HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCL-D2DATE: August 11, 1997
TO: Historic Landmark Commission
FROM: Stephen C. Richardson, Planning Director
SUBJECT: Request for the designation of a Historic -Cultural Landmark Preservation District for
an area located approximately between First, Fourth and Eleventh Streets and
Broadway and Smart Street. The properties are within the Averill, Palm Place, Oaks,
Parkdale and McFaddin Second Additions.
FILE: HCL-D2
STAFF REPORT
Residents on the south side of Calder, in an area bound approximately by First, Fourth
and Eleventh Streets and Broadway and Smart, have come to the City requesting that
the Oaks Historic District be expanded into this area.
In June, 1993, the City of Beaumont created the Oaks Historic District in an area
roughly bound by McFaddin and Beech and First and Eleventh. This historic district
was the City's first.
With the creation of the Oaks Historic District has come increased interest in the area
on the part of property owners and investors. A recent article in the Beaumont
Enterprise states that the average residential purchase price has increased from
$32.76 per square foot in 1992 to $33.21 per square foot in 1996.
This historic designation is an overlay district. The underlying zoning and permitted
uses will not be affected. Zoning in the area consists of RS (Single Family Dwelling),
RM-H (Residential Multiple Family Highest Density), RCR (Residential Conservation
Revitalization), GC -MD (General Commercial -Multiple Family Dwelling) and HI
(Heavy Industrial). The historic district overlay will serve to facilitate preservation
and increased property values through design controls.
The extension of the Oaks Historic District Overlay to the south side of Calder is a
logical step. Historically, both sides of Calder developed hand -in -hand. Today, this
area north and south of Calder is commonly known as Old Town and is unified
through the Old Town Neighborhood Association.
The area is primarily residential with scattered commercial uses along arterial and
collector streets. A survey of historically significant and contributing structures on
the south side counted over 200 structures within the area that qualified. Almost 700
structures were constructed prior to 1950. 199 structures are SPARE properties.
In establishing a H-C - Historical -Cultural Landmark Preservation District, City
)' Council, the Historic Landmark Commission and the Planning Commission shall
consider, but not be limited to , one or more of the following criteria:
a. Existing or proposed recognition as a National Historic Landmark, or Texas
Historic Landmark, or entry or proposed entry into the National Register of
Historic Places;
b. Existence of distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type, or of the
social, economic, or political heritage of the City;
C. Identification as the work of a designer, architect, or builder whose work
influenced the growth or development of the City;
d. Embodiment of architectural design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship which
represent a significant architectural innovation or an outstanding example of
a particular historical, architectural or other cultural style or period;
e. Relationship to other buildings, structures, or places eligible for historic
preservation;
f. Exemplification of the cultural, economic, social, ethnic, or historical heritage
of the City, County, State or Nation;
g. Connected with a major historical event;
h. Listing in the SPARE Beaumont Survey;
I. Identification with a person(s) who greatly added to the culture or
development of the City, County, State or Nation; and
j. A building, structure, or place through its location has become of historic or
cultural value to a neighborhood or community.
The area in question meets all of the standards outlined in Section 30-39, Subsection (C),
regarding historical significance.
Condition A is met because the area contains a number of properties that could qualify for the
National Register or a Texas Historic Landmark. A report done by the Texas Department
of Transportation in April, 1993, identified 69 properties just along that portion of Liberty
and Laurel within the proposed.di strict as eligible for listing in the National Register. There
are a number of homes not yet designated but are eligible for HC (local) designations.
Conditions B and D are met because the aforementioned properties manifest significant
architectural characteristics and thus contribute to the social, economic and political heritage
of the City.
Condition C is met because many homes in the area were designed by notable architects who
designed many noteworthy buildings in Beaumont. Just some of the names include Henry
Mauer, William Watkin, U.O. Long, Frank T. Smith, Douglas Steinman, Fred Stone, L.W.
Pitts and others.
Condition E is met because of the fact that the many historical structures complement each
other and illustrate entire eras of Beaumont history. Many of these contributing structures
are eligible for historic designation and preservation.
