Offenhauser Building

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

1. Offenhauser Building Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Wayne Bell & Gary Hume, 1/1/1971:
The site of the Offenhauser Building was first occupied by the First National Bank of Texarkana, Texas. This structure, an early two-story brick building was constructed in the late 1870s. The bank, however, failed a few years later and in 1894 the building was sold by the Board of Directors to Fredrick Wilhelm Offenhauser.
The son of German immigrants, Offenhauser was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was employed as a dry goods clerk with the C.E. Haydon & Company in Shelbyville, Illinois. When Hayden and Company opened a branch store in Texarkana, Offenhauser moved to the new store. Offenhauser held a second job at this

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

2. Offenhauser Building Marker

The Texas Historical Commission Medallion is mounted directly above the historical marker. The National Register of Historic Places marker (listed in 1971) is mounted below the historical marker.

time with the firm of Best & Beard Insurance Agency. In the pre-typewriter days, Offenhauser was employed to write their fire insurance policies because of his clear legible hand.
W.A. Kelsey, who was cashier of the short-lived First National Bank, formed a partnership with Offenhauser with Kelsey providing the financial backing. The newly formed company began operating successfully on the second floor of the former First National Bank building. In 1888 Offenhauser bought out Kelsey's interest. From approximately 1890 onward the firm operated under the name of F.W. Offenhauser and Company.
In 1901, permission was granted by the City Council of Texarkana for a third floor to be added and extended out over the sidewalk on Pine and Third Streets. In actual fact, the building was completely re-constructed at that time, with little more than the walls of the earlier Bank building remaining.
Because of the central location of the structure, the building is a vital part of the downtown cityscape and is visible from numerous vantage points. The Offenhauser Insurance Building, which is among the oldest structures of Texarkana, has been a city landmark closely connected with the history and development of the city.

Excerpt: 

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

3. Texarkana Historical Museum Dedication Marker

(mounted above the Texas Historical Medallion)This building given the cities of Texarkana by Josh R. Morriss and Josh R. Morriss, Jr. in memory of Fred W. Offenhauser to house Texarkana’s historical museum December 1970

The Museum of Regional History (originally the Texarkana Historical Museum) is the first and oldest museum in the Texarkana metropolitan area; it was established in 1971. It is located in the Offenhauser Insurance Building, which was built in 1879, making it the oldest brick building in the city. The museum is both a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

4. Offenhauser Building Markers

The markers are mounted at the southeast corner of the building.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

5. Offenhauser Building (southwest elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  A small round turret projects from the structure at the southwest corner. The turret begins at the sill level of the second-floor windows and extends beyond the cornice and parapet of the main block, terminating in a conical standing seam tin roof above a pressed-tin cornice.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

6. Offenhauser Building (northwest elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  The Offenhauser Insurance Building is a three-story brick structure with inset, arcaded walkways on the north and west sides of the structure. The structure is bounded on the east by State Line Avenue, on the west by Pine Street, by Third Street on the north and Fourth Street on the south.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2025

7. Offenhauser Building (southeast elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  The east facade is the most unusual of the four elevations of the Offenhauser Insurance Building. The east facade, which has no inset arcade on the first-floor level, originally had an inset two-arch wide gallery on the second floor which was accessible by a stairway opening on the south facade. The gallery was used as an official reviewing stand for parades and other civic functions. A one-bay section on the north end is perpendicular to the north facade and a two-bay section on the south end of the facade is perpendicular to the south facade of the building. The north and south portions of the east elevation are parallel, but they are not in the same plane. Consequently, these two sections are joined by the oblique and angled wall which contains the reviewing stand. The principal facade, or south elevation, faces a triangular shaped space known as Offenhauser “Square.”