Martindale Motor Company Building
Martindale, Texas
2025 HISTORIC REHABILITATION AWARD
This two-story commercial block building was originally constructed in 1924 by the Martindale Motor Corporation as a Hupmobile automobile sales and service dealership. Its second floor housed offices for the Martindale Telephone Company, living quarters for switchboard operators, public offices, a club room, and the Martindale Masonic Lodge No. 1206. From 1937 to 1975, a U.S. Post Office operated on the first floor.
The Motor Company closed in 1938, impacted by the Great Depression, and the building later served as a Humble Oil gas station and apartments. Notably, it is the only two-story commercial block building in the City of Martindale, a small community nestled between Lockhart and San Marcos in Caldwell County.
By 2020, the building’s structural condition threatened it to be condemned and demolished. Large portions of the roof and windows were missing, the masonry walls were crumbling, and the back of the building had sunk more than 8.5 inches. Yet at the eleventh hour, Maury Domengeaux and his team stepped in. Recognizing the building’s potential, they purchased the property with a vision to reinvigorate it as a social hub for Martindale.
With guidance from O’Connell Architecture, the rehabilitation began with intensive stabilization. The masonry walls were reinforced with braces and ties, the back wall was carefully lifted and repaired, and extensive brick and mortar work restored the building’s integrity.
The entire second floor was reconstructed, with all new building systems installed. The space was transformed into five modern short-term rental apartments, which are now in constant demand.
The main level was finished as a restaurant and retail space, and the original drive-through service bay was retained and reimagined as an outdoor patio. The metal canopy across the front was rebuilt to match its historic appearance.
The project relied on state and federal historic tax credits, demonstrating the critical role that preservation tax incentives can play. Since the start of the rehabilitation, the project has generated over $6 million for the Texas economy, with the vast majority of that benefiting the small community of roughly 1,500 residents.
Today, the building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and contributes to the Martindale Central Historic District, which was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. Duett’s Texas Club now occupies the main floor, bringing music, dining, and social life to downtown Martindale. The rehabilitated building honors its past while contributing meaningfully to the economic and cultural vitality of its community.
The award was presented at Preservation Texas’s 2025 Honor Award Ceremony in San Antonio on October 30, 2025.
Owner: Republic of Dog, LLC
Project Managers: Maury Domengeaux and Steve Schlossareck, Republic of Dog, LLC
Architects: Tere O'Connell, AIA, and Jack Hawkins, O'Connell Architecture
Engineers: Thomas Gessner and Tori Wittman, Gessner Engineering
Contractors: Lin Perry and Mark Vreeland, Perry & Perry Builders
Other partners and stakeholders: Aubrey Carter, Aubrey Carter Design (Restaurant Design); Melissa Coad and Kat Howell, Wilson Girgenti (MEP Design); Rob Roy Parnell (TAS Compliance); Emily Thompson Payne, HHM & Associates (National Register District Nomination); Brian Ash and Forrest Pope, Ash Masonry Masterworks; Daniel Sidler and Rocky B. Littlefield, Barron Restoration; Lori Martin, MSHP, O'Connell Architecture; Caroline Wright, Texas Historical Commission