Conditions F and I are met because the founding families of this area exemplified an important
cultural, economic, social and historical heritage of the city, county, state and nation.
Condition G is met because part of the area was the first residential section west of the
present-day Santa Fe Railroad tracks on Calder Ave. Even earlier history dates back to when
the Atascosito, or Opelousas, Trail passed through this area, just south of what is now
Liberty Avenue. First used by Native Americans, it later became one leg of the main east -
west cattle route across Southeast Texas.
Condition H is met because within the area are 199 structures listed in SPARE. Another 477
structures are SPARE eligible properties (pre-1950).
Condition J is met because the district contains scores of contributing structures which, due
to their proximity to historically significant structures, help define and strengthen the
significance of the district as a whole.
Exhibit are attached.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Notices mailed to property owners 957 .
Responses in Favor . Responses in Opposition
LEGAL DESCRIPTION FOR ORDINANCE PURPOSES
Averill Addition, Blocks 1-2, Lots 1-26, Block 3, Lots 14-26, Block 22, Lots 6,7, E %Z of 8,
12-26, Blocks 23-26, Lots 1-26, Block 27, Lots 14-26, Block 46, Lots 1-10, 14-26, Block
47, Lots 1-26, Block 48, Lots 1-10, Block 49, Lots 8-14, 18-23, 28-30, Palm Place Addition,
Block 1, Lots 1-3, Block 2, Lots 1-6, Oaks Addition, Block 1, Tr. 1-4, A, Block 2, Lots 1-
12, Blocks 3-6, Lots 1-18, Blocks 7-10, Lots 1-12, Blocks 11-14, Lots 1-18, Blocks 15-18,
Lots 1-12, Blocks 19-20, Lots 1-18, Parkdale Addition, Block 3, Lots 1-9, Blocks 4-9, Lots
1-12, Block 10, Lots 3-12, Block 15, Lots 2-9, Blocks 16-21, Lots 1-12, Block 22, Lots 5,
6, A, Block 25, Lots 1-6, Block 26, Lots 1-8, Block 27, Lots 1-12, McFaddin Second
Addition, Block 1, Lots 1-7, Block 3, Lots 7-10, Block 4, Lots 2-12, Blocks 5-9, Lots 1-12,
Block 10, Lots 2-11, Block 11, Lots 4-6, Blocks 12-15, Lots 1-6, City of Beaumont,
Jefferson County, Texas, encompassing 203.6 acres, more or less.
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FIFTH ST.
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i ul` FOURTH ST.
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THIRD ST'.
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Properties Within the Proposed Historic District
Subdivision
Block
Lot
AverillAddition
1,2
1-26
14-26
22
6,7,E 112 8,12-26
23-26
1-26
27
14-26
46
1-10,14-26
47
1-26
48
1-10
49
8-14,18-23,28-30
Palm Place
1
1-3
2
1-6
Oaks
1
Tr 1-4, A
2
1-12
3-6
1-18
7-10
1-12
11-14
1-18
15-18
1-12
19-20
1-18
Parkdale
3
1-9
4-9
1-12
10
3-12
15
2-9
16-21
1-12
22
5,6,A
25
1-6
26
1-8
27
1-12
McFaddin Second
1
1-7
3
7-10
4
2-12
5-9
1-12
10
2-11
11
4-6
12-15
1-6
6030 Marcus
Beaumont, TX 77708
August 6, 1997
To the Members of the Beaumont Historic Landmark Commission:
The history of the neighborhood around Liberty and Laurel
streets goes much further back than turn -of -the -century
Beaumont. The Atascosito, or Opelousas, Trail passed just
south of what is now Liberty Avenue. First used by Native
Americans, it later became one leg of the main east -west
route across Southeast Texas (as the Camino Real was to the
north) and was used by cattlemen taking their herds to the
New Orleans market. Eventually, because it passed through
the town of Liberty, it came to be called the Liberty Road
(see map records of Jefferson County, Averill Addition to
Beaumont, #131-132, recorded July 20, 1905). Many of the
trees that line Laurel and Liberty streets grew up at the
edge of this ancient trail while it was in active use, thus
now delineating its route.
