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P.O. Box 70735 Houston, Texas
77270-0735
Tel: 713-861-4002
Fax: 713-868-2455
email:
info@houstonheights.org
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| HISTORY TOUR- PHOTOS |
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The photos presented in this section
have been selected from the Heights Centennial Photography book entitled
"Houston Heights 1891-1991; A Historical
Portrait and Contemporary Perspective". Sorry, but this book is
out of print.
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On May 5,1891, 0. M. Carter, President of the American Loan & Trust
Company, instructed his agents to begin buying 1,765 acres of land four miles northwest of Houston. The land was owned by Mrs. Sarah
Brashear who sold it to Carter's agents for $45 per acre. After purchasing the tract, Carter filed the charter for the Omaha and
South Texas Land Company in April 1892, and disclosed his intention to construct and operate on the tract, "a first class residence and
manufacturers locality..." On May 2, 1892, scarcely one year after the Omaha and South Texas Land Company acquired the land, 300 men
began clearing the land for "The Boulevard," later known as Heights Boulevard, the grand entrance into their residential area. The men
lived in tent camps on the property during construction. They also began clearing the land for a steam railroad to the planned industrial
section where Carter had enticed major manufacturing concerns to locate. A story has been told of an incident in which G. B.
Hengen, who was engineer in charge of construction, would have been killed
by a large pine tree as it was cut down in August 1892, had it not been for
D. D. Cooley, Supervisor of Development. Mr. Cooley upon
seeing the tree fall, called out "Mr. Hengen come at once!" Knowing that Mr. Hengen would respond immediately, Mr. Cooley knew that if
he had warned him any other way, Mr. Hengen would not have had time to get out of the way of the falling tree.
(Photograph courtesy of Carter Cooley Deli)
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Car No. 49 of the Houston City Street Railway Company, shown here
outside the car barn on Commerce Street, was decorated for a parade in downtown Houston given in December, 1893 for
prospective out-of-town investors. The parade consisted of several streetcars decorated with green boughs and alternating
white and red incandescent lights. At the front of the first car was a five-pointed star six feet across, also made of incandescent lights.
Between two decorated cars was an old mule-drawn streetcar, with the mule supplying the power. Each side was decorated with a sign
saying "past". The second decorated car pulled an old mule-drawn car and from the inside, a small gray mule peeped out. On the sides
of the mule-drawn car, a placard proclaimed, "I want a job." The first paid excursion on the streetcars to Houston Heights was taken by
Car No. 2 on Sunday, October 23, 1892, at a cost of five cents. Every Sunday hence, streetcars took visitors to Houston Heights to view
the wonders of the development. No matter how many cars were added to the trip, there never were enough cars to accommodate
the curious visitors. On April 2,1893, trailers were added to the cars for the first time, but even then, people rode out to Houston
Heights on the tops of the streetcars (Photograph courtesy of Houston Public Library,
HMRC) |
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Seventeen houses were built by the Omaha and South Texas Land
Company, primarily on Heights Boulevard and Harvard Street. Of these, five became homes for Carter and his associates,
D. D. Cooley, G. B. Hengen, John Milroy and
N. L. Mills. All were fine, elaborate homes built from the plans of George Franklin Barber, an
early Knoxville, Tennessee architect, who designed house plans and published them for
sale through catalogues. He revolutionized the concept of house plans, giving individuals the ability to have a house designed by an
architect without the cost of hiring one (in most cases and in many parts of the country, there were no architects to hire even if
desired.) In fact, Barber did not just sell his plans "as is", but encouraged his clients to make suggestions, which he would
incorporate into the plans they chose. All materials, including intricate millwork, could be ordered from the company and shipped
via railroad. Shown here is the original home of N. L. Mills at 1530 Heights
Boulevard, which later became the H. A. Paine residence in 1908.
According to Sister Agatha's History of Houston Heights this house was the most pretentious and highly decorative, with its intricate
"gingerbread" fretwork. The house was razed in 1964. Of the original 17 houses, only three remain standing today - 1802
Harvard Street, 443 Heights Boulevard and 1102 Heights Boulevard. (Photograph courtesy of Houston Public Library, HMRC;
history courtesy of Margaret Culbertson, librarian, Univ. of Houston,
School of Architecture) |
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George Wickton Hawkins, who moved to Houston Heights in 1904,
is shown here (seated on left) in Lansing, Michigan, where he traveled from Houston to purchase this 1902 Curved Dash
Runabout. Known as the Oldsmobile, it was the world's first mass-produced automobile. Designed by Ransom Eli Olds, who
founded the Olds Motor Works, the automobile was of a very short and simple buggy-type chassis with two long springs serving as
auxiliary side-members, on which was mounted a single-cylinder 1.6 liter motor engine, with trembler coil ignition, a 2-speed epicycle
transmission and central chain drive. The engine had an immense silencer and turned at 500 rpm - "one chug per telegraph pole." In
1902, G. W. Hawkins was to bring not one but many automobiles to Houston as president of the Hawkins Automobile and Gas Engine
Co. The little Olds was an instant success - in 1902, U.S. sales totaled 2,100 units. Mr. Hawkins was issued Motor Vehicle License
Plate No. 1. When James Ferguson became Governor of Texas in 1914, he insisted on having License Plate No, 1, so
G. W. Hawkins
relinquished that number and was issued License Plate No. 2. The tradition of governors having License Plate No. I has been
continued since that time. Incidentally, Ferguson, while in office, created the Texas Highway Department. (Photograph courtesy of
Mr. Grover C. Noonan Jr., grandson of G. W. Hawkins) |
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Correspondence dated December 9,1909, written by Mrs.
