DMac

Circa 1940'-50's Cnty 2 Courthouses in downtown Houston. The 2 specific I have in mind are (1) Criminal Courthouse & Jail facility (8 Flr's.) w/a street address of 624 Bagby @ corner of Capitol w/old 400 yo Hanging Oak Tree in front yard, tree still stands today (2K18). Believe Bldg. was opened in 1927 & torn down sometime during the 60's. At the time (1940) Bldg had some 15 tenets in the Bldg. Source data does not indicate who occupied floors 6-8. Cnty TB Assoc. was next door to it as a sm. stand alone Bldg. (2) Harris Cnty Courthouse (w.Domed roof, remodeled 2K10 and still occupied today) @ 311 Fannnin tween Congress & Preston Str's. Had some 59 tenets in Bldg. at the time (1940). This Bldg is very well documented w/many photos and narrative reports over its century of occupation. The old Historical Bagy/Capitol facility has hardly any recorded history @ all. This is the one I would like to concentrate on and ask for assistance from Peps familiar w/the area at the time. Any photos, stories, narrative reports etc. would be most helpful. Source materials for most of my data: 1945-46 City Directory located @ Houston Metro Research Facility inside 1923 Julia Ideson Bldg. Respectfully DMac

You could also check to see if your local branch for either Houston or Harris Cnty library systems have a copy. Save yourself $14 during these economic hard times.

Found sum additional data yesterday (Tue. 6/5/2K11) while doing some research @ SFA university's East Tx. Research Center located on 2nd floor of Steen library. L-C Cafeteria located @ S/E corner of Main (824) & Walker next door to Walgreen Drugs w/an address of 820 Main. GM @ that time was a Jerome J. Kristynik. 2 day there is a multi story parking structure labeled as Walker @ Main parking. However I find no listing for the cafeteria in the 45-46 directory. Will continue looking for some photos. My sister used to eat there every Wed w/her husband who worked @ LL Ridgeway Blueprint located @ concorse 8 BOSW Bldg. Directory shows a 22 flr. So. Coast Bldg. @ other end of block (806) Main @ Rusk. Source: Houston City Directory (Polk's) Vol. 68 pg. 697

Attemptiing 2 read some interesting materials (and hopefully photos too) re: LC Cafeteria, downtown. N my youth I seem to recall a stand alone surface Bldg, but both my older sisters recall they would walk down a flight of stairs to get to it. Both believe it was located in the lower levels of Walgreens. 1940 merchants map (very rare/unique map source) shows 2 Walgreens stores @ address as noted above in topic title. Respectfully DMac

So you can move applianes out front & back to clean bay floors.

Sum additional data/info. The old hisorical 12 story (no #10 noted from source, mechanical maybe?) Bldg. had a (710-20) San Jacinto address w/no address noted for Rusk. It is sited on the S/E corner of Rusk/San Jac w/a compass oreintation as north to south. In the lobby of the Bldg. was Eddie Rapp Cigar Store. The 4 adjacent streets are as follows: Capitol (1100 blk) w/Southwestern Bell Telephone across the str. San Jacinto (700 blk) w/old Sam Houston Post (now US Customs House) across the str. Rusk (1100 blk.) w/Alright Auto Park across the str. & Fannin (700 blk.) w/Houston Post, Tx. State Hotel, & Walgreen's across the str. Sources: 1940 Donwowner map w/specific details of ALL merchants/Bldg's. 1945-46 City Directory w/specific details a to ALL known tenents w/n each Bldg. etc. Respectfully DMac

Susan, as time permits may I suggest you search out the local chapter of Telephone Pioneers of America. Perhaps many of the retired folk might still retain the original printed versions or the local chapter may have a historical archive some where in the Houston/Harris Cnty area. As an aside, the (still operational) historical SWBT Bldg. @ the corner of Capitol/San Jac, is where my sister (now 72yo) took her training and worked the nite shift sum 5 decades ago.

Yes, thank U so much. This a good start. Now if I can just find some mo. BTW, might the big tree in the foreground be Houston's 400 yo Oak?

Thank you for your response. The attached photo is the old historical domed Courthouse that is currently undergoing preservation. It along w/many Bldg's in the CBD has four addressed entrances as follows: 311 Fannin (official mailing address), 1115 Preston, 312 San Jacinto, & 1115 COngress. FYI, Benjamin J Proctor operated the cigar stand in the lobby of the 1st flr. I am specifically searching for photos of the Capitol str. Courthouse that had the jail occupying the 4th & 5th floors. It was very near the corner od Bagby (600 block) & across the street was city FS #2, a 4 bay house.

Have discovered Harris Cnty had 2 operational court houses during 1945-46. (source: CD {City Directory}) Fannin (curently undergoing restoration) had some 15 court rooms and damned near every Cnty function immaginable. Capitol had 5 court rooms, jail etc. Fannin did not have a jail but both list SO's offices. Still researching when Capitol was built/torn down & was Fannin vacated. Cnty site doesen't have much courthouse history on it so gonna have to relie on CD's for data.