Most of the land just to the north of the Liberty Road lies
on land originally granted by the Republic of Texas to Noah
Tevis, the first Anglo settler in the Beaumont area.
William McFaddin later bought the land and made it part of
his homeplace. The gate to the road leading through
McFaddin's pasture to his house was said to have been
located near Liberty Avenue and First Street.
The historic tradition of a community instills pride in its
citizens and enhances its value to the rest of the world.
As a longtime Beaumont historian and lifetime supporter of
the quality of life in our city, I can attest to the
unquestionable historic value of the area around Laurel and
Liberty streets and the appropriateness of including it as
part of the Oaks Historic District.
r
Sincerely,
&4 .
Judit Liz
AUG-06-97 03 - 1 b PH r.97.6
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Rstorlcal�Cultu.ral Background
of the Early Spreading of Beaumont
West of the Santa Pe Railroad Tracks on Calder
By Howard Perkins
Brief History of the McFaddin, Avertll, talcs, Parkdale, and Palm Place Additionxt
The district that includes parts of the McFaddin and Avertll subdivisions and the subdivisions known as Oaks, PRrkdale,
and Palm Place meets several of the criteria set (otth by the Historical Landmark Commission In Its application for historical•
cultural des'tgnatlor).
The McFaddin Addition today, for instance, is the oldest subdivision In the city that has remained a stable, viable resi-
dential neighborhood. Historically, the addition was platted in januaty 1898 and filed with the county clerk's office on March
11, 1899, It was the first residential section west of the present-day Santa Fe Railroad tracks on Calder Avenue. The railroad at
that time was known as the Sabine and East Texas. Boundaries of the addition extended west from the tracks along both sides of
Liberty Street to present-day $Ixth Street, north atQng Sixth to the tracks, and them southeast and south along the tracks back
to Liberty. A portion of the addition lay cast of the tracks in an area bardored by Gladys Street on the south, Gulf Street on the
east, Chaison Street on the north, and the tracks on the west.
Much of the land for this addition and the later Averill additions had been apart of the William MGFadd4i ranch
which lay primarily west of the tracks. A portion of this ptopetty had been a Republic of Texas land grant to William McFaddin
for his services lh the Texas Revolution. The southern boundary of this grant ran roughly where the MoPaddin•Watd Museurn
carriage house stands today on North Street, McFaddin later purchased land extonding to present-day Liberty Street, which, at
the time, was Liberty Road, or a major artery between Beaumont and Liberty.
When the addition was platted, there was roughly one house west of the tracks the William McFaddin ranch house
built In 1853 and located whore Fourth Strect Is today between McFaddin end North. In the mid-1890s, William McFaddin and
his wife, Rachael Williams McFaddin, died. Their estate was divided among their surviving children. The homoplace and
approximately 202 acres were Ieft to one of their daughters, DI Averill. It was she and het husbatsd, Col. W.C. Averill, who were
primarily responsible for developing the McFaddin Addition and they continued to live In the old ranch house.
A McFaddin grandson, Rufus Dudley Kent, in 1899, built a second structure west of the tracks ---- a home for his family,
located on what would later become the northwest corner of Calder anti Seventh. It was known to the family as the "Little
Ranch." The house was designed by an architect and stood on 20 acres of land, a portion of which might have been from the
original land grant. The home remained in the Kent family until it was demolished in the 19606. An automobile repair shop is
located titers today.
When the Kent home was built. Calder was just a graded extension from the tracks to serve the Kents. Access from
downtown Beaumont was through gates near the tracks which opened into the McFaddin property. New the house were stables,
the main barn, and a workfty farm complete with rows_ of corn and a number of varieties of animals and fowl.
By 1902, lumbar magnate 1. Frank Keith and his wife, Alice Carroll Keith, bought is block of land from the Averills bor-
dered by Calder, Sixth, McFaddin, and Seventh. Here they built the first palatial mansion west of the tracks. Designed by
Tennessee architect George F. Barber and named Arbol Grande, It wag and remained one ed Beaumones grandest homes until it
was demolished in 1949 to make way for a modatn supetmatket.
