Search the Community

I remember hearing Spaw Glass used to be headquartered where the infamous 2727 Kirby high rise is located. I decided to do a little research. The contract for the new air conditioned, two classrooms addition, was awarded to Spaw-Glass Inc., 2727 Kirby Drive. Plans were prepared by Clyde F. Hall, 4549 Benning. The office building also leased space to several companies. These advertisements are from the 1960s and 1970s. American Institute of Motivation, Inc. located in Suite 312: Globe Personnel Consultants in Suite 316: Don Brelsford Company:

I was reading the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated May 25, 1955 and came across a Grand Opening advertisement for Bill Roberts’ Charcoal Inn Restaurant located at 2702 Kirby Drive. Grand Opening Wednesday – June 1 5:30 P.M. The Town Crier’s own Steakhouse The finest steaks broiled to succulent tenderness over the charcoal flame. Complete steak dinners from $3.25 Salad & Baked Potato Open daily for lunch—11:30 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. Bill Robert’s Charcoal In 2702 Kirby Drive (One block South of the Kirby-Westheimer intersection) JU-4888

I was researching the developer of the Westbury neighborhood of Houston. It looks like Ira Berne was the developer of the residential subdivision in Southwest Houston. Julian Keither also helped Ira Berne with the Westbury Company. (formally known as Berne Company?) Ira Berne also developed the Westbury Square Shopping Center as well. In the magazine House & Home dated February 1958 there was a small detail of the Westbury neighborhood. Westbury is the most active subdivision in Houston's growing southwest. Photo shows a portion of the first section, where 20 builders have erected houses. The finished development will have 5,000 lots. Most houses here sell for $16,000 to $35,000. His wife, Geral Berne, obituary mentions they lived at the Lamar Tower at 2929 Buffalo Speedway. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/houstonchronicle/name/geral-berne-obituary?id=20774692 A truepeoplesearch result also mentioned Ira Berne lived at 2929 Buffalo Speedway: 2929 Buffalo Speedway #2004 Houston, TX 77098 Harris County (Apr 1993 - Mar 2015) From the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated August 13, 1958: Westbury Will Be Site Of 1959 Home Builders Parade Of Homes The display of new homes, 1959 style, will be on 35 lots on Warm Springs in Westbury Section 3, adjacent to Parkwest. Julian Keither, of the Westbury Company, said homes on display will include both those of the type being constructed in Parkwest and in Westbury- Westbury addition is being developed by Ira Berne. Started early in 1955, the subdivision now has 1600 homes, and consists of Westbury, Parkwest, and Westbury South. Eventually the developers expect 4800 homes will be built on the 1700 acres included in the addition. The subdivision has two elementary school sites, one of which will be ready for this fall, and a senior high school site at Chimney Rock and Luddington. The new junior high school for the South Post Oak area is located adjacent to Westbury. There are also plans for a 50 acre shopping center to be known as Westbury Square at Bellfort and Chimney Rock. From houstonhistorymagazine.org: As the city’s boom continued through the 1950s and 1960s, other developers followed the same formula. In the mid-1950s Ira Berne’s Westbury Corporation developed the large Westbury neighborhood at the end of South Main. Covering three square miles and containing 5,000 homes. Consistent with the social conformity of the 1950s, all of Westbury’s homes were ranch house designs, but they featured a remarkable amount of stylistic diversity. If you can afford $125 or more a month Your family belongs in this picture.. Just picture your family in these wonderful surroundings... full of the warm satisfaction and pride your first fine home inspires. If you're looking for your first time home, and want to invest shrewdly, we suggest you visit Westbury. Take a leisurely look through the homes...walk through Westbury Square with its fine shops, restaurants and class fountain...drive through the miles of beautifully landscaped boulevards compare it with any community you've ever seen! We're sure you'll agree with the thousands of families who have looked...compared...and bought more homes in Westbury than anywhere else in Houston. So, if you're looking for a home...$17,000 to $52,500... drive out today! We're open from 9 'till 7 seven days a week. If you want any information before coming out call us at PA 3-2600. Westbury Post Oak Road at Willowbend Blvd. A Berne Company

I was reading the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated February 3, 1955 and came across a business advertisement for Tidelands Exploration Co. located at 2626 Westheimer Road in River Oaks. I assume this office building came before the Avalon shopping center on the corner of Westheimer and Kirby? Or, the office was housed inside the retail center.

