Pre-Construction Interior Demolition

“The 1895” located at Cameron Ave & Burleson St in Downtown Rockdale

This diamond in the rough is a key part of Rockdale’s history that few of its current residents know. Most people see this now vacant building and only remember that it was most recently used as the Police Station. Residents older then 35 may remember visiting this building to open a water account or to report to municipal court. Some in their 40s may remember the Fire Station with roll up doors on Burleson St. Those over 60 may remember going up the stairs to visit Milam County’s first library in the 1950s, or getting their Polio shot from the Public Health Nurse upstairs. Perhaps others have heard their elders tell tales of playing basketball tournaments or attending a play or wrestling match upstairs in the “Opera House”.

All of these memories are true stories. But what most people don’t realize, is that this historic building was once a grand Victorian beauty unlike any in the area. Most who have seen the Pre-1939 photos of this historic building are awestruck by the beauty and architectural details. This includes our Foundation Chairman, Collier Perry, who fell in love with the building when he saw an old photo in 2012. “I had lived in Rockdale since the early 1950s and had no idea the 1895 City Hall was once this iconic of a structure,” said Perry. “I knew I wanted to be a part of saving this building.”

Perry was a part of various endeavors to save the City Hall building for many years while the City of Rockdale still owned it. In 2020, in order to ensure the building’s survival, he decided to form a non-profit, Vision Historic Preservation Foundation, with the intent to purchase, restore and repurpose the building to once again serve as a center of community and cultural entertainment.

Next Steps

Now that Vision Historic Preservation Foundation has completed our asbestos abatement and interior demolition, we are working on plans for the repurposing of the interior of the building.

Inline with our Mission, we intend to dedicate the function of the upstairs to The Arts. Downstairs we seek to cultivate and recruit a dining and specialty boutique shopping experience.

We have engaged the services of renowned historic preservation architect Stan Graves of Architexas to guide us through our restoration project with the goal of obtaining a historic designation, as well as meet modern ADA and fire code requirements. Additionally, we have enlisted restaurant designer Aubrey Carter to help us in updating the interior with finishes fitting of the building’s original design and to accommodate new proposed use and functionality.

This restoration is a multi-phase project expected to take a few years to complete.

As an Economic Development project, the Foundation seeks to recruit partners to expand the project with complimentary development on the vacant lot behind The 1895 as well as participate in the buildout of the interior.

Simultaneous to the interior considerations, Vision Historic Preservation is working toward raising funds to proceed with PHASE ONE Exterior Restoration.