After 1902, building in the addition was rapid,
Henry Conrad Mauer, one of Beaumont's most prolific architects of the period and the city's first university-tralned
architect, designed many of the homes built in the McFaddin Addition and the later Averill additions. He also designed homes
is the Oak& Addition, which was first platted in 1902, and in the ParWvk AdditlQn. Mauer had come to Beaumont in 1901 to
work with Beaumont architect U.p. Long. His residential commissions In these additions Included (not a complete listing) the
1908 Bass -Flynn -Hobson house, 2108 Harrison (extant); the 1903 Ed Steadman home, northwest c4rner Pith and North
(demolished to make room for an apartment complex); the 19% Avertll-McFaddin•Ward house,1906 McFaddin (now a muse,
um)i the 1908 C. T. Heisig Lome, northeast corner of Fifth and Hazrl (demolished t4 make room far an apartment complex);
the 1906 T.V. Smelker home, northwest comer of Hazel and Fifth (extant); the 1905 Jerry Steadman home, southwest comer of
Fifth and Hazel (exwnth the 1905 A.L. Williams house, northeast corner of McFaddin and Fifth, now Blake's Clock Company,
and the 1922 George Adams, Sr,, home, southwest corner of Sixth txttd North (extant). Mauer designed many of the homes
south of Calder. Some of the larger commissions lined Seventh Street between Laurel -and Calder. These included the 1909
E.W. Tallifeiro home at 253 Seventh (extant); the 1909 E.6, Townes home at 275 Seventh (demolished to make room For
wpartmcntoi); and Elie 1909 W.M. Cam',- uk Noma n_ 41. houti,weve cora.sr Qf 5ov913th azxt Brcrutlway (domotislLed to make room for
apartmants. He aleo designed the R.E. Starch florae or, the northeast corner of Broadway and Fourth, which asap. was demol-
ished to make room for an apartment complex. He designed the 1907 J.E. josey home at 2337 Broadway (exthnt)i the 1909 C.R.
Chambers home at 2320 $roadway (demolished); rho 1906 R-C. Millet home at 2341 Liberty (demolished); the 1000 Hatrisen
Whitaker home at 2010 Broadway (demolished); and the 1911 J1. Cunningham home, 2105 Libcrty (extant). For many years,
r, �� � .-. f, V � � i i �. -• l 1• v Y J �• L G V CJ'-, J Y YJ
this was the home of Dr. David Worth Roberts, long-time minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church and a noted grapholo-
gist.
Mauer designed many of the buildings in Beaumont and surrounding communities. Some of Cites, still remain, They
include the old White: House Dry Goads Store, across Pearl Street from Tyrrell Hlstorieal Library (extant); the old Star Store
Building, corner of Orleans and Crockett (extant); the T.S. Reed Grocery Company Building, corner of Pearl and Bowie
(extant); Pietszch School, Highland Avenue (extant); the Alamo Block, Pearl Street (demolished); Beaumont Water Works
buildings on Pine Street (some extant); the Texaco Company office huildings In Port Arthur (extant); five city fire stations
(demolished in the 1930s); Silsbee State Bank (demolished in the early 1950.0; and the Adams Building in Port Arthur
(extent),
Mauer desismed many of the mansions built at the turn of the century by Beawuont families who were involved in lum•
bet, cattle, rice, or Spindletop oil or proceeds from the boom. These included the J.E, Broussard home on College (demolished);
tho M.L. Hinchee home on Park Street (extant); the Ed Eastham home: on Broadway (demolished); and, considered by some as
the most palatial home ever built in Beaumont, the 19C8 Valentine Wiese -Frank Youne house on Calder and demolished in
1957 according to the wishes of Mrs. Yount who had purchased the T.F. Rothwell home in Caldwood.
