1910 Harris County Courthouse Episode 4 Houston's Living History.

Welcome to Houston's Living History, the year is 1910. We are going to the New Harris County Courthouse and the Rice Hotel. This is Ann Becker. "Come on Houston lets take a walk through time" The harris county courthouse built in 1910 was the fifth Courthouse built in the very same spot.

There was a huge event celebrating the grand opening of this building loving called "the jewel of the south"

Houston in 1910 was a blustering city with a number of tall buildings. In 1909, a competition was held to select the architects to design a new Harris County courthouse.

Competition rules specified that the courthouse was to have a large dome and columnated facades. The winning design was a multiple story building with a very unusual cuppola.

AE ammerman was the County Judge in 1910, serving Harris County for four years and later he served the City of Houston again for four years as Mayor.

This 5th courthouse was designed by the winning firm of Lang and Witchel, successful Dallas-based arthitects. The cost at completion was about
590,000 dollars.

In 1910 houston population was around 78,800 residents. The Rice hotel was one of the most glamorous venues in houston, with a lobby was renowned for its beauty

John Kirby, a prominent lumberman, would have been the type of Houstonian to bring the famed opera singer, mary garden, to entertain at a private party She was Aberdeen's international opera star, Scotland's unofficial
amabassador to America, and as famous as any rock star is today.

Houstonians arrive in a 1904 Holdsman, a Rambler and a ford with whitewall tires to join the party.

In the Rice hotel lobby, celebrants with their children, are pleasantly surprised to see that the famous mary garden, along with her niece Fi, are on the balcony in the lobby and give a short preview of the evenings
performance. A hundred years have passed and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett is at the helm of another renovation of the Harris County Courthouse

A pinacle hoisted 100s of feet in the air is placed atop the courthouse dome The atrium remains a tangle of scaffolding.
This project required years of painstaking planning, design changes and nationwide searches for skilled artisans and materials to ensure the buildings' authenticity.


The eagerly anticipated opening should be soon.

On our next episode of Houston's Living History, the year is 1893 and "love is in the air".


Bartell, Jon D.
Becker, Dan
Bowen, Susan
Bute, Judy
Emmett, Judge Ed
Frischkorn III, David
Jackson, Sarah Canby
Kahn, David
Robbins, Fi
Robbins, Jennifer Featherston
Savage, Sarah
Savage, Palmer
Spillane, Courtney
Stava, Chuck

Category:

Education

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[HoustonLivingHistory]

Thanks Frank. Come on down to Texas and pitch it for me. :)

[HoustonLivingHistory]

Story Sloane also provided the 1909 opening panorama which he spent a

couple hours cleaning it up, the parade shot and the fire truck shot. Story Sloane Gallery has the absolute best privately held Houston photography collection available. Thanks Story III!

[ENDURASA]

Very interesting. I'd like to see the others. My,gt,gt grand mother was born in a home on the cornor ot Texas and Fannin across the street from Christ Church. That's now the Magnolia Hotel. Love the old history.

Curt Osborne

[HoustonLivingHistory]

@ENDURASA Curt, if you have a FB page, join Houston's Living History. Your gt. gt. is exactly the type of person we want to know about for future videos. Ann Becker

[crfeather]

Great job, Ann.  I love you series.

[HoustonLivingHistory]

@crfeather Thanks Cindy. The singer and her niece are really quite something aren't they?

[HoustonC3Courtney]

Congrats on RE-Opening day 8.23.11. Posting to FB to spread the good word:)

[frankxcameron]

Best yet Ann. Keep it up. This series should be in the schools.

[HoustonLivingHistory]

Photo of parade courtesy of Story III and Story Sloane Gallery.

Thanks to you!