MOLSON

My grandfather John Olson was the original owner of the building at 2472 Bolsover and many of the small strip centers in the Villaga area. I asked my father, John L. Olson, if he had any information about the original construction of the Texas Gas Building: "I'm not sure about the building itself, but I'm pretty sure it's not who they credit. It could have also been Flynn & Flynn. Actually there may not have even been an "architect". Probably most, if not all, of the design could be attributed to my father John Olson. I know the structural enginnering firm was Walter P Moore. The seal on the engineering design plans said Walter Zimmerman. The building was built in 1956-57. It was 4 stories plus a small "penthouse" for mechanical equipment. It had approximately 60,000 square feet and was about 88% efficient in terms of net rentable space. It was reinforced concrete with concrete pan-joist construction, and was considered the first "high rise" in Southwest Houston, and maybe in all of Houston outside of downtown. In my mind, the most unique feature of the building was the "eyebrows" (as one of my cousins called them) - the overhangs around the building. They added immensely to the energy efficiency of the building by shielding the windows from direct sunlight. The overhang above the first floor was larger to shield the larger retail window fronts on the first floor. The effect was no direct sunlight in the Summer when the sun is high in the sky, but it did let some sunlight in during the Winter months when the sun is low in the sky. This reduced cooling expenses in the Summer and also helped to reduce heating bills in the Winter. This same feature appeared on later Olson buildings at 3801 Kirby and then at 3701 Kirby, which are still standing. My father and his brother Albert Olson Sr. operated as Olson Brothers. I believe the company operated in the late 40's through the early 70's. Albert Olson, Sr. died in the late 50's and his sons Thomas and Albert, Jr. continued to operate in the business. Thomas died in the late 60's I believe. Olson Brothers later became Olson, Inc., which was bought out by La Mesa who still operates many of the same properties in the area. The Bolsover building was sold to a New York firm in the early 60's I believe. It was again purchased by me and my brother Franklin Olson in the 70's. We operated it until the early 2000's when we sold it to La Mesa. They have since demolished it and plan a new multi function facility on the site as well as adjoining properties that they alread owned from their original purchase from Olson Inc. Prior to building 2472 Bolsover, Olson Brothers built and owned several other buildings in the Village including retail on Rice Blvd., Bolsover, Times Blvd (not the 2444 Times building mentioned), and Amherst. One unique feature of 3 of their Village retail properties is parking on the roof. John L Olson" Meri Katherine Olson meri.olson@gmail.com