Historic Houston Streets
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HOUSTON STREETS NAMED FOR MEN KILLED DURING WORLD WAR I
With the exception of the Civil War, the First World War was probably the most horrific event in American history up to that time. Hundreds of thousands of young American servicemen and women marched off to fight the “War to End All Wars” and many came home in a pine box. We were a much smaller city in 1920. People knew their neighbors and felt the grief at the lost son or daughter in the conflict of 1914-18. The combination of great angst and a desire to honor those that gave their lives in defense of their country prompted City Council to name a number of streets for those fallen heroes. Today many of those names are engraved on a brass plaque mounted on a large stone memorial behind the Heritage Society Museum at 1100 Bagby. Those persons with street names in their honor include: Russell Altic (U. S. Army – died of disease), Max Autry (U. S. Army – lost aboard ship), John L. Banks (U. S. Army – killed in action) or William W. Banks (U.S. Army – killed in action), Earl Barkdull (U.S. Army – killed in action), S. L. Barnes (U.S. Army – killed in action), H. B. Bartlett (U.S. Army – killed in action), Cecil G. Bethea (U.S. Army – killed in action), George H. Bissonnet (U. S. Army Air Corps – died in an aviation accident), Thomas R. Brailsford (U. S. Navy – unknown cause of death), Felix H. Briley (U.S. Army – killed in action), Captain John R. Burkett (U.S. Army – killed in action), Frank P. Burkhart (U. S. Marines – died of disease), Hugo O. Byrne (U.S. Army – died of wounds), Sergeant Henry R. Canfield (U. S. Army – died by accident), Joseph B. Caylor (U. S. Marines – killed in action), W. E. Chandler (U. S. Army – died of disease), William B. Cowart (Aviator – missing in action), Samuel L. D’Amico (U. S. Army – died of disease), Thomas Dismuke (U. S. Navy – killed in action), Justin Dorbandt (U. S. Army – died of disease), Herbert D. Dunlavy (U.S. Marines – killed in action), Lieutenant Karl L. Elliott (U. S. Army – died of disease), M. D. Everton (U. S. Army – killed in a Houston riot), August J. Fashion (U. S. Army – died of wounds), Lewis Floyd (U. S. Marines – died of disease), Captain R. M. Gibson (U. S. Army – died of disease), Lee G. Glogler (U. S. Army – died of disease), Alphonse Gonzales (U. S. Army – missing in action), Sergeant Thomas Green (U. S. Army – died of wounds), Lawrence Halpern (U. S. Navy – lost at sea), John P. Hawkins (U. S. Army – died of disease), Earl Hicks (U. S. Army – died of disease) or Thomas B. Hicks (U. S. Army – died of wounds), Fred Hopkins (U.S. Army – killed in action), Lawrence C. Jensen (U. S. Marines – killed in action), Ralph A. Johnson (U. S. Army – died on shipboard), William J. Jones (U. S. Army – died of disease), Colin M. Lemke (U. S. Army – died of disease), Andrew McCall (U.S. Army – killed in action), Allen J. McDonald (U. S. Army – died of disease), Lieutenant John McK. Mcintosh (U.S. Army – killed in action), Dr. H. Lee McNeil (U. S. Army – died of disease), Chester A. Meek (U.S. Army – killed in action), Charles E. Miller (U.S. Army – killed in action) or James E. Miller (U.S. Army – killed in action), Ollie Mills (U.S. Army – killed in action), Lieutenant Frank M. Moore (Aviator – killed in action) or Thomas W. Moore (U. S. Army – died by accident), Roscoe W. Morris (U. S. Navy – died by accident), Dominick Naplava (U. S. Army – killed in action), Robert E. Nettleton (U. S. Army – died of disease), Claud Nicholson (U.S. Army – killed in action), Sam L. Norvic (Aviator – died by accident), W. M. O’Reilly (U.S. Marines – killed in action), Charles H. Patterson (U. S. Marines – died of wounds), Sergeant R. C. Pecore (U. S. Army – died of disease), Nathan L. Pizner (U. S. Marines – killed in action), Sergeant T. H. Quinn (U. S. Army – died of disease), Sergeant Charles E. Russell (U. S. Army – died of disease), William L. Sanders (U. S. Army – died of disease), Herman Sauer (information not available), Marion Schuler (U. S. Army – died of wounds), Claud C. Simmons (U. S. Army – died of disease) or William L. Simmons (U.S. Army – killed in action), Sergeant Drue Singleton (U. S. Army – died of disease), Oscar Snover (U. S. Army – died of disease), James M. Stedman (U. S. Army – died of disease), James L. Styers (U. S. Army – died of disease), Harry Taggart (U. S. Navy – lost at sea), Ray Teetshorn (Aviator – died of disease), William Truett (U. S. Army – died of disease), Robert E. Tuck (U. S. Army – died of disease), Charles Vick (U. S. Army – killed in action), Leland J. Wagner (U. S. Army – killed in action ), Terrell T. Waugh (U. S. Marines – killed in action) Sergeant Joseph C. Weber (U. S. Marines – died of disease), Charles H. Westcott (U. S. Army – died of disease), Milton J. Winkler (U. S. Army – killed in action), Charles H. Wood (U. S. Army – killed in action) or Thomas W. Wood (U. S. Army – killed in action). 3
These streets are also named for service men that died but there are no additional details about them: Blossom, Butler, Collier, Kaiser and Lane. This last information came from 1930 City Guide & Map (Texas Map & Blue Print Co., 1930.)