Anyone have any photos of the old historical Bldg. (now removed) formerly located @ the corner of Captol & Bagby, very near the 400 yo Oak tree? Would very much like to view during construction & other misc. photos of same. Respectfully Danny

Some additional information as reguards the old Cnty Criminal Courts/Jail Bldg. Started early this morn to search CD's (City Directories) for earliest mention & the 1897/98 edition mentions it on pg. 33 of misc. directory section. 1895/96 & prior years have it listed @ S/E cor. Caroline/Preston. Still gonna search out the un-named Bldg. just to the left of Cnty Courts/Jail facility.

I take it U have issues w/the following short cuts: Sum w/ N/E / (separating 2 words) pg. 2day 2 Etc. W/the passage of tyme U will get over it.

Sum brief notes on Houston's original Lyceum w/Ms. Julia Ideson as Librarian. First permanent Bldg. was from a grant from Carnegie & located @ N/E corner of McKinney/Travis. Really beautiful old Victorian structure. Source: 1913 City Directory, pg. 1 Directory of Householders. Second (and still standing 2day [HMRC]) is 1926 Julia Ideson Bldg. & immediately 2 the west is the Jessy Jones modern version of a library (fug ugly) looking structure.

A suggestion if I may. Next time your are @ Julia's (HMRC) might you check Capitol going west from Jct w/Rusk say about 43 to maybe 45-46 time frame for specific street address? Old Criminal Courts Bldg. was listed as having a Capitol address but no specific # was noted in City Directory for 45-46. Also old Central fire sta. 2 was noted as @ S/W corner of Capitol/Rusk, again w/no specific address. I live No. of the city in Shelby Cnty & next time I come N2 the city I will search out specific street addy for unnamed structure as noted on the Downtowner (9A) map. One last little tidbit, the very small Bldg. noted as an office just to the north (top) of Old Criminal Courts Bldg. might be the old Houston Anti- Tuberculosis League w/an address of 610-12 Bagby. My rationale is that odd #'d addy's are to the east & even #'d addy's are to the west.

What is the painting made of & how is it attached to the wall that makes it so costly to remove?

Question: Can anyone ID the problem w/the American flag as it flashes on the left side of the bull? Respectfully Danny

And its {City Auditorium} cornerstone is currently laid in the outside fore court of the Jones Hall of performing arts.

Tranquility park is bounded by Bagby {west, Hobby Cntr for the preforming arts}, Rusk {north, Bob Casey Federal Bldg.}, Smith {east, COH's Public Works Bldg.} & Walker {south, City Hall/Herman Sq.} City Auditorium complex has the following address' on Texas: 701 coffee shop, 702-708 City Auditorium, 703 Auditorium Hotel {in the basement were the valet & barber shop}, & 705 Auditorium drug store. Source: Morrison & Fourmy's 43-44 City Directory page 1411. Looking @ Downtowner Map of 1940 the Auditorium was located on the west 1/2 of the block {Texas, Capitol, Louisiana & Milam} and ran north to south tween Texas & Capitol, facing Louisiana {600 block}. It did not have a Louisiana or Capitol address. Today Jones Hall occupies that block w/an address of 601 Louisiana. Here is post card photo. I'll prowl about to see if I can find more & better quality photos.

Here are a few photos I've collected while prowling about the I-Net. And 1 showing fire sta. 2's four bay house located on the north side of the music Hall. This was B4 Sam's place was built.

Finally confirmation. Found an old Bob Bailey street scene photos that shows Western Union sign. Now gotta figure out if the facility located on Louisiana {now B of A Bldg.} was the central cable bldg. Thanks for all the input from the several sources that provided comments & photos.

I am certain you are correct. However when I walked thru it twice on Wednesday the 9th of Jan. it is no longer there. But there is a really HUGE open area where one could visualize a smaller 2 story Bldg. occupying the space. Further reseach has revealed that the WU facility {aka Commercial Nat'l. Bank} @ Franklin & Main now has 2 address's. 917 Franklin & 116 Main. Altho in the photos I can not see a doorway facing Main. The photos below show a doorway facing the corner of Franklin/Main and this may the the one that has the 116 Main address. And I have yet to locate name of lofts for this grand old Bldg., which by the way was built in 1909. Damned near 100 years ago. Now ain't that kool. 1 that was spared the tear it down metality.

I too read that, so when I was in the city on Jan7-12 I made a delibirate effort to go in and look about the B of A Bldg. and did not find any such western union facility. So that speculation can be laid to rest.

Emporis does not have a listing for either name, Commerical National Bank or Western Union. However there is a developer http://www.kaldis.com/commercial.HTML listed as converting to lofts in 2K3 I believe.

Thank you for these beautiful photos. You couldn't have picked a more perfect day. So now I have to ask, did you by any chance happen to see a cornerstone?