Located between Houston and Corpus Christi is the town of Victoria.  It is referred to as “The Crossroads” because it is less than a two hour drive from Houston, Corpus Christi, Austin, and San Antonio.  It is thirty miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and is considered the perfect base camp for the Coastal Bend Region.  There are many attractions that we did not visit in Victoria, but what we did see made me hope to visit this historic town again.

At the Victoria Visitor Center, we were given Driving Tour Guide.  Driving around historic Victoria was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.  The first stop was the De Leon Plaza.

In the center of Victoria is the De Leon Plaza.  This plaza was originally created by Martin de Leon the founder of Victoria.  It is a beautiful garden space filled with trees, benches and a lovely bandstand.   I can just imagine enjoying a Sunday in the park in this plaza – the band would be playing, and children and adults alike would be playing and enjoying simple pleasures.

There is no shortage of historical markers in this fair city.

Six flags wave over the entrance to the plaza.  As you can see, downtown has its share of modern buildings overlooking this historic plaza.

Also in the De Leon Plaza is the Confederate Monument that is commonly known as “The Last Stand”.  This monument was dedicated in 1912.

As we continues our tour, we passed the Leibold Building that was built in 1910..  This is considered to be the oldest “drug store corner” in the state. (The last drug store closed in 1998.).  Now it houses “Rosebud Fountain and Grill”.  It was not open, but it would have been fun to visit the Rosebud and enjoy a 1950’s style soda fountain.

In 1985, the Victoria Bank and Trust commissioned these murals.  Each mural depicts actual businesses that were in Victoria at the turn of the century.  Very interesting.

Victoria County has one of the prettiest courthouses I have ever seen.  It was completed in 1892.

Be still my heart.  The driving tour also included many many turn-of-the-century homes.  Gorgeous!

The ornate iron fence around this home took my breath away.

The brochure said that their are over 80 historic buildings and homes on this driving tour.

One of the historic homes was for sale – if you are interested.

The smaller bungalows were so cute.  I can relate to these smaller homes.

I will include just a couple of more homes for you to see, but for the full effect, you need to visit Victoria.

Sweet Mother of Pearl.  There were so many amazing homes.  During the first weekend of April 2014, The Victoria Preservation, Inc. will host a Historic Homes Tour.  Five of the historic homes will be open.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see inside some of these homes?

Victoria has so much more to offer – outdoor recreation, museums, a zoo, and much much more.  Click HERE to go to their website for more information.  Maybe this would be a good trip for girlfriends to enjoy together.

Blessings to you and yours,

Thank you for reading.  Love!