Mauer was a cQllege-trained architect. He was graduated From Pratt Institute In New York in 1898 with a degree in
architecture, where he would have graduated with honors had that designation been given in those days. At the time at Pratt,
architecture was a two-year program in the Fine Arts. After graduation, he returned to his native Texas, )Mauer was from
LaGrange and was born of German immigrant parants. His father, Ceorgc Mauer was a prosperous fartner and county commis-
sioner. When H enry Conrad Mauer died at his home on Magnolia Avenue In Beaumont in 1939, he was working on school
buildings for the old French School District,
Other well known architects designed homes in these additions. William Word Watkin, for instance, the first dean of
the architecture school at Rice, deaigned rhea 1920 W.A. Prlddle home tit 673 Fifth (extant) and the 1920 Perry Wieaa home at
1872 Calder (demolished). Other Beaumont architects designing homes in this area included U,O, Long, Frank T. Smith, Ben E.
Irby, Wallace B. Livesay, A. Babin, Newell Wiedemann, the T.H. Banker firm of Houston and Beaumont, Douglas Steinman,
Aibert Golemon, Fred Stone, L.W. Pitts, and others.
Livesay qnd Wiedemann designed the 1926 W.D. Gordon home at 96 Sevonth. Babin designed and built the 1912 Will
E. Orgain home at 195 Seventh. The Banker firm built the 1910 Stuart Smith home at 1792 Broadway from plans drawn up by
Mts. Smith. Banket also built the O.H. Pennock home at 1822 Broadway, Beaumonters considered it owt of the first bungalows
built in the city although today we might consider it neo-classical rather than bungalow in style. Interestingly eneugh, the L.H.
ParhhJW.W. Ward home at 407 Seventh (more recently a restaurant) is almost a mirror image of the Pennock hams tninus the
second story. Oldtimers will remember Mr. Ward as tong- time editor of the Beaumont Journal. Bankers Houston office designed
and constructed the 1912 Harry and Olga Keith Wiess home, northwest corner of Fifth and IvlcFaddin. Tho company had a pro.
(notional brochure printed, pratslpg the home's attributes.
As an example of the kind of meticulous planning attd detail that wer+t into some of the homes built in rheas additions,
one might look at the 1928 Judge T.H. Bowers home at 2390 Pecos Boulevard, now owned by William C. "Bill" Johnson, retired
senlor vice president and secretary of the board of directors of Texas Commerce Bank. Dcaigned by Beaumont architect )den E.
Irby, why was particularly adept with the ne o.cnlnnlal Idiom, the house was featured in the 1941 publication titled New Meas for
Building Your Home, published by Better Homes and Gardens, it was among 130 house plans that the magazine had chosen nation•
wide to feature its the publication. Tho book devotes a full page to the house, showing the front and east facades and the first
and second floor plans, The text discusses the merits of the design and tilts the owner, the architect, and the contractot, who
was Beaumontet John Edgar Heartfield, Johnson still has the original house plans and even the original landscaping plan by
Frank L, Bertsetiler.
In conclusion, the areas discussed in this essay developed over a perled of years; — from shortly before the turn of the
century to the present day. In fact, the areas are still developing. It's herd for us to imagine today that Thomas and Grace
Smelker considered their new home 1111906 at Hazel and Fifth to be "quite rural." It's also hard for us to imagine that James and
Com Weed thought they had "moved relatively far out into the country" when they settled into their new home at 325 Seventh
at the turn of the century, Because of the long period over which people built homes, the areas have an amazing diversity of
architectural styles. A good test of this statement is to drive down Broadway from First Street to Eleventh Street. it is true that
several of the houses have been "remuddled" so much that their inchiteetural integrity is lost, On the other hand, there are
numetpus houses that have seen little or no change since they were built, and they are good examples of the styles they were
Intended to convey — colonial, neo-classical, craftsman, neo-colonial. California bungalow, Queen Anne, mission, four -square,
Oeorgien, federal, English tudor, Spanish revival, Mediterranean revival, cottage, carpenter vernacular,
And, too,the houses in these areas were and are inextricably tied with the developnmont of the city. The were built by
people who developed the oil industry, the rice Industry --- by jurists, by merchants, by teachers, and by everyday, working peo-
ple,
&P.A.RX.
