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Historic Houston Postcards


SpaceCity

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The Gulf Building, constructed in 1929, remained Houston's tallest building until well after World War II. Although its builder, Jesse Jones, was not in favor of sky scrapers--he favored a height limit of ten stories--he seemed determined for his building to be the tallest in the city. It remained so until after his death.

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OK some more. Btw, the 1920 downtown postcard was taken from the location of today's City Hall. Quite a change.

Central Christian Church, Main St.

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Central Fire Station

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County Courthouse

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City Hall Annex, Market Square Louisiana Street side

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Carnegie Library, McKinney St.

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Downtown Synagogue

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Main Post Office, Franklin and Fannin

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Stewart Building, Fannin

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Medical Arts Building

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But wait, there's more!

A favorite around here, the West Building

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Fannin School

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Downtown High School

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St. Agnes Academy (now the site of Ventana Apartments)

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Lumberman's National Bank, Main St.

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South Texas National Bank, Main St.

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Houston Post Building, Texas at Milam

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Macatee Hotel, adjacent to Southern Pacific Station

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Milby Hotel, Texas at Travis

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Waddell Furniture, Fannin

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Enjoy.

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  • 10 months later...
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These postcards might be collector's items. Who knows? Someone out there might be willing to buy them off of E-Bay.

I was browsing through your forum and thought you might be interested in the following link:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/panoramic_photo/

It takes you to the Library of Congress archives. Type "Houston" in the box in the upper left hand corner of the page, and the site will bring up a series of panoramic skyline photos from the turn of the century.

As for postcard views, I know of at least one site that trades in such things (www.cardcow.com). Try this link for historic Houston postcards:

http://www.cardcow.com/home.php?cat=65109

You can even read the notes on the backs of the cards and download favorite scenes as wallpaper.

Great stuff!!

Edited by mike1
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Forgive my boosterism, but this shot is amazing

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My dad said that postcards used to be called "penny postcards" because they required just a one-cent stamp to mail them. Now I think that they require somewhere between a 20 and a 30-cent stamp.

As far as my personal memory of postage stamps, I remember you could seal the envelope and mail the letter with a 5-cent stamp. You could mail a letter with a 4-cent stamp but you had to tuck in the back flap; you couldn't seal it. I can also remember the 8-cent airmail stamp. But in reality most envelopes with one of those weren't flown.

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Hi y'all. I just signed up and have a question!! I hope this thread is in the right forum...

I live here in Houston, but I would like to find shops or stores that carry current postcards of Houston and/or Texas. I don't want to go to "touristy" spots (ie, Reliant Center, museums, etc) to find them!!

I've compiled a list of stores that I plan to call this morning to see if they carry them, but I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone knows of any firsthand.

I need stores between I-10 West (preferably close to Blalock) and the Astrodome/Med Center area. If y'all know of any stores in those specific areas, that would be great, but I can also go to areas inbetween (West U, Galleria area, etc).

Thanks in advance for any help!

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There are 2 Texas stores in the Galleria. They are located on opposite ends of the mall from each other. They sell all things Texas, including all types of Texas post cards.

Argh, that's right! Most major malls in Houston have a Texas-themed store.

I always meant to ask: How many states have stores that cater to all things related to that state? I mean, can one go to a mall in South Dakota and find a South Dakota store?

You can find South Carolina stores (or kiosks) in most of the malls over here.

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