad to extend its line to the new city. The first train arrived on June 29, bringing prospective settlers from Midwestern states. The company began construction of a pavilion on the South Bay in June 1904. Designed by Victoria architect Jules Leffland, it was built on a pier extending 400 feet into the bay. Called the Pleasure Pavilion, it consisted of a central round two-story open-air pavilion with boat docks and bathers' dressing rooms extending along the pier. It quickly became the social center of the town, offering such activities as swimming, boating, dancing, skating, and basketball games. The Pleasure Pavilion sustained hurricane damage in 1915, 1919, and 1934. Under the direction of a local seawall commission and with funding from the federal public works administration, it was razed in 1935 and replaced with a new pavilion, called the roundhouse. The roundhouse pavilion continued to be the focal point of community activities, especially during the war years of the 1940's and the early 1950's. It was destroyed by hurricane Carla in 1961, and eventually the city erected a smaller open-air pavilion in its place. (1991)

Palacios Pavilions

It was in 1904 the Palacios City Townsite Company erected a pavilion over the water at the south end of Fourth Street. Jules Leffland of Victoria was the architect, and the pavilion was constructed under the supervision of contractors Hatchett and White of Bay City.

The open- air pavilion had a double deck, and a roof covered the entire building. The lower deck was used for dancing and skating. A walkway, where the public could sit on benches and look out at the bay, circled the dance floor. A pier led to the pavilion. Dressing rooms were erected east and west from the pier, and a catwalk was on each end of the dressing rooms. There was a pier on the south side of the pavilion for boats, as sailing was popular at the time.

In 1915 a hurricane removed the back pier and boat landing from the pavilion, but it was replaced almost immediately. Schooners and other boas, carrying passengers and goods, docked and sailed from the pavilion. Summer visitors at the Baptist Encampment or in town would go sailing to the Gulf or Hurd's Landing; these boats sailed from the pavilion pier.

In 1918 the pavilion was under new management, and the building and pier were renovated. In 1919 a hurricane removed the floors of the pavilion and some of the pier leading to the shore.

During the 1920's the pavilion managers usually hired an orchestra for the summer. The orchestra played at the Palacios Hotel during the day and in the pavilion at night.

In 1932 local businessmen purchased the pavilion from Mayhew Lumber Company, the mortgage holder on the property. The pavilion was remodeled, and the bathing booths were removed from the west wing to make room for a restaurant and fountain.

The American Legion Post was in charge of the dance floor and sponsored all the dances. There was no charge for swimming, but there were charges for using the dressing rooms or showers. Rate were: bathsuits 25 cents, towels 5 cents, use of room only 10 cents, and showers 10 cents.

Second Pavilion

In 1934 a hurricane destroyed the back pier, diving chute, and a few feet of the pier near the shore. A Seawall Commission was formed to supervise the building of both a seawall and a new pavilion. Palacios Bay Development Company was the low bidder on razing and removing the old pavilion and in May, 1935, the wrecking crew began. Construction of the new pavilion was financed by remission of state advalorem taxes paid by the state of Texas, plus $30,000 bonus from the federal government. The seawall, bay front, pier, and pavilion were deeded to the city of Palacios.

The second pavilion was 300 feet from the shoreline on the east side of the pier. Construction was of steel, faced with weatherboard. The roof was an immense dome supported by steel girders. The hardwood floor was 100 feet in diameter. To the south was a two-story building, which was connected to the pavilion by a hallway and stairs; lockers and rest rooms were on the lower floor with a seafood cafe, called the "Pier Cafe," on the upper floor. The 24'x600' pier terminated in a 70-foot T-head, with a catwalk on each side for fishing and mooring of boats. There were ornamental railings and lamp posts at intervals along the pier and T-head. The new pavilion was dedicated in November, 1935.

The 1940's found the pavilion in its hey-day. Many bands, such as Tie Tieman, "Tex" Beneke, Harry James, Bob Crosby, and Artie Shaw, played there during these years.

In 1958 the Palacios Pavilion Association, a non-profit organization chartered by the state for the promotion of recreational, educational, and community promotion of recreational, educational, and community betterment, assumed the operation of the pavilion. Ronald Harris, president; R. B. Trull, treasurer, and Guy Claybourn, secretary. There was a minimum charge for rental of the building, and the following rules were applied: no excessive noise, damage paid by lessor, and activities must not conflict with law and order. Hurricane Carla tore the place apart in 1961, leaving the great dome looking like a punctured umbrella and the concrete pier in chunks. A Palacios land mark was gone.

The current smaller open-air pavilion was eventually erected by the city in 1991. The pier is still used for fishing and the beach next to the pier is used for swimming and beach combing. Sailboat races are conducted from the beach next to the pier each year. As a result of another hurricane, Claudette on July 15, 2003, the pavilion is currently undergoing repairs. It is still open for walks, fishing, and enjoying sunrises or sunsets over the bay.

Read more about the Palacios Pavilions in the "Historic Matagorda County - Volume I" article written by Colleen Caybourn, and Mary Carlton Crawford Simpson starting on page 516 (on sale at the museum).