I was reading the newspaper The Fayette County Record dated May 3, 1946 and came across the address for one of the TMC board members named Henry Markley "Mark" Crosswell Jr. He served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Medical Center for more than 38 years. Graduated from University of Texas at Austin in 1937. There is also a street in Houston named after him. Located within the Texas Medical Center Leland Anderson Campus off of South MacGregor Way. The John S. Dunn UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Center is located at 5615 H. Mark Crosswell Jr. Street, Houston, TX 77021. Wanted- White girl care two children, help housework; no cooking. Private room and bath, salary, $20.00 weekly. References. Write Mrs. H.M. Crosswell Jr., 2154 Dryden Road, Houston 5, Texas.

John H. Freeman was one of the people who started the MD Anderson Foundation. J.H. Freeman was General Counsel of the Anderson, Clayton and Company. The MD Anderson foundation consisted of: Horace Wilkins (State National Bank Vice President) John Freeman (General Counsel of the Anderson, Clayton and Company) Monroe Anderson (Co-founder of Anderson, Clayton and Company, Co-founder of Texas Medical Center and MDACC) William Bates (Fulbright and Jaworski attorney) As usual, most of the founders of the Texas Medical Center lived in River Oaks.

I was looking around for the famous Texas Medical Center trustee Lamar Fleming, Jr. and came across his River Oaks home at 2945 Lazy Lane. Completed in 1930, 2945 Lazy Lane was designed by Houston’s most eminent architect, John Staub, commissioned by a previous generation oilman, Harry C. Hanszen and his wife, Katherine. Its style was proposed after Staub returned from a European trip moved by a 12th-century Norman chateau. His clients were enthusiastic about the project to add a touch of the medieval to the third mansion in the Homewood section of River Oaks. Then the sound of a bulldozer pierced the air. Peering behind a wrought–iron fence encased in a green protective cover that effectively functioned as a shroud, and arriving in time for a close look as a dump truck departed, there were the visible remains of a once great house — a mansion notable twice, foremost for its architect, John Staub, as well as for its most illustrious resident, John Mecom Jr., the charismatic only son of a man who was at one-time among the top three independent oil producers in the world, wildcatter John Mecom Sr. https://www.papercitymag.com/home-design/storied-texas-mansion-demolished-john-mecom-john-staub-house-teardown-preservationists-outrage/ Persons attending brunch given by W.A. Smith and R.H. Abercrombie for Vice President Nixon Houston, Texas Sunday, June 12, 1955.

I was reading the newspaper The Sunday Citizen dated October 16, 1949 and came across an address for Colonel William B. Bates. It looks like Bates was Vice President of Texas Medical Center, Inc. and was replaced by John T. Jones, Jr. Too many famous Houstonians to type! I love looking where the rich and famous lived back in the day. All these founding partners/members of the Texas Medical Center lived in River Oaks! I guess when you are a world-renowned surgeon you have enough money to buy a parcel in RO. I wonder where the run-of-the-mill doctor in the TMC lives. I'd say in Museum District, Montrose, and Meyerland. Only the very wealth live in RO. Several Area Residents May Get C.C. Posts. Several residents of the Southwest are among the 14 men whose names have been submitted to members of the Chamber of Commerce for three-year terms on the chamber's board of directors. The nominees, seven of whom will be elected, were announced by Hines H. Baker, 2246 Troon Road, chairman of the nominating committee. Mr. Baker is president of Humble Oil. The nominees follow: Col. W.B. Bates, 2128 Brentwood, of Fullbright, Crooker, Freeman & Bates, attorneys. Warren S. Bellows, 1728 North Blvd., president of W.S. Bellows Construction-

