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    Houston
    Houston
    Houston
    Ebook199 pages58 minutes

    Houston

    By Daniel E. Monsanto

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Along the banks of Buffalo Bayou, Houston was founded by John and Augustus Allen on August 30, 1836. The city was named after Gen. Sam Houston, a prominent military hero of the Texas Revolution. After the Civil War ended, Houston flourished as agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests generated economic growth. In 1901, the discovery of oil at nearby Spindletop ushered in a new era, fueled by the addition of an inland port when the Houston Ship Channel was dredged in 1914. During the latter half of the 20th century, energy, space exploration, and the medical sciences placed this city on the world stage. Big dreams, big discoveries, hard work, and a little luck made Houston the thriving city it is today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 19, 2009
    ISBN9781439623381
    Houston

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      Book preview

      Houston - Daniel E. Monsanto

      collection.

      INTRODUCTION

      Houston lost a significant portion of its history to the relentless drumbeat of progress and development. One can choose to lament this loss or view it as a necessary step. This place seems to be reborn about every 20 years. A new cluster of skyscrapers appears, subdivisions sprout like cotton, and the freeways become wider and busier. However, Houston was not always like this.

      Our city once held less than 100,000 people. Locals traveled around town on an extensive streetcar system, which reached over 100 miles in length. Downtown’s tallest skyscrapers were no higher than 10 stories, and anything taller than that was considered unsafe. Families spent the hot summer nights sleeping inside their screened-in porches in order to catch Gulf breezes.

      Luxuries such as air-conditioning and the ubiquitous automobile enabled Houston to spread far and wide. Housing developments like Westmoreland and Montrose appeared as the city decentralized. Finally, with the advent of jet-era aviation, space exploration, large-scale petrochemical processing, and medical discovery, Houston rose to claim her current spot on the world stage.

      This city began as an entrepreneurial experiment. It is a small wonder that so many businessmen came to Houston to make their fortunes. Blessed with proximity to natural resources, a man-made channel to the sea, and excellent rail connections to the rest of the nation, Houston lured Jesse H. Jones, Ross Sterling, Glenn McCarthy, J. S. Cullinan, and many more. Even lesser known entrepreneurs like the Foley brothers and Michele DeGeorge came to Houston because they knew this was a special place.

      Equally impressive is the record of philanthropy that this city has benefited from. George H. Hermann, William M. Rice, Will C. Hogg, and Roy Cullen contributed vast amounts of money and land to help shape many of the critically important institutions that Houston is known for today. The city has also been blessed with the tireless efforts and generosity of its citizenry. From Mrs. Harris Masterson’s involvement to bring the YWCA to the city to Felix Tijerina’s dedicated service to Houston’s Hispanic communities, one cannot underestimate the impact of such support.

      Architects also left their mark on the city. Alfred C. Finn, Kenneth Franzheim, and Joseph Finger each contributed greatly to the building of Houston. Fortunately, some of their work exists to this day. Many outsiders accuse the city of being short on aesthetics, but, in reality, this is a true modern American city. It has been allowed to run free and unabridged without the hindrance of zoning laws and a very laissez-faire attitude towards development. This has come at a great cost, however, as many of the places featured in this postcard history are no longer standing.

      No better medium expresses the city’s transformation than the postcard. It acts as a chronicle and a window through time. One can view the earliest beginnings of the city, including horse-drawn carts in the streets and grand railway depots, to our first skyscrapers and suburban development. Each card tells a great deal about Houston, such as the prices for a plate of food or the particular amenities of a tourist court, and expresses the thoughts and feelings of the sender. A limitless amount of valuable information is contained in each of these treasures.

      As Houston progresses into the 21st century, it is fair to wonder just how much more the city will change. Will the Esperson Building still occupy a spot in the downtown skyline 100 years from now? Will Main Street once again become the vibrant place that it once was back in the 1920s? Will the remaining historic neighborhoods scattered throughout the city retain their distinct architectural identity over time? Here’s hoping that this small collection of postcards is more than just a glimpse at the past, but a window to the future as well.

      One

      THE EARLY YEARS

      Just over 27,500 people called Houston home in 1890. The city was divided into a series of wards emanating from the intersection of Main Street and Congress Avenue. Each ward contained a portion of the central business district and stretched to the city limits. Some of the low-slung commercial buildings fronting the 300 block of Main Street are visible at the bottom of this view. On the right side, Preston Avenue heads eastward as it passes the 1884 Harris County Courthouse.

      This was Houston’s central business district around 1890. The Third Ward, located south and east of downtown, encompassed homes of Houston’s first families along Main Street. The area became home to the city’s African American community as they assembled separate stores, hotels, churches, and schools. Two of the ward’s prominent landmarks include Texas Southern University—formerly Houston College for Negroes—and St. John Missionary Baptist Church.

      Houston’s Second Ward was bounded by Congress Avenue to the south and Buffalo Bayou to the north. The area consisted of working-class neighborhoods, warehouses, and factories. Many rail lines passed through the ward as a result of industrial development. Houston’s Hispanic communities made this ward their home in the early 1900s and in large numbers after World War II. Institutions such as Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and the Ripley House added to the community.

      In the 1830s, the area located north and east of downtown was known as an American Indian-style camping ground. Shanties, low-end hotels, and bars dotted the Fifth Ward by the 1870s. In 1874, the area attempted to secede from the city of Houston by claiming lack of city services and improvements. During

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