This historic Knights of Pythias Hall was acquired in 2002 by the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum with the intent on transforming the building into the museum's exhibit space and community meeting rooms. Located on North Esplanade Avenue in downtown Cuero, Texas, the original building comprises 10,000 square feet on two floors and features some of Wahrenberger’s creative use of fanciful brickwork in the Romanesque Revival style. In 1988, the Knights of Pythias Hall was entered into the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Cuero Commercial Historic District, and in 2003, the Texas Historical Commission awarded the property a Registered Texas Historic Landmark designation. The building is also a contributing structure to Cuero's "Downtown Commercial Historic District". The rehabilitation and restoration efforts took nearly 11 years to complete from purchase through construction and officially opened to the public in November of 2013.
Fisher Heck Architects became involved in the project in 2008. The next major phase involved the renovation of the interior of the historic building and to build a 4,500 square-foot, two-story annex adjacent to the existing building. The new annex would add accessibility and amenities such as a gift shop and administrative office space to the existing structure. Fisher Heck worked rigorous with the board on a design that would easily meet high preservation guidelines of the Texas Historical Commission and National Park Service. The placement of the addition, set back from the historic structure, allowed for a new simplified canopy structure along the front face of the addition that compliments the restored historic canopy along the historic facade. To further distinguish the addition from the existing building, a contemporary plaster finish for the exterior walls was chosen, along with minimal, but complimentary decorative reveal details were strategically designed into the front facade. New wood doors and windows were also designed into the addition that mimic the same proportions of the existing doors and windows, but with a more modest mullion configuration that reinforces the notion that the windows are not historic replications. At the roof, light colored, reflecting roofing material was specified for both the addition and the historic building to reflect heat penetrating rays off of the building. New attic insulation was also added to further aid in reducing the building's overall energy usage. In the back of the annex, three cisterns were installed to capture rainwater from the roof and be reused for landscape irrigation.
On the interior of the building, three community rooms were programmed into existing spaces on the second floor. Each room was handsomely restored within their original configuration, evoking an era of graciousness, with restored coffered ceilings and refinished original millwork framing the windows and doors. An abundance of natural light enters each space from tall, refinished windows on the upper level. The meeting spaces are also supported with full audio visual capabilities as well as a catering kitchen, enabling the building to function as both a museum and a Community Center for business meetings and social gatherings. Since the official ribbon-cutting in April 2010, the multi-purpose community facilities of the CTHM have served approximately 12,000 guests.
The centerpiece of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum is the exhibit space, which was programmed into the first floor of the historic building. Visitors can experience a walk through time and legend – the story of ranching in the Guadalupe Valley, its roots in Spanish cattle ranching before the great cattle drives of the late 1800s, and the enduring folklore of the Texas cowboy. Rich local history is brought to life, including the infamous Sutton-Taylor War, which pitted cattle rustling outlaws against frontier justice – introducing lawmen such as the legendary Texas Rangers. Highly selective curation of objects for authenticity makes the experience that much more vivid. And, there is something for everyone – interactive features engage younger visitors with delight and humor, oral history videos showcase classic Western craftsmanship. Your visit concludes with an original short film, Pointing them North, in the John and Mary Doe Trail Drive Theatre.
The project has won the 2014 President's Award and the John L. Nau, III Award of Excellence in Museums given by The Texas Association of Museums and The Texas Historical Commission respectively.
