RedScare Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 These threads always amuse me. There is a belief that there were hundreds, even thousands of these mansions and modern Houston bulldozed them all. First, a little perspective. In 1870, Houston's population stood at a paltry 9,332. To house this puny population would take no more than 300 residences. Given that these mansions housed only the wealthiest Houstonians, and then, like today, their numbers were a tiny fraction of the total, you can estimate that no more than a couple dozen of these homes existed. The entire town of Houston fit within what is today's downtown and part of Midtown.By 1900, the population had swelled to 44,000, but even that is a small town, good for no better than the 85th largest city in the US. Two events then occured in rapid succession that change Houston forever, and doomed these homes. In 1900, the Great Storm hit Galveston, then Texas' premier city. It also hit Houston, causing severe damage. The damage is overshadowed by the damage done to Galveston. Then, in 1901, Spindletop came in, beginning Houston's rein as the energy capital. The population exploded to 138,000 by 1920, triple that of 1900, and 15 TIMES the population in 1870. Houston needed land for its growing downtown and prosperity. Those homes were in the way. There is no conspiracy. The ones that survived the storm had to go to make way for Houston's growth.Look at any city's footprint from when it had 10,000 to 15,000 residents to its modern footprint. You'll see few of the homes remaining. Houston is no different. What IS different is that those cities with large collections of 1900 mansions were already large cities. Check out the list.http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922422.htmlPlease stop comparing Houston to those cities. They grew at an earlier date. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumb Bob Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Houston was a planed commercial development. Once the infrastructure was put into place; cotton, oil, and shipping drove it's engine. Look at Frost Town. It's gone. Houston grew so fast, that by 1930 it was, and has stayed the largest city in Texas. Look at the 1891 map and you can see how spread out things were. Many of the "working class" lived in tiny box houses or stayed in apartments or boarding houses; if they lived in the city. You have to remember that there was a trolly service to get around. Here are some postcards of Main Street at around 1910. The original photo: Another postcard. Another promotional postcard. And sadly after the blight set in; the upper crust moved outward, leaving this sort of thing in downtown. (Houston 1944 - in color) There were many high rollers back in the day. The cotton exchange, the railroad, the oil field, made fortunes. As far as population goes, I'm sure that there were at least double the amount of people that lived outside the city limits of a couple of miles. Many labors, farmers, craftsman, along with their families that weren't counted. It sux eggs that all these grand houses are gone, but it appears to be like that in most of the big cities of today. -PB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumb Bob Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 OOPS, I forgot about this photo. This is what is enblazed in my memory of downtown..... this is the REAL reason they should have kept the mansions downtown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 In all fairness, the process of deterioration and commercialization of formerly high-end residential districts happened in many cities. Houston is hardly unique in that respect. Commonly former mansions were converted into apartments or funeral homes. Seeing as how it happened in many places, I suspect the process was at least in part driven by the greater use of streetcars and automobiles that allowed development further away from city centers. An excellent fictional account of this process is "The Magnificent Ambersons". Great book - I'd highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 There were many high rollers back in the day. The cotton exchange, the railroad, the oil field, made fortunes. As far as population goes, I'm sure that there were at least double the amount of people that lived outside the city limits of a couple of miles. Many labors, farmers, craftsman, along with their families that weren't counted.It sux eggs that all these grand houses are gone, but it appears to be like that in most of the big cities of today.-PBHouston population 1890 - 27,557Harris County population 1890 - 37,249Houston was not very spread out. Look at this 1895 map of Houston.http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd403/g4034/g4034h/ct002034.jp2&itemLink=r?ammem/mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,horyd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lhbumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bbc,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottlieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,denn,relpet,amss,aaeo,mff,afc911bib,mjm,mnwp,rbcmillerbib,molden,ww2map,mfdipbib,afcnyebib,klpmap,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapos,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharendt,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,mmorse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,afcwip,mtaft,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,mussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,afcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgproto,scsmbib,afccalbib,mamcol,:@field%28NUMBER+@band%28g4034h+ct002034%29%29&title=City+of+Houston+and+environs+/+compiled,+published+and+copyrighted+by+Whitty+%26+Stott,+engineers+and+surveyors.