Marshall officials, community members celebrate new historical marker honoring work of 20th century architect

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - City officials and the community gathered to celebrate the unveiling of a historical marker which honors Marshall native and architect, Cornelius Granberry Lancaster.

“Lancaster passed away December 1, 1947, but his legacy lives on through many of the buildings he designed.” said Glenn Barnhart, manager of the Memorial City Hall Performance Center in Marshall.

The historical marker was delivered a year and a half ago to honor the building that used to be city hall but is now a performance arts center and a museum.

The historic building, which sits in the center of downtown Marshall, was designed by Lancaster in 1910.

“He built this building our historic 1901 courthouse and the Ginocchio Hotel down by the train depot and numerous other buildings, but those are the top three that have been preserved and restored,” said Barnhart.

Lancaster also designed banks and commercial buildings in Jefferson, Pittsburg, Henderson, and Carthage.

In 2011, the city and some civic leaders started a fundraising campaign to save what used to be a city hall and the building for main attractions while the building was being used as a storage unit.

“After a long fundraising campaign and renovation process the building was renovated, restored, saved, and we had our grand opening of 2019 as a state-of-the-art performance arts center,” said Barnhart.

Becky Palmer is the executive director of the Harrison County Historical Museum which is located in the basement of The Memorial City Hall Performance Center. She says the historical marker was made possible by former city commissioner Gail K. Beil.

“Gail had applied for the marker; it’s a pretty long process. You have to write a history and raise money to pay for the marker send it in to the historical commission,” said Palmer.

Palmer and Barnhart both say they are excited to see those who love to learn about history visit the marker,

Copyright 2023 KLTV. All rights reserved.