Read Part 1 of this post, covering the Sonora portion of the Ruffini Collection, here. Oscar Ruffini was based in San Angelo, where he reportedly designed over 30 buildings. Therefore, it is not surprising that eight of ten Mesker Brothers' blueprints in The Ruffini Collection at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission are for …
In documenting historic buildings, Mesker and non alike, we always look for manufacturer identifications and original building owner names. To discover them is always exciting but since they are essentially signs, the only uncertainty lies in whether they survive and not whether they were intended to be seen. There are, however, other labels and inscriptions …
It may be in name only, but this storefront at 107-109 Water Street in Belton, Texas, is indeed the 2,500th Mesker facade to be entered into the national database. Despite the nameplate identifying the maker as Mesker & Brother from St. Louis, Missouri (same as Mesker Brothers), the company did not manufacture these columns but subcontracted them …
Oscar Ruffini (1858-1957) was an architect based in San Angelo, Texas. He designed a variety of buildings in San Angelo and West Texas including courthouses, commercial and public buildings, residences, and churches. His older brother, Frederick Ernst Ruffini (1851-1885), was also a prolific architect who from his Austin office designed many buildings throughout Texas. The …
Mesker Brothers 