CARSTANJEN/GILLIAT/GRAY BUILDING
106 S. Main, Boerne

HISTORY: The Carstanjen Building on the corner of South Main and San Antonio Street, where Main Arbor is now located, was constructed by the descendants of Rudolph Carstanjen in 1901. The site was formerly the location of Homer's Livery Stable.

Mr. Carstanjen was one of the early Boerne pioneers, having come to Texas from Germany, by way of Rio De Janerio, in 1847. He was college educated and apparently had investments in Germany which allowed him to accumulate numerous properties in Boerne and Kendall County.

One of the early tenants of the "Rud" Carstanjen building was Levyson's Drug Store, 1904-1920. Sidney Levyson was five years old when his Jewish family moved to Boerne from Gonzales. He attended Holy Angel's Academy and Boerne High School prior to graduating from the University of Texas Pharmacy School in Galveston.

It was after his return to Boerne where Sidney was associated with his father in the drugstore business that he discovered symptoms of the dreaded leprosy disease. The drugstore was sold and the Levyson's moved to San Antonio.

Sidney Levyson was admitted to U.S. Marine Hospital No. 66 at Carville, Louisiana (then the U.S. Leprosarium) in 1931 where his name was changed to Stanley Stein to protect his family. He died in the Leper Colony some 36 years later at age 68.

Stanley Stein became world famous editor of the Leper Colony Magazine called "Sixty-Six Star", after the Boerne Star. He wrote a book before he died called "Alone No Longer".

The Carstanjen Building with its segmentally arched windows in the center looks much the same as it did in 1901."

The building was occupied for many years by the Plaza Drug Store owned by Bill and Wilda Williams. In 1941 Erhard Ebner purchased the drug operating it until he built his own building on the opposite corner of Main Street (See Opera House). The building was owned by the Boerne Land & Cattle Company, which was the Gilliat-Gray family. It is currently occupied by an antique dealer. - May, 1999.

Sources: Perry, Garland A., "Historic Images of Boerne, 1982", page 129; Boerne Star advertisement purchased by the First National Bank; Minor, Stacy Ebner, "Ebner's Drug Store", A HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY TEXAS, p262.

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