ASHLAND: As Houston Heights co-founders Oscar M. Carter and Daniel D. Cooley were officers (president and cashier, respectively) of the First National Bank of Ashland, Nebraska before moving to the Houston area, it is likely this street is to remember that town. In addition D. D. Cooley was married in Ashland. 68
ASHTEX: See sidebar Howdy Tex, page 263.
ASTON: See sidebar Fairbanks Could Have Its Own Concours d’ Elegance and Road Rally, page 140.
ATASCOCITA: This road is most likely a misspelling of Atascosito, the Spanish name for a military trail laid out in the mid-1700s. It extended from the settlement and fort of Atascosito on the Trinity River through northern Harris County to Refugio and Goliad in South Texas. Eventually ranchers used it for driving cattle from Texas to New Orleans. It is probably the oldest street in the Houston area. 69
AUBURN: A land grant college in the eastern Alabama town of the same name, it was founded in 1859. The name was changed to Auburn University in 1960. 70
AUDEN: One of the developers of West University Place and Southside Place was Austin & Haden. This street is a contraction of the two partners’ surnames, W. D. Haden and D. T. Austin. 71
AUDUBON: See sidebar Laissez les bon temps roulez (Let the good times roll), page 188.
AUGUSTA: Augusta Bering was an early resident of Houston. Born here in 1860, she died in 1901. She was August Bering’s niece. This street is located just west of Bering Drive in southwest Houston. (See Bering.) 72
AUGUSTA: Just northeast of Golfcrest County Club this street recalls arguably the most beautiful golf links in America. The Augusta National Golf Course was designed by famed golfer Robert Trent Jones, the only person to win golf’s grand slam (National Open, National Amateur, British Open and British Amateur) in the same year (1930). He founded the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia in 1934. 73
HOUSTON STREETS WITH THE BEST ARCHITECTURE
Houston has been blessed over the past over the past 174 years to have had buildings and homes designed by some of finest architects in America as well as around the world. Do your self a favor and acquire a copy of Stephen Fox book, Houston Architectural Guide, the seminal source of architecturally significant structures in our fair city, and go for a Sunday drive on the following streets and roads for a truly awe inspiring experience. Below is a small sample of what I consider the finest examples with the street, structure, architect and date.
