Casa Navarro

Jose Antonio Navarro House Complex
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Casa Navarro State Historic Site in 2017
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Location	228 S. Laredo St., San Antonio, Texas
Coordinates	29°25′22″N 98°29′49″W / 29.42278°N 98.49694°W / 29.42278; -98.49694
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1855 (1855)
NRHP reference No.	72001353[1]
RTHL No.	3555
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 24, 1972
Designated NHL	December 23, 2016
Designated RTHL	1962

Casa Navarro is a historic site in San Antonio, Bexar County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The original house complex was the residence of Texas patriot José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871), a rancher, merchant, leading advocate for Tejano rights, and one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. Navarro first bought the property, about 1.5 acres, in 1832. The limestone, caliche block, and adobe structures were built c. 1832–1855, and Navarro moved onto the property soon after.^[2]

The site is situated in the heart of old San Antonio, in what used to be a thriving Tejano neighborhood known as Laredito. The structures were acquired and restored by the San Antonio Conservation Society between 1960 and 1964, and the site was opened to the public in October 1964. The site was designated a Texas State Historic Landmark in 1962, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. On January 1, 2008, the house was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission.^[3] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

Today, visitors can tour Navarro's one-story limestone house — a fine example of early-statehood domestic architecture — read copies of his writing and discuss questions of history with informed staff. There is also a two-story square store and office building, noted for its bold quoins, which anchor the edges of the building's walls. The detached adobe and caliche block kitchen is typical of early Texas architecture with front and rear porches.