I was reading the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated February 8, 1978 and came across an address for Herman Pressler. H.P. Pressler was another famous person of the Texas Medical Center. DAR Schedules Month's Events The John McKnitt Alexander chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, has two important events scheduled in the month of February. The annual Valentine party given for the veterans at the Veteran's Hospital will be at 4 p.m. Feb. 14th following the February chapter meeting. Members are urged to bring cookies for the veterans to the meeting Hostess for the event is Mrs. Larry Morris, 5326 Mandell. Mrs. Jane Bruyere and Mrs. P.G. A. Singleton are in charge of the veteran's Valentine party. In observance of George Washington's birthday, a tea will be given at the home of Mrs. Herman Pressler, 2133 Pine Valley Dr., honoring Mrs. Ford Hubbard and new chapter members. The hours are 2 to 4 p.m. Mrs. Robert E. Lee is chairman for the tea.

I was reading the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated October 21, 1964 and came across a residential address for the former President and Director of the Texas Medical Center, William Leland Anderson (W. Leland Anderson.) I don't think he liked his first name. Most of my research had his first name abbreviated as "W." An ancestry.com search helped me. There could be multiple William Leland Andersons but the birth date and place matched up with his family member Monroe D. Anderson. Ancestry.com also had Mr. Anderson living at 3214 Reba Drive in 1940. Both of his properties were in River Oaks. Seems like a lot of the early TMC officers lived in River Oaks. Heritage Society Coffee Slated. The Harris County Heritage Society annual fall membership coffee will be held Tuesday, October 27, from ten o'clock to twelve noon, at the home of Mrs. W. Leland Anderson, 8 Briarwood Circle. Receiving will be: Mrs. W. Leland Anderson, hostess; Mrs. Herman Pressler, president; Mrs. James L. Britton, Jr. chairman of entertainment; and Mrs. Searcy Bracewell.

I know Mitchell Westheimer had a 640-acre farm that was located off of Westheimer Road. There are two very famous Houston history websites that contain information about the farm. Tshaonline.org and Heritagesociety.org. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/westheimer-mitchell-louis Westheimer purchased at auction a 640-acre tract extending from what is now Bellaire Blvd. north beyond what is now Westheimer Road in Houston. The tract became known as the Westheimer Plantation. It featured a large, plantation-style residence on the site of present Lamar High School, stables for the livery, and a racetrack. In the 1860s Houston had no public schools, so Westheimer built a school on his farm, hired a teacher, and allowed area children to attend free. A miller by trade, Westheimer owned a flour mill in Houston, became a hay merchant in the 1850s and 1860s, and built the first streetcar rails in Houston. https://www.heritagesociety.org/westheimer-family When he arrived in Houston he quickly bought up a 640-acre tract that extended from where Holcombe Boulevard is today and north to the present Westheimer Road, bounded by Buffalo Speedway on the east and Fondren on the west. After buying his land, Westheimer built a flourmill and also operated for a time as a hay merchant. I was browsing old newspaper and maps and I found a little more information. From The Houston Post dated January 4, 1896: For Rent or Sale- My farm containing 150 acres, three and one-half miles west of Houston, in good cultivation, on a good road. Parties must furnish their own tams. M.L. Westheimer, No. 1113 San Jacinto Street. City of Houston directory dated 1886: Westheimer, Mitchell L., hay dealer r. and farm 3-1/2 miles w of city, at Westheimer Station. The Houston Post had an article that is dated March 23, 1887: Accidentally killed. At a late hour this evening, Judge Railey held an inquest over the body of Solomon Coleman, a school teacher of this city, who was accidentally killed while hunting on the prairie, near Westheimer Station, five miles west of Houston. The Houston Post had an article that is dated April 3, 1887: Headlight Flashes. All passenger trains entering the city were on time this morning. -- Conductor John Gray of the Texas Western railway has a force of men at work placing ties on the road between this city and Westheimer Station. A Houston map dated in 1895: It shows two parcels of land labeled "1" and "3" that is labeled "Westheimer." The parcels look to be roughly 3 to 5 miles west of the city core. I'm not sure if both of these equals the whole 640-acres. It doesn't look like that much land. Maybe 150 or 200 acres? Seems like half of the farm is missing. Maybe it was left off the map. Closer in, on the left. There was also an oval race track on his farm, or located on his other parcels of land. A map dated 1921 shows an oval track on Westheimer Road near Buffalo Speedway. Race Track For Lease- I will lease my one-mile regulation race track, three and one-half miles from Houston, to good, responsible parties. Address M.L. Westheimer, Houston. I am guessing that whole square parcel of where the race track is located in the 640-acre Westheimer Station Farm. Looks about equal in size to the Texas Medical Center's 500-Acre BioPort campus on Buffalo Speedway.

