Renovation work continues on the Hawn Hotel building — covered in scaffolding and partially covered in black screening — and the Professional Building. Both buildings are being converted into apartments. In the foreground, the ground is being prepared for a new 415-space parking garage that will serve the new residential units and Downtown businesses. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

An iconic Temple hotel being restored to its original grandeur is on track for a summer 2023 opening, and at least one of its former names will be used on its marquee.

The nine-story Doering Hotel opened in 1928 and was renamed The Hawn Hotel in 1943. While the renovated building will consist primarily of apartments, not a hotel, the name “Hawn” will stay.

“Yes, we likely are keeping the name,” said Jonathan Garza, director of development for Turner Brothers Development, the Waco-based company that’s renovating the hotel, the old Arcadia Theatre and the former Sears building.

“The Hawn is part of Temple history, and it’s an identifier for this building,” Garza said. “The Doering name also is a part of Temple’s history, and at some point we may find a way to incorporate that name into the project as well.”

The new Hawn will include a ground floor of offices, shops and restaurants, and 31 one- and two-bedroom residential units will be located on the second through ninth floors. The apartments are expected to range in price from $900 to about $1,500, depending on size.

Apartments will have a historic feel with modern conveniences, Garza said.

“The ninth floor will only have two apartments, and although it is the penthouse, those units will have the same floor plans as the rest of the building,” Garza said. “Originally, the top floor included a ballroom and that area likely will be used as open space.”

To be eligible for federal tax credits to help with renovation costs, projects involving historic buildings — the Hawn, for instance — are required to follow guidelines set forth by the National Parks Service, Garza said. These guidelines require developers to preserve open spaces. In other words, a ballroom can’t be renovated into additional apartments.

While the Hawn will retain its name in some format, the old Sears building likely will not.

“We haven’t named that building yet, but it probably can’t have Sears in its name because of legal reasons,” Garza said. “We may be getting community input on the name at some point”

The building formerly known as Sears also will house retail shops and offices on the first floor. The second floor, however, will be strictly residential with 26 apartments. An additional two or three units will be located in the former auto shop between the Sears building and Precious Memories Florist & Gift Shop.

Garza said several companies and individuals have expressed interest in leasing space on the ground floors of both the Hawn and Sears buildings, but no contracts have been signed.

“We’re just not focusing on that right now,” he said. “We will wait until the project is closer to completion.”

Garza said some restaurants or nightspots could be located in the new developments, but Turner Brothers envisions all of Downtown as an amenity.

“We want our residents to support the existing businesses in Downtown Temple,” he said. But, he did say a breakfast cafe and a cocktail bar would be welcome additions to the project.

Garza said Turner Brothers hopes to begin pre-leasing residential and retail space in early 2023.

“We want renovation to be far enough along that people can envision what the completed space will look like,” he said. “Then we will move forward with pre-leasing and retail plans.”

The Hawn, the former Sears building and the Arcadia Theatre are part of a construction boom along Central Avenue and 2nd and 4th streets.

Across 4th Street, the city is building one of two Downtown parking garages. The other will be located on 1st Street.

Across Central from the Sears building, the former Professional Building is being renovated into Central Plaza Apartments. Bird Creek Burgers & Brewery and two other businesses — The Art Department and The Wreck Center — are among 4th Street renovations, and Weird Doughs Bakery & Cafe is nearing completion on 6th Street.

The area — known as City Centre — will eventually be the target of improved sidewalks and landscaping projects, and utility wires will be relocated underground.

Pictured at left is Natalie Greenfield who was named Best Actress in the District One-Act Play competition. Beside Natalie is Alivea Johnson who named to the District All-Star Cast. Also pictured are Emily Perkins (the cook) and Ash Hauersperger (the mapmaker). Congratulations to Skyler Gordon (hair and make-up) and Jenna Bubanik(marketing) who were named State Qualifiers in the annual UIL Theatrical Design contest. Their work will be on display during the state contest in May. Courtesy photo

Temple will host Bi-District level one-act plays

Our Town Temple

 Around 250 Class 6A schools entered the annual UIL One-Act Play contest, and after the Zone and District contests, only 96 schools remain. After this week's Bi-District contest, that number will be cut in half.