All of the existing structures discussed here, which are located south of Calder, are listed on the S.P.A.R,E. Beaumont
� � Survey.
AUG-06-97 02 -32 P19 69F.6
4032648940 P-02
Historical -Cultural Background
of the Early Spreading of Beaumont
West of the Santa Fe Radmod Tracks on Calder
19y Howard Perkins
Brief History of the McFadden Addition
The district known as the McFaddin Addition in Beaumont meeri several of the criteria set
forth by the Htsto'deai Landmark Commission in its application for historical -cultural designation,
Tho McFaddin Addition today, for instance, is the oldest subdivision In the city that has
remained a stable, viable residential neighborhood. Historically, the addition was platted in
January 1898 and filed with the county cler;t's Office on March 11, 1899. 1t was the first residential
section west of the present•day Santa Fe Railroad tracks on Calder Avenue. The railroad at that
time was known as the Sabine and East Texas. Boundriei of the addition extended west from the
ttacke along both aides of Liberty Street to present-day Sixth Street, north along Sixth to the tracks,
at;d then southeast and south along the tracks back to Liberty. A portion of the addition lay east of
the tracks in an area bordered by Gladys Street on the south, Gulf Street on the east, Ghaison
Street on the north, and the tracks on the west.
Much of the land for this addition had been a part of the William McFaddin ranch which
lay prtmarily west of the tracks. A portion of this pmmty had been a Republic of Texas land
grant to William McFaddin for his services In the Texas Revolution. The southern boundry of thin
grant ran roughly where the McFaddin-Ward Museum cAtrlage house stands today on North Street.
McFaddin later purchased land extending to present-day Liberty Street, which, at the time, was
Liberty Road, or a major artery between Beaumont and Liberty.
When the addition was platted, there was roughly one house west of the tracks — the
William McFaddin ranch house built In 1853 and located where Fourth Street Is today between
McFaddin and North. In the snid-1890s, William McFaddin and his wife, Rachael Williams
McFaddin, died, Their estate was divided among their surviving children, The homeplace and
approximatelyy 202 acres were left to one of their daughters, Di Averill. It was she and her
husband, Col. W,C Avetili, who were primarily responsible for developing the McFaddin
Addition and they continued to live in the old ranch house.
A McFaddin grandson, Rufus Dudley Kent, iri 1899, built a second structure wait of the
tracks -- a home for his family, located on what would later become the northwest corner of
Calder and Seventh. It was known to the family as the "Little Ranch." The house was designed by
an architect and stood on 20 acres of land, a portion of which might have been from the Original
land grant. The home remained In the Kent family until It was demolished in the 19608, An
automobile repair shop Is located there today.
When the Kent home was built, Calder was Just a graded extension from the tracks to
serve the Dents. Access from downtown Beaumont was through gates near tha tracks which opened
Into the McFaddin property. Near the house were stables, the main barn, and a working farm
complete with rows of corn and a number of varieties of animals and fowl.
By 1902, lumber magnate J. Frank Keith and his wife, Alice Carroll Keith, bought a block
of land froro the Averilh bordered by Calder, Sixth, McFaddin, and Seventh. Here they built the
first palatial mansion west of the tracks. Designed by Tennessee architect George F. Barber and
named Atbol Grande, it was and remained one of Beumont's grandest homes until it was
demolished in 1949 to make way for a modern supermarket.
After 1902, building h the addition was rapid,
Henry Conrad Mauer, one of Bcaumont's most prolific architects of the period, designed
many of the homes built In the McFaddin Addition and the later Averill Addition, located west of
the McFaddin Addition. Mauer had come to Beaumont in 1901 to work with Beaumont architect
U-0 Long. Within two years, he was In busing for himself and enjoyed acme of Beaumont's
largest archit+ectutal commissions In both private and public building, His residential commissions
In these additions included (net a ccmpleta 116ting) rate 1908 Bam•Fl nn-Hobson pause, 2108
Harrison (extent)! the 1905 Ed Steadman horse, nortbweat corner Firth and North (demolished to
r,�.s—t,c•—� r 02 -32 F'N 69T6
40c•2848940 P.03
make room for an apartment complex); the 1906 Averill-IvlcFaddin•Ward house, 1906 McFaddin
(now a museum); the 1908 C, T. He4ig home, northeast corner of Fifth and Haze! (demolished to
make room for an aparprtent complex); the 1906 T.V. Smclker home, northwest corner of Hazel and
Fifth (extant); the 1905 Jerry Steadman home, southwest corner of Fifth and Hazel (extant); and the