G.H.B. of Houston Heights reads "here is a handful of white Wyndotts. Wish
our little cow was in the picture." In the early days of Houston Heights, there were no restrictions against cattle grazing any place
in the community - and of course, none against any other kind of livestock. That changed however, when a stock law was passed in
1911 to keep cows from eating and trampling the more tender grass on the lawns of
the fine homes. The law however, did not apply to chickens which could do almost as much damage to a flower or vegetable garden
as even the wildest cow. As difficult as it was to pass the stock law, nothing could compare to what happened in 1913 when the
residents forced owners to keep chickens in their coop. Robert C. Patterson, an attorney with
Baker, Botts, Parker and Garwood who lived at 1116 Columbia Street, resorted to his own method while waiting for the ordinance.
He threaded tags, on long strings, through fat kernels of corn. The tags read "keep your confounded chickens at home." The chickens
would swallow the corn and then the string, but when they could not swallow the tag, they would return home, squawking and
fluttering until freed from the tags by their owners. Although some chickens' owners did not
like the lesson taught, eventually, the chicken law passed.
(Photograph courtesy of Carter & Cooley Deli) |
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When the members of the Houston Heights Woman's Club decided
to build a clubhouse on the lot donated to them by Mrs. Helen Cooley, the women held a carnival in 1911 to raise money for the
building. The carnival was held on the Heights playground, now the site of Hamilton Junior High School. The club also held benefit
the Heights' most beloved citizens, who graduated from her early home theatricals to become a
nationally famous actress. On September 13,1912, the Houston Heights Woman's Club met for the first time in their newly
constructed clubhouse at 1846 Harvard Street. The club's first president was Mrs.
W. A. Renn. Its opening celebration and
dedication took place on October 18,1912 and the guests of honor were Mr. and Mrs.
D. D. Cooley. Scarcely one year after the land
was donated, the members of the club had managed to furnish the clubhouse and completely pay off the debt of $1,500 owed for its
construction. The clubhouse has been used by its members continuously to the present time. Today, it is owned and
maintained by the Houston Heights Association and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
(Photograph courtesy of Houston Public Library, Heights branch) |
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Built about 1896, the Heights Natatorium was located in the old
Coombs Park at the end of Harvard Street at White Oak Bayou. The building had open galleries two and a half stories tall that
surrounded and overlooked the water. Dressing rooms were located on each floor. The entrance was flanked by a large round
tower and two smaller turrets on which flags were mounted. According to Sister Agatha's History of Houston Heights, the
original building burned early on and a more modest structure was erected (pictured here.) When Coombs Park was dismantled, the
Natatorium was also sold, eventually to the Vieweger family in 1907, who ran it for many years. Its last owners were Mrs. Beulah Dean
and Charles H. Dean Jr., who operated it from 1929 until 1942. For years it was a drawing card to the Heights before swimming pools
existed and was perhaps the most popular Heights attraction for young and old alike. This photograph was taken by Hawthorne
Ramage about 1913. (Photograph donated by Ms. Verna Topkins to Heights Museum Collection) |
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Shown from left to right is Octavia Watts, William E. Watts Feed
Store was located at 545 W. 19th Avenue) and Lee Watts, her husband, "Red" Follis, Bobby Reynolds, Espy Watts (son of Octavia
and William Willingham. The Watts moved to Houston Heights in 1931 and were in partnership with
A. L. Smalley at
the 19th Avenue Grain and Fuel Company. In 1945, the Watts opened their own store, which sold feed and supplies for cows,
pigs and chickens to their many Heights customers. Because they sold "Egg-A-Day Feed" for chickens, the Houston company painted
huge eggs all over the building to advertise their product. The Watts lost their lease in 1946 but moved their successful business
to 620 W. 19th Avenue where they operated the store until the death of Mr. Watts in 1948.
(Photograph courtesy of Octavia Watts Lemon) |
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Heights residents celebrate the Golden Jubilee in 1941, to honor
Houston Heights' 50th anniversary. The event was held on the esplanade of Heights Boulevard at 13th Avenue. According to an
article that appeared in the May 9th issue of the Heights Citizen, 20,000 people took part in the celebration which began with an
afternoon parade and ended at 10:30 p.m. with a two-hour speakers program and crowning of a
Golden Jubilee king and queen. Miss Gertrude Grant, an 18 year-old Reagan high school graduate, was
crowned "Queen of Today" by Mrs. Inger Moller, 77, who was crowned "Queen of Yesteryear." Mrs. Moller, a native of Denmark,
came to the Heights in 1891 when the area was first being developed.
Another Reagan graduate, Kenneth Walrod, was crowned "King of the Heights Golden Jubilee."
(Article donated to Heights Museum Collection by C. W. Keith; Photograph courtesy of Houston Public
Library, HMRC) |
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