Kyle City Limits
by BRENDA STEWART
Kicking back on the porch swing at the Hays Free Press Sunday night, I smiled at my cool little town and reflected on what these two blocks of Center Street looked like when I landed in Kyle eight years ago. I promise you, there were no brick crosswalks or vintage-looking street lamps. It was pretty desolate and they rolled up the sidewalks and turned off the lights at nine.
The corner on which the new city hall now looms, glowing against the night sky, was a rubble-filled vacant slab, the remains of the historic Bon Ton which had burned to the ground the year before.
And across the street in the obviously-absent landlord-neglected eyesore still embarrassing us all, our county commissioner and justice of the peace were holed up in the mold-infested building, battling their work environment along with crime and county issues.
Bordeaux’s was still just a dream on the horizon for Larsen and Kasey (and everyone else in town wanting something besides barbecue, DQ or donuts) and the magnificently restored Old Town Gift Emporium was a parceled-off, drop ceilinged pizza joint with cracked windows and peeling paint.
The Pie Company was thriving, as always, but there were a series of nondescript “diners” that periodically propped signs up in the window of the building in which Hitter’s is now rocking six nights a week.
Across the street, the original city hall, bless its old soul, sat like a wart in the middle of a field. With warped linoleum floors, water-stained acoustical tile ceilings and cheaply paneled walls, it was impossible to imagine the stately building it had been in its day. And now, look at it, our crown jewel.
And although I know that there are structures in need of rehabilitation and protection all over town, one glaring and tragic example sits at the head of this two block stretch, wagging its wayward rain gutter and winking its missing window panes at everyone in sight.
Several months after I moved here, we watched as the historic train depot made its descent over the hill on Hwy. 150 on its journey back to Center Street. Once in place, we wondered as it sat suspended, perched on metal moving beams, for months. We gasped as we watched the city tack on clunky porches and railings and a series of failed handicap ramps.
And although this hundred-year-old relic was rescued from the scrap heap as Kyle itself fell into neglect in the sixties, it was bequeathed back to the city with the understanding that it would be restored to its original glory. With such a generous offer, this certainly seemed like a simple enough request. A Depot Board was appointed by the council and charged with the responsibility of researching and recommending a course of action to restore this beaut.
One problem. Evidently the city staff in place at the time had decided that restoration of this prized piece of Kyle’s history was not in keeping with their plans to modernize the depot into business offices. Subsequently, they usurped the Depot Board’s recommendations at every juncture, making decisions and holding meetings of which board members were not apprised and circumventing attempts to maintain the depot’s historical integrity.
Year after year as they manipulated and postponed decisions, the depot continued to disintegrate. And it’s in big trouble right now. Luckily, the council has revived the Depot Board and new members have been appointed to replace out-going members. And, although the city management is in flux as I write, we should have a new City Manager in the coming weeks, whom I trust will follow the council’s lead and recommendations in regard to the depot.
The money allocated for the restoration is drawn from the hotel/motel tax which, by law, can only be used for the promotion of local tourism and places no burden on property or business owners. Its use is merely contingent upon adopting a plan that the council feels will best achieve the goal of returning this precious structure to its original significance, as basic and unassuming as it was.
In its heyday, the depot offered respite to weary travelers and was the center of commerce and communication in a town that would surely have vanished had the railroad chosen an alternate path. It was the hub, and if not for the generosity of folks who love this town, we would have lost this crucial link to our past forever.
It will take time and patience and ingenuity to bring this building back, and we have the capacity to rescue this landmark. But with each passing day as it sits neglected, it fades a bit more. Time is of the essence.