1912 George Adams, St., home, southwest corner of Sixth and North (extant).
Mauer designed many of the buildings in Beaumont and surrounding communities. Some of
theae still remain. They include the old White House Dr floods Store, across Pearl Street from
Tyrrell Historical Library (extant); the old Star Store Buiding, corner of Orleans and Crockett
(Mant)I the T.S. Reed Grocery Company Building, corner of Pearl and Bowie (extant), Pietsach
Schaal, Highland Avenue (extant); the Alamo Block, Pearl Street (demolished); Beaumont Water
Works buildings on Pine Sttect (same extant); the Texaco Company office buildings In Port Arthur
(extant); five city Arc stations (demolished in the 1930s); Silsbee State Bank (demolished in the
early 1950s); and the Adams Building in Part Arthur (extant),
Mauer designed may of the mansions built at the turn of the century by Beaumont
n
families who were involved in lumber, cattle, rice, or Sptndletop oil or proceeds from the boom.
These Included the I.E. Broussard home on College (demollshed); the M.L. HInchee home on Park
Street (extant); the Ed Eastham home on Broadway (demc,lisheA and, considered by some as the
most palatial home ever built In Beaumont, the 1908 Valentitic Wiess-Frank Yount house on
Calder and demolished in 1957 according to the wishes of Mrs. Yount who had purchased the 'I Z
Rothwell home In C oldwood.
Mauer was a college -trained atel,itect. He was graduated from Pratt Institute In 1rlew York
in 1898 with a degree In architecture, where he would have graduated with honors had th
designation been giver, In those days. At the time at Pratt, architecture was a two-year progat
ram in
the Fine tarts. After graduation, he returned to his native Texas. Mauer was from ear ngand was born of Clerman immigrant patents. His father, George Mauer was a prosperous farmer and
L;aQcounty commissioner. When Henry Conrad Mauer died at his home on Magnolia Avenue in
Beaumont in 1939, Ile was working on school buildings for the old French School District.
Other well-known architects designed homes in the McFaddin Addition, William Ward
Watkin, for instance, the first dean of the architecture school at Rice, designed the 1920 W.A.
Priddfe home at 675 Fifth (extant) and the 1920 perry Wiess home at 1872 Calder (demolished).
Other architects working in the area included Frank T. Smith and A. Sabin.
Many people who built in the McFaddin Addition were tied to the nil industry, Although
the present McFaddin-Ward house was built by W.0 Averill and Di Mr-F'addin Averill after the
old William and Rachael McFaddin home burned in early 1905, Di Averill switched this house
with her htother, W.P.H. McFaddin, In early 1907 for his home in the 1300 block of Calder
Avenue. When the addition was platted, the Averills, because of the placement of the old
McFaddin home, had reserved a large block of land bordered by McFaddin, Fifth, Hazel, and
Third 9trects, When the old house burned, they could then open Fourth Sttect to Hazel and North
Street from Third Street to Fifth Stteet, thus improving the value of their property.