There has been some confusion about how Buffalo Speedway was named. In the discussion people have brought up the oval track on Westheimer Road and the oval track on Stella Link by the present-day Pershing Middle School. HAIF has figured out the large oval track on Stella Link near Buffalo Speedway was called the Houston Speedway, often times referred to the Bellaire Speedway. Nobody had concrete information about the oval track on Westheimer Road. Everything about the mysterious oval track was from maps and internet articles. I was researching Mitchell Louis Westheimer earlier this week. I was browsing the newspaper The Houston Daily Post dated January 4, 1896 and saw a classified ad by M.L. Westheimer about leasing of a race track. The ad states: Race Track For Lease- I will lease my one-mile regulation race track, three and one-half miles from Houston, to good, responsible parties. Address M.L. Westheimer, Houston. Here's a Bellaire map from 1921. You can see the edge of the city on the far right. The street grid with the rectangle dots that are, presumably, buildings. The oval track is roughly 3-1/2 miles west of the city. I think HAIF has finally figured this out! In the map by the oval track you can see the same rectangle dots and circular red dots. I'd imagine those were buildings (dwellings, stables, barns, shacks, etc.) and then red circles are, presumably, water wells. In 1906, Mitchell's wife posted a classified ad selling the remainder of the 640-Acre Westheimer farm. 88-1/2 acres left over. The ad states: My farm of 88 1/2 acres with dwellings, barns, wells, etc.; suitable for dairy or truck farm. Apply Mrs. M.L. Westheimer, 1501 Texas avenue.

I noticed a small remodel permit that was pulled. This 2-story office is sitting on very, very valuable land. I wonder when the old 2-story office building will no longer be feasible.

One of the founders of Kelsey Seybold lived in a fancy River Oaks estate at 2136 Brentwood Drive. It's now a City of Houston protected landmark. https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/landmarks/07L174_Dr_Mavis_P_Kelsey_Sr_House_2136_Brentwood.pdf The Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey , Sr., House at 2136 Brentwood Drive was built in 1940. It is an impressive example of the Greek Revival style home, built as a speculative house by C. C. Rouse in River Oaks. It was first occupied by the Wollmer family. The home was later owned and inhabited by Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey, Sr., for many years. Dr. Kelsey is most notable as the founder of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. The original cost summary prepared by C. C. Rouse and dated October 9, 1940 estimated the cost of building at $11,486. Records show that the actual cost was $12,241. The home’s first owners, the Wollmar family, purchased the home for $24,500. The sale was made by George P. Wright of the River Oaks Corporation. https://spencerhoward.net/portfolio_item/brentwood-residence

