In the background you can see others enjoying the river. The sign on the tree reads "No Swimming in River Channel," whatever that means. Perhaps to keep you out of the props of the boats that flew around in that little "lake" in Louise Hays Park. Of interest in the shot is the construction of the swimming area as it is today. The building in the background is the old Ice Plant which was part of the water-mill works years earlier. Note the nice brickwork near the top of the building. Would have made some interesting offices, with a nice view of the river.
Click on image to enlarge
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| Semi-clad lad, Kerrville's Louise Hays Park, mid-1950s |
You are right Joe, that old Ice Plant building would have made a great office building.
ReplyDeleteIt was built to last. It must have been very difficult to demolish.
In the photo, there are one or two buildings on the right side of the Ice Plant's red brick building (photographer's right).
ReplyDeleteIt is not clear what those buildings are.
I remember that the Ice Plant had what was called the "pulling room." The pulling room would have been in the general location of the building that is shown in the photo.
However, the windows in the pulling room didn't look like the windows in the photo.
I suppose that the building could have been Reiter's garage. It was also located in that general area.
On the left side of the photo, below the dam, you will see two people. The second one looks like a boy wearing black pants. Next to him is what was left of the old turbine housing that was installed for the mill (the first turbine).
ReplyDeleteAs a boy, I walked past, and yes even played around, that old mill turbine. However the photo confuses me because I don't remember the turbine being that high up the bluff.
I suppose that I could be wrong in thinking that what I am seeing is the turbine housing. That was so many years ago that my memory may be a bit fuzzy.
I've enlarged the photo and am now positive that the structure is the old turbine housing.
ReplyDeleteWhat is clearly shown is the top part of the housing.
However, below what you can see in the photo is the base of the turbine housing. You can just barely see the base in this photo.
The base was made of rock or brick (I can't remember which).
The turbine housing existed until the late 1970s flood (1978/79).
It makes me think of the "Good Old Days."
If you look at the center of the photo, below the old red brick building, you can see the channel wall for the second channel that was built below the mill and the old Ice Plant.
ReplyDeleteJoe once posted a photo that he had taken that showed what was left of the wall. Unfortunately, not much is left these days.
When I was very young, I had a great time playing on and around that wall. I wish the Historical Commission would clean out those two mill channels so that all of Kerrville could see what and how the mill channels looked and functioned.
After all, it is part of Kerrville's history.
In the center of the photo you can also see the wall that is shown in one of Joe's previous postings.
ReplyDeleteThe earlier photo showed a man sitting on a rock wall (I believe that it was Mr. J.E. Grinstead). The wall was constructed below the old mill and Ice Plant.
The structure was part of the second turbine that was built below the mill. The second turbine was directly below the mill's/Ice Plant's red brick building.
There is a photo of the second turbine structure in Joe's book, "HOME Photographs of Kerrville." The book photo is entitled,
"ICE PLANT at the end of Washington Street around 1930" (no page number listed).
I love these old photographs. They remind me of my youth.
That building to the right of the Ice Plant's red brick building was indeed Reiter's Garage.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the old red brick building, but it would also be great to see photos of the entire Ice Plant (front views, side views, internal and external).
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. Dick Eastland, who owned the Ice Plant, had children.
I wonder if his children or grandchildren inherited old photos of the Ice Plant.
If so, it would be wonderful if they loaned them to Joe so that he could consider posting them on his blog.