&style=gmd&legend=The City barely extended a half dozen blocks into Midtown. There is some development north of the bayou, but that would not be any of the mansions. The wealthy area of the city is wholly contained within the present day Downtown. And, as one of your pictures shows, as the wealthy moved out, decay set in. Again, there was no conspiracy to rid Houston of its mansions. They simply rotted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 OOPS, I forgot about this photo. This is what is enblazed in my memory of downtown..... this is the REAL reason they should have kept the mansions downtown. Who is "they"? And, why should "they" have kept rotting, ramshackle former mansions downtown? You know, these were not that well built homes, even though they were large. I was under my 100 year old bungalow last weekend, and was surprised to learn how little structural support was built into houses back them. The interior walls have no baseplates, just studs standing on the wood floor. The joists are only 2x10s, and set on 24 inch centers. As these homes begin to decay, there is much less residual support around it to support the home. They begin to sag and lean. They become unsafe. They get demolished. Life goes on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverartfox Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I grew up in Houston in the 1940's-50's and quite a few architecturally significant old mansions were still standing at that time. Some were in good shape, others less so, but the movers and shakers of this city weren't interested in preserving its past history. Unfortunately for Houston, most varieties of historic preservation still seems to be part of an elitist mindset. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earlydays Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Many old houses were also lost to fires.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Not downtown, but close. The Spur took out many old homes as well. The 1902 Westmoreland Addition extended eastward, nearly to Main St. The Waldo Mansion was moved from downtown and reconstructed in Westmoreland. I guess the only original home left downtown is the Kirby Mansion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neuman Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 In 1870, Houston's population stood at a paltry 9,332. To house this puny population would take no more than 300 residences. Given that these mansions housed only the wealthiest Houstonians, and then, like today, their numbers were a tiny fraction of the total, you can estimate that no more than a couple dozen of these homes existed. The entire town of Houston fit within what is today's downtown and part of Midtown.You may have to move your decimal point. I doubt that 30 people were living per house in the 1870's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 You may have to move your decimal point. I doubt that 30 people were living per house in the 1870's. True. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroMogul Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) Correction; there is ONE old, large mansion on Milam and McGowen. It's used as a CPA office and is in decent shape. Edited July 31, 2012 by MetroMogul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumb Bob Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Correction; there is ONE old, large mansion on Milam and McGowen. It's used as a CPA office and is in decent shape.Someone told me that house was moved to that site... can anyone confirm that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Correction; there is ONE old, large mansion on Milam and McGowen. It's used as a CPA office and is in decent shape.That's midtown. There's also one at Holman & Fannin, by that Episcopal church. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Notice - the Thief Who Came to Dinner posts now have their own topic here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/26897-the-thief-who-came-to-dinner/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 That's midtown. There's also one at Holman & Fannin, by that Episcopal church.Actually Francis and Fannin street. It's the Frank Bering house, that I posted the picture of .Here's an advertisement I found. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Actually Francis and Fannin street. It's the Frank Bering house, that I posted the picture of .Here's an advertisement I found.Yep, I noticed my previous post was 1 block off on my ride home yesterday. I think I read somewhere where Trinity Episcopal had bought that house. I think I got the church name right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 right!Trinity now owns the entire square block. The church doesn't have many resources so I hope the mansion can be preserved and restored.Apparently first owner, Frank Bering was relative of Berings hardware family 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EspersonBuildings Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Someone told me that house was moved to that site... can anyone confirm that?Yes I believe it was moved to this site but not by very much. I believe it used to face south on McGowen before being moved around the corner to face west on Milam. I'm almost sure I read this in the book that is mentioned at the beginning of this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 wow!! What a timely, historic photograph! Old Houses across the street from City Hall Shot from the top of city hall; 901 Bagby St, Houston, TX 77002 Date Original 8/5/1959 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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