Times Center Building At 2444 Times Blvd. in Houston Mod Posted July 9, 2008 My grandfather John Olson was the original owner of the building at2472 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 theoriginal construction of the Texas Gas Building:"I'm not sure about the building itself, but I'm pretty sure it's notwho they credit. It could have also been Flynn & Flynn. Actuallythere may not have even been an "architect". Probably most, if notall, of the design could be attributed to my father John Olson. Iknow the structural enginnering firm was Walter P Moore. The seal onthe 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 60,000square feet and was about 88% efficient in terms of net rentablespace. It was reinforced concrete with concrete pan-joistconstruction, and was considered the first "high rise" in SouthwestHouston, 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 thebuilding. They added immensely to the energy efficiency of thebuilding by shielding the windows from direct sunlight. The overhangabove the first floor was larger to shield the larger retail windowfronts on the first floor. The effect was no direct sunlight in theSummer when the sun is high in the sky, but it did let some sunlightin during the Winter months when the sun is low in the sky. Thisreduced cooling expenses in the Summer and also helped to reduceheating bills in the Winter. This same feature appeared on laterOlson buildings at 3801 Kirby and then at 3701 Kirby, which are stillstanding.My father and his brother Albert Olson Sr. operated as Olson Brothers. I believe the company operated in the late 40's through the early70's. Albert Olson, Sr. died in the late 50's and his sons Thomas andAlbert, Jr. continued to operate in the business. Thomas died in thelate 60's I believe. Olson Brothers later became Olson, Inc., whichwas bought out by La Mesa who still operates many of the sameproperties in the area.The Bolsover building was sold to a New York firm in the early 60's Ibelieve. It was again purchased by me and my brother Franklin Olsonin the 70's. We operated it until the early 2000's when we sold it toLa Mesa. They have since demolished it and plan a new multi functionfacility on the site as well as adjoining properties that they alreadowned from their original purchase from Olson Inc.Prior to building 2472 Bolsover, Olson Brothers built and ownedseveral other buildings in the Village including retail on Rice Blvd.,Bolsover, Times Blvd (not the 2444 Times building mentioned), andAmherst. One unique feature of 3 of their Village retail propertiesis parking on the roof.John L Olson"Meri Katherine Olson meri.olson@gmail.com
Times Center Building At 2444 Times Blvd.
in Houston Mod
Posted
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