Temple hosts this year’s Bi-District competition and performs around 2 p.m. in the THS Auditorium. There is no charge for admission, but audience members can only enter or exit between the plays. Support Temple's one-act play team Thursday and arrive by 1:45 p.m.

This year's entry, Men on Boats, features an all-female cast playing 10 men who set off in 1869 to chart the Green and Colorado Rivers.

The group is led by John Wesley Powell, played by Natalie Greenfield. At the district contest, Temple was ranked No. 1 out of eight schools and Natalie was named Best Actress in the district. This was also the 30th year in a row that Temple was named a district champion.

At district, the judge awarded one all-star cast and one honorable-mention award to each of the eight schools. Alivea Johnson was named to the all-star cast and Brinley Belson was chosen for honorable mention all-star cast. Janice Cody was named to the All-Star Technical Crew.

For more information about this week's bi-district contest, check out the www.ThespiansR.Us website. The full cast and production staff is listed on the information page.

Temple is competing against Waco, Harker Heights, Midway, Waxahachie and Bryan. Three of the six schools will advance to the Area Contest on April 2, at Midway ISD Performing Arts Center.

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SPRINGTIME PHOTOS WANTED

Fort Hood photographer Crystal Pesko took this wildflower photo last year outside of Temple. Remember to send your 2022 spring photos to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Include your name, location and when the photo was taken. Photos must be from Bell County. See more of Crystal’s work at CrystalClearMoments.com.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022

NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE

For years, a popular bar was located inside Temple Mall at the Sears end. It even had a door that led directly to the parking lot so you could enter and leave without actually stepping into the “mall” area. It was known for free “happy hour” snacks. What was the name of the bar that would later be named Cheers?

ANSWER IS AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To include your events in What’s Happening, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

On this day in 1866, the Texas State Central Committee of Colored Men met in Austin. It was the first of at least ten such conventions held in Texas from Reconstruction through the 1890s to express the concerns of African Americans in an era before the existence of groups that focused upon the economic, political, and civil rights of minorities. Often these state meetings sent delegates to national conventions seeking the same goals. The Texas State Central Committee of Colored Men, with the Baptist minister Jacob Fontaine presiding, opposed a request by Episcopal bishop Alexander Gregg for funds which presumably would have benefited former slaves. The committee members did not trust Gregg, himself a former slaveholder and ardent supporter of secession, and expressed their preference for the work of the Freedmen's Bureau.

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On this day in 1894, a contingent of "Coxey's Army" arrived in El Paso. In the wake of the 1893 panic Jacob Sechler Coxey of Massillon, Ohio, a businessman and reformer, led an army of jobless men to Washington to induce Congress to provide assistance. A group from Los Angeles arrived in El Paso on the evening of March 22, and, after marching on the city hall, were given food and allowed to camp for the night. Hoping for transportation from the railroad, they camped alongside the tracks for two days. They boarded a Southern Pacific train that uncoupled their car 70 miles east of El Paso, leaving them stranded in a barren region without food or water. After an order from Governor James S. Hogg, and negotiations with the railroads and the citizens of El Paso, the "army" was finally transported to Washington, arriving weeks after Coxey had been arrested.

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On this day in 1836, the sixty-ton armed schooner Liberty, commanded by William S. Brown, seized the brig Durango in Matagorda Bay. The Durango was owned by a New Orleans mercantile house with a longstanding interest in the Texas trade, which makes it unlikely that she was carrying war contraband designed to assist the Mexican army. A more likely explanation for the seizure is that the fledgling Texas Navy simply needed the vessel and her supplies; the Liberty had been the first ship purchased by the republic, only two months before. The Durango incident added to an already hostile attitude within the United States about attacks by both Mexico and Texas on United States vessels, which eventually led to the arrest of the crew of the Invincible after this vessel captured the United States merchant vessel Pocket. The Durango incident was closed officially in 1838, when Texas and the United States entered into a convention of indemnity. The total settlement, which also made provisions for the Pocket claims, was for $11,750 plus accrued interest.

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TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: The Hofbrau.