214 E Main St , Brenham, TX 77833(Washington County)

WILLIAM ZEISS BUILDING: William Zeiss came to Texas from Zigenhain, Germany in 1852 at the age of 19. He learned the bakery trade and bought this building in 1856 from the Giddings family. The bakery was located downstairs and was in operation until 1936.

For many years the second floor rooms were occupied by the Elks Club. Many dances and social functions were held here. This was considered the ultimate Social Center of Brenham. The dance floor is original and is still in excellent condition. For holiday dances the room would be decorated with green smilax or outlined with Spanish Moss. In addition to its regular Elk's Meeting, there would be domino and poker games in full swing much of the time. Many humorous stories have been told about things that happened here years ago.

When the Elks Club moved, the upstairs rooms were rented to businesses and dance studios. All six of the second floor rooms are vacant now and ready for remodeling. All the downstairs rooms are currently leased. The oldest and longest enduring businesses were the bakery, Mundelius Print Shop and a saloon. In the early years the saloon windows would be covered by large, solid metal exterior shutters as protection from stray bullets.

The stars above the second floor windows are indicators of a very interesting and early Texas history.