W.P.H., McFaddin, in association with Valentine Wiess and W.W. Kyle, awned much of
the land where Spindletop come Into being. Consequently, the McFaddins, the Wiesses, and the
Kyles were inextricably linked with the oil Industry In Beaumont. Valentine Wiess became a tnalor
stockholder in the Gulf Oil Company, and iris brother, William Wfess, became a Uk%jor
stockholder in Texaco,
Three of William Wiess'a children have been mentioned earlier in the text of this paper:
Pcrry Wicss, Mrs. W.A. Priddie, and Harry Wiess. In 1912, Harry Wiess and his wife, Olga Keith
Wiess, daughter of J, Frank Keith and Alice Carroll Keith, mentioned earlier in the text, built the
home still standinp at 615 Fifth, designed by tho Houston architectural firm of T.H. Banker and
Company. It was here that Harry Wiess and his associates founded the Humble Oil and Refining
Company. The Wiesses later moved to Houston where he became president and chairman of the
board of the company, They were major contributors to Rice University and the Houston Museum
of Fine Arts, One of their daughters, Caroline Law of Houston, was recently named "angels of the
Houston atra for her substantial contributions to the fine arts In that city. " try and Olga wsess
contributed substantially to baptist HUspital in Beaumont, founding the Alice Keith Nursing School,
which was a major nursing training center until it was absorbed by Lamar University in the 19705.
The Keiths and the Wiesscs were also major contributors to other Beaumont charities and
organhatlotts, especially First Baptist Church, where Alice Keith was affectionately knovr as
"Mother Keith" until her death in t956. The Keith family also was instrumental in establishing
a
AUG-L36-?7 02 =�53 PH 69.S6
4OZ52848'340 P.04
1 Alice Keith Park on Highland Avenue, Old Keith Park had been downtown, complete with its
bandstand, but in tho late 1920s, the city took that property to build City Auditorium, now the Julie
Rodgers Theater,
ft was through the Wiess contaections with Rice University that Perry Wiem and Mrs.
Prlddie engaged William Ward Watkin to design their homes, mentioned earlier in the text.
Brief Notes on the Averill and Ida Reed Additions
The area west of Sixth Strect, including the present Averill and Ida Read additions, has
remained one of Beaumont's most stable nolghborhoods, especially the area including Harrison,
Long, and Ashley streets. These streets feature some of Bcaumones better homes and many are or
have been tied with families who lived In the McFadden Addition. For instance, Long Avenue
(going west from Seventh Strout) was developed during the 1930s. The first three homes built on
this Street were the Alexander and Signora Mdnshall house at 2425 Long, the Ida Keith home at
2400 Long, and the Virgil and Evelyn Keith home at 2490 Long. Signore Manhall was the
granddaughter of Valentine Wiass, mentioned earlier in the text; Ida Keith was the widow of John
L, Kelrh, brother of J. Frank Keith, mentioned earlier in the text; and Virgil Keith was Ida Keith's
oldest sort.
Again, these families were tied to the oil and lumber buslrnesges in Beaumont, among other
interests, Houses to this area were designed by some of Beaumont's best-known architects of the
period.
Wallace Livcsay designed the Marshall home in the Colonial Revival style and Fred
Stone designed the Isla Keith home In a Mediterranean Revival style. Stone designed the Jacob
Eisen home at 2301 Lang and L.W. Pitts designed the J.B. Morris home at 2395 Long. Stone and
Fitts were partners. Other architects working In the area were Ben Irby and Nuglas E. Steinman. In
fact, Steinman designed and built his home at 2355 Harrison and one of his daughtete still lives
there. John Staub, noted Houston architbct, designed the J. Cooke Wilson house on Ashley Street.
These man, a generation after Henry Conrad Mauer, helped give Beaumont a new face and
much of that face still exists today, Including the Julie Rodgers Theater, the Jack Brooks Federal
Building, and the YMCA. Stone, working with A. Babin, designed the Present J4crsvn County
Cotirthouse and Stone designed the American Consulate In Mexico City.
S.P.A.R.U.
Many structures in these additions are listed on the S.P.A.R.>~. Beaumont Survey. Thoso are
on file with the city and will not he addressed here.
Concluding Notes
One structure, the McFaddin•Ward House Museum, has been designated a National
Historic Landmark, a Texas Historic Landmark, and has been entered in the National Register of
Historic PIaces. The museum [s a constant success in bringing people to Beaumont. Last year alone,
9,000 visitors from 49 states and 17 foreign countries toured the facility. Visitors are always asking
museum personnel "What else h in the neighborhood?" With soma work and protection measures,
we could have much to tell visitors practically within walking distance of one of our most successful
muAvum attractions in Beaumont,
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