I was reading the newspaper The Houston Post dated October 30, 1921 and noticed a public school on Westheimer Road called John Smith School. I then found a library item that has more details. 2503 Westheimer Houston Forum of Civics of River Oaks Garden Club. Built about 1880 until 1920 The John Smith School. Restored in 1927 by Will Hogg. A memorial since 1942 to Will and Mike Hogg. Gardens added in 1955. Open to public. I just looked on Google satellite. The River Oaks Garden Club Forum is still there! Do they own that whole parcel? Can't even imagine how much that RO parcel is worth!! I bet Hines or Hanover could build something tall here

PROJECT: River Oaks Multifamily (assigned prelim name) ADDRESS: 1414 Waugh Houston, TX 77019 ARCHITECT: Page OWNER / DEVELOPER: Camden Securities Company INFORMATION: 34 floor residential high-rise tower containing 302 apartments with attached 6 level parking garage for 460 cars with amenity deck on roof. It will sit on the block bounded on the four sides by Waugh Drive, Bell Avenue, Rosine Street, and Pierce Avenue. The tower is approximately 594,826 gross square feet and the tower balconies are approximately 53,020 gross square feet. The parking garage is approximately 199,290 gross square feet. Residential floors will typically have private unit balconies on east and west elevations. Ground Floor areas will include the main lobby, building tenant services, office areas, fire command, security, mail room, maintenance, storage, loading dock, building fire and domestic water room, emergency generator, building electrical rooms, and drive through drop-off/delivery roadway. Tower level 6 is a tenant amenity floor containing fitness, recreation, socializing and workspaces for tenants. Contiguous with this floor level is the top of the parking garage where there will be 29,800 square feet of exterior tenant amenity spaces such as a lap pool, spa, lawn decks, paved decks, walking paths, fitness areas, and covered lounge areas. There is also a 2,063 square foot amenity deck at level 31 for social gatherings. The staggered picture frames on the exterior of the building will be translucent glass with internal LED lighting while the perimeter of the building elevations will be porcelain paneling. I have no information on the other phases except that a mid-rise / tower will be north of this one, between Bell and Clay.

I was browsing the newspaper The Thresher dated October 2, 1942 and came across a business ad for Pladium Bowling Lanes located at 1310 Mc Duffie St. Very cool! Never heard about this place before. I'd love to see some pictures, or a postcard. The bowing alley was located at the River Oaks Community Center complex. 20 Brunswick Centennial Lanes "Bowling at Its Best"

https://www.chron.com/homes/article/karl-kamrath-frank-lloyd-wright-houston-house-17354766.php

The Deal Company now has a River Oaks listing on their website. https://www.tdc-realty.com/3733-westheimer The Deal Company presents fully redeveloped 3733 Westheimer, a mixed use River Oaks retail and office building with abundant surface parking offering quick access to clients and employees. Co-tenants include: Atrium Yoga, BZach Clothier, Control Pilates, Manduu Fitness, Miclette Interiors, Nails Unique, Post N Parcel, Ritzy Alterations. I stopped by last weekend and took pictures.

This boutique office building is where DC Partners is located. 2506 West Main St. Here's the Loopnet listing:

Noticed this on Loopnet just now. I know there is activity down the street at 3314 Branard St. It's under contract so we will see what happens here. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/3262-Branard-St-Houston-TX/25580094/ JNK Property Group is pleased to present Tarleton Square Apartments. A well maintained, garden style apartment community located in the highly desirable Upper Kirby in Houston, TX. Built in 1962, this 18 unit community consists of three buildings with a mix of 10 one bedroom units, 4 two bedroom one bathroom units & 4 two bedroom two bathroom units. The property is 100% occupied and significant upside in increasing upcoming rents.

Demolition permit issued. Small office for a prefab concrete company?

Church in River Oaks. https://www.sjd.org/

I looked at these apartments the other day. They were nice and across the street from The RO. https://invernessapts.com/

Gables Cityscape located at 3720 W Alabama St. Anyone have any experiences here? https://www.gables.com/communities/texas/houston/gables-cityscape/