Bagby – City Hall – Joseph Finger - 1939
McKinney – Julia Ideson Building – William Ward Watkin - 1926
Sam Houston Park – A time capsule of Houston’s architecture - 1899
Louisiana – Wells Fargo Bank Plaza – Skidmore, Owens & Merrill – 1983; Bank of America Center – Johnson/Burgee - 1983; Pennzoil Place – Johnson/Burgee - 1976; Jones Hall – Caudill Rowlett Scott - 1966
Milam – El Paso Energy Building - Skidmore, Owens & Merrill - 1963
Texas – Alley Theater – MacKie & Kamrath - 1969; Annunciation Catholic Church – Nicholas Clayton - 1871
Smith – Tranquility Park – Tapley Associates - 1979; Kirby Mansion – James Bailey - 1926
Main – JPMorgan Chase Bank building – Alfred C. Finn – 1929; Sweeny, Coombs
& Fredericks Building – George Dickey – 1889; Rice University Campus – Various – 1912 to today; Wortham Fountain – John Burgee - 1993
Travis – Niels Esperson Building – John Eberson - 1927: Houston Cotton Exchange & Board of Trade – Eugene Heiner - 1884
Congress – La Carafe – Unknown – 1861
West Clay – Tribeca Lofts – Joseph Finger - 1936
Caroline – Light Guard Armory – Alfred C. Finn – 1925; Houston Holocaust Museum – Ralph Appelbaum & Associates - 1996
Isabella – Isabella Courts – W. D. Bordeaux - 1929
Montrose – University of St. Thomas Administration Building – Sanguinet, Staata & Barnes - 1912; Contemporary Arts Museum – Gunnar Birkerts & Associates - 1972
Courtland Place – the Entire Street – Briscoe, Warren & Wetmore, Finn, etc - 1911-21
Westmoreland – Private Homes - Cook & Co., Wilmer Waldo -1905-7
Sul Ross – Rothko Chapel – Howard Barnstone – 1971; Menil Collection – Renzo Piano – 1987
Yupon - Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum – Francois de Menil - 4011
Remington & Longfellow Lanes – Entire Streets – John F. Staub, Brisco & Dixon etc. - 1920-38
River Oaks – Entire Neighborhood – Various - 1923 to current
Fannin – St. Luke’s Medical Tower – Cesar Pelli - 1991
North & South Boulevards – Entire Streets – Briscoe, Staub, Watkin, etc. - 1924-30
Tynebrook – Private Home - Bruce Goff - 1960
Tall Oaks – Private Home – Frank Lloyd Wright - 1954
» AUSTIN: A portrait of Stephen F. Austin, Father of Texas Independence
AUSTIN: John – Brazoria was established in 1828 when this gentleman laid out the plat for this now historic Texas town. Austin said he chose the name “for the single reason that I know of none like it in the world.” 74
AUSTIN: Stephen Fuller – He is the Father of Texas. There are volumes detailing his great accomplishments. Just prior to his untimely death at the age of 43 in 1836 he wrote, “The prosperity of Texas has been the object of my labors, the idol of my existence--it has assumed the character of a religion for the guidance of my thoughts and actions, for fifteen years.” Why don’t we have men and women of character like Austin in political office today? On the original map of Houston (1836) this street was called Homer for the Greek poet who authored the Iliad and the Odyssey. The name was changed in 1839. (See map page 5.) 75
AUTRY: Max – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
AVALON: According to Arthurian legend this is the island where the mortally wounded King Arthur was taken for burial. Some stories say Glastonbury is actually the Isle of Avalon. (See Glastonbury.) 76
AVENIDA DE LAS AMERICAS: Great pressure was placed on the Planning & Development Department as well as City Council to give a Houston street this name to honor our neighbors to the south. The consuls from every Central and South American country in Houston wanted Post Oak Boulevard, the principal thoroughfare in the Galleria, changed to Avenida de las Americas. However, a compromise was reached and the new street in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center was so christened. 77
AVENUE H: During the 1940s the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds were on this street. During World War II the U. S. military took over the property and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp. Approximately 250 captured German soldiers were held here. The locals called the facility “Camp Fritz.” Prisoners worked on farms in the area until the war ended and they were repatriated. 78
AVONDALE: Houston historian Betty Chapman says this Montrose area street was named as the result of a citywide contest. Originally known as “Meyer’s Pasture” for its owner, Joseph E. Meyer, the 31-acres was sold to the Greater Houston Improvement Co. in 1907 for the princely sum of $105,000. Over 600 nominations were received, hoping to claim the $25 prize. Avondale was selected because of its Shakespearian connection and that it was “beautiful, musical, historical and appealed to culture, refinement and intelligence.” William Shakespeare lived in Stratford-on-Avon, England. The street to the north is Stratford. To the south the street was called Hathaway, for Shakespeare’s wife, Anne. However, its name was changed years ago when it was connected to Westheimer. 79
AWTY SCHOOL: This short road leads to the Awty International School of Houston. It is one of the city’s better preparatory schools. 80
B
