TheGlen

So the historic accuracy of the bricks isn't officially noted in COH records? Are we really relying on the history of the bricks based on hearsay from locals?

No, I went down to the street and had a brickmaker look at the bricks themselves.  There are a few records here and there, but incomplete at best.  There are receipts and reports from the city as well as maps.  The brickmaker however was a definitive source of information.  He was able to give the age, location and type of the bricks involved.  The street itself is a horrific Frankenstein patchwork of paving, but it's dominated primarily by the red slate bricks.  There are some concrete bricks but those are at the earliest only twenty years old.  The most common bricks were the Coffeyville bricks, which are apparently very high quality but had a relatively short run.  The red/burgundy/wine colored bricks were the dead giveaway that they were from Kansas, not Texas.

I always wondered if the bricks aren't as historic as people think. They'll probably be a mish mash of bricks that were replaced sometime by the city in the 30s with leftover junk bricks laying around and the locals just think they're historic because the bricks have just been there awhile. The city probably kept bad records back then (they barely keep track of roads today).

City records were destroyed in 1935 because of the Magnolia Brewery Flood, and again in 1972 when the archives were full and the city just threw them away.  One reason researching Houston's history tends to be a fool's errand.

Who cares about those damn bricks? Tear up the streets and all those crappy houses around them. There's nothing but drugs and crime in there. Cant wait to see that last bit of 4th ward squeezed out. 

My editor.  She wants a story on the bricks, she gets a story on the bricks.

The more I research this the less sense it seems to make.  Tradition says the red bricks on Andrews was handmade by freed slaves locally for $1 each and those are the bricks that are still there.  The bricks were made from the mud of Buffalo Bayou either right after the Civil War or the Great Hurricane.

The problem with the story is that no brick cost $1 in either 1865 or 1904.  The bricks there are Kansas red slate, not Texas mud or clay.  The company that made the bricks was Pullum Brick, but the maker's marks on the bricks there are from Coffeyville Brick and Tile (in business 1893-1920).  The city and local community organizers are going at each other on this topic, but none of the evidence matches up with the story presented.

Looking for resources, as the facts as to the cause of the flood is disputed.  This is what I got from the official report at the Texas Room:

December 7, 1935 Downtown Houston got 5.62 inches of rain in one day.  Westfield got 11.5", but can't find any instance of flooding in that area.  Downtown Houston was under 8' of water at Milam.  5" doesn't seem to be a lot of rain to cause such devastating flooding, but those are the numbers cited.

Magnolia Bridge over Buffalo Bayou was the cause of the flood, mentioned specifically by name throughout the report.

Reason for flood is contested.  Bridge's base was too narrow for water to easily pass through, that is agreed on.  Whether the base of the bridge dammed up the bayou causing the flood or the pressure caused the water to flow through at to rapid a speed for the already full bayou to handle is in dispute.

Resulting flood destroyed almost all the bridges in Downtown, took every railroad out of commission, destroyed the farmer's market, MK&T railroad, post office and damaged every building in downtown.  Approximately 20-40% of the buildings downtown were damaged beyond repair, depending on the source.

Fire Department lost 8 trucks in the flood, most to put out the fire at the Yellow Cab building.  Pumping stations were out, HFD was forced to drive their trucks into the flood to be able to reach the fire.  Unknown if all the trucks were lost in this manner, photograph confirmed at least 4 trucks were flooded out stopping the Yellow Cab fire.

Seven people confirmed killed, though another source has 8 dead.

State investigation in 1937 placed blame solely on Magnolia Brewery and their bridge for causing the water to flow out of the Bayou directly into downtown.  The bridge was sited for causing an extremely strong current causing more damage than a simple overflow would have caused.

Those are my notes, looking for anything I missed.

From what I've discovered so far, Club Matinee was THE place for blues in the south.  I've found mentions of him in biographies for Cab Calloway, James Brown, Ray Charles, pretty much everyone that was any one.  Texas Room had very little on him except mentions in social pages.  The African studies library had two lines in their file on the club, they actually copied MY notes to add to theirs.  The Blues museum is being built right where the club stood, but it's not open yet. 

Talked to some gentlemen around the area and they gave me a bit of history on the place.  One of them found a friend that worked for Dickerson back in the 60's and 70's.  If what the man said was true, he was quite the powerhouse in local politics.  Dickerson, along with a gentleman named David Robey controlled the Fifth ward for decades.  Dickerson owned the Crystal White cab company (this is confirmed), the El Dorado night club, and half the businesses.  Robey ran Peacock records rather ruthlessly according to sources.  One source even mentioned how he laundered his money from the casinos, but I have no way of verifying that.

My magazine has decided to start a Lost Houston History column, one of the topics I was given was Louis Dickerson, owner of Club Matinee, the Crystal Hotel, Checkered Cab (name unverified), and two of the largest underground casinos in Houston.  I'm looking for any information on Club Matinee and Dickerson himself (Texas Monthly had his name as Dixon).  Matinee was apparently one of the greatest blues clubs ever, rivalling the legendary Cotton Club.  Dickerson according to some was the man that ran the 5th Ward, even having the police chief on his payroll according to some cops.  I can't find anything hard or fast, being Houston kind of expect that, so I'm searching around.  Are there any pictures of Club Matinee's famous Anchor Room, I've got a huge list of top names in blues that performed but no further information.  Also looking to see if he was the godfather of the fifth ward or was that fanciful elaboration from witnesses.  His death and the downspiral of the 5th Ward seem to be linked, but that could just be coincidence as well.

There were a series of hotels in Houston named for different parts of London, Stratford was one of them.

Had seen the ads, not the pictures.  Any history behind this place?

I managed to inherit the safe from the Stratford Hotel that was at 414 Fannin.  The safe has marking of the hotel all over it and I'm digging up any information about the hotel so I can sell it.  It's nice and historic, but I don't have any use for a 4 ton safe the size of a refrigerator.  I was able to find out the hotel was built in 1912, torn down approximately in the 1950's but that isn't verified.  Trying to find any pictures, history or anything that can put a story behind this safe.  The previous owner bought it when the hotel went out of business.  They didn't want to take it down the stairs to they put a bunch of mattresses outside and pushed it out of the 3rd story window.  It's fully functional, but the thing required a frontloader with men standing on the back for ballast or it would tip over.