B. F. TERRY: Benjamin Franklin Terry’s mother moved to Texas in 1834 from their home in Kentucky via Mississippi. Orphaned at a young age he was raised on the family plantation in Brazoria County. At 20 he took control of the business. In 1851 Terry won the contract to construct the first railroad in Texas: the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado. The following year he purchased the Oakland sugar plantation nearby and added considerably to his already sizable net worth. In 1861 Terry and Thomas Lubbock were named aides to General James Longstreet of the Confederate Army. Soon the Confederate War Department granted the men the authority to organize a cavalry unit, Terry’s Texas Rangers. They fought with valor at the first Battle of Manassas. Terry was killed in the Battle of Woodsonville. He was praised in the Texas state senate by Governor Frank Lubbock who said “no braver man ever lived-no truer patriot ever died.” 1
» B. F. TERRY: Grave Marker in Glenwood Cemetery
B. J. LEWIS: This street is named for a black pastor who lived in the Acres Homes area. His ministry was at the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church which he founded. 2
B. P. AMOCO: This corporation can trace its roots to 1866 when Charles Lockhart began shipping and storing crude and refined oil products. Today it is one of the world’s largest energy companies and consists of Amoco, ARCO, British Petroleum and Burmah Castrol. The company explores for oil and gas, operates refineries and petrochemical plants and produces solar power. 3
BACCHUS: He was the Roman god of wine. In Greek mythology his name is Dionysus. 4
BACE: The Bace family purchased a farm on the south side of Katy Road that originally belonged to the Beinhorns. J. D. Bace was a land developer. (See Beinhorn.) 5
BACLIFF: Once solely a weekend resort, it was originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea. In the 1960s the name was changed to Bacliff, a combination of its location on Galveston Bay and the old name of Clifton. 6
BAGBY: Thomas M. – Born in Virginia in 1814 he moved to Houston in 1837. Bagby was a commission merchant and prosperous cotton factor. He was a Freemason and member of the Presbyterian Church. Bagby was a founder of the Library and the Julia Ideson Building stands on the site of his residence. The Houston Public Library grew out of the Houston Lyceum that he chartered March 20, 1848. Bagby was also interested in horticulture, especially roses. One of the most famous rosebushes, a Lady Banksia, was trained across the entire length of Bagby’s front porch and was known for its profuse output of blossoms. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank in 1866, the city’s first bank with a national charter. It failed and was taken over by B.A Shepherd in 1867. (See Shepherd.) 7
BAILEY: James Briton “Brit” – He was born in North Carolina in 1779. He fought in the War of 1812. Bailey arrived in Texas in about 1818 and settled near the Brazos River. He named the place Bailey’s Prairie. He fought in two battles that preceded the Texas Revolution – Jones Creek (1824) and Velasco (1832). Bailey was known for his eccentric behavior. His will stated he should be buried standing up, facing west, with his rifle at his side and a whiskey jug between his feet. He did not live to see Texas win her independence as he died in a cholera epidemic in 1832. Legend says at night Bailey’s ghost called “Bailey’s Light” wanders the prairie lands here in search of more whiskey. 8
BAILEY: James – A number of Fourth Ward streets are named for early Houston mayors and I believe this is the case here as well. Bailey was mayor in 1846, the year that Texas was admitted to the Union. Among the major public works projects during his administration were drainage systems to help reduce the perennial threat of yellow fever. 9
BAIRD: C. L. – When Katy, Texas incorporated in 1945, this gentleman was elected the city’s first mayor. 10
BAKER: Basil – Born in Virginia in 1804, he moved to the area near where Decker’s Prairie is today. 11
BAKER: Hance – An early Baytown pioneer, Baker‘s home was used in 1844 to organize the first Methodist church in the area. Originally called Alexander Chapel after a well-known minister, it is now known as Cedar Bayou United Methodist Church. Baker allowed the congregation to use his home for services until they built a small log church building in 1847. (See Alexander.) 12
BAKER: Mosley – This Alabaman came to Texas in 1834 to join the fight for independence. He was a landowner in Fort Bend County. During the Revolution Captain Mosley’s heroic stand at San Felipe caused the Mexican army to retreat down river to cross the Brazos. He fought and was wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto. He served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1838-9. He died of yellow fever in 1848. 13
BAKER: Orestes J. – Born in Alabama this black librarian earned degrees at Morehouse College (A. B.), Hampton Library School (B. L. S.) and Columbia University (M. L. S.). In 1931 he was made head librarian at Prairie View A & M University, a position he would hold until his retirement. In addition Baker was Administrative Assistant to the University’s President from 1946-1966 as well as President of Prairie View Employees Credit Union for 18 years. 14
» BAKER: Street sign on Prairie View A&M campus
BAKER: The Baker family settled this area east of Katy, Texas in the 1800s. Anna Baker was the first female school bus driver for the Katy ISD. In 2006 her grandson, Craig, caused quite a stir when a group of Moslems bought property next door to his stone cutting business to build a mosque and demanded he move the operation elsewhere. He declined the offer and exercising his rights as a rural landowner announced construction a pig racing track. More than 100 people showed up for the first day of racing. The whole flap finally died down. 15