Mark Lardas - Vanished Houston Landmarks

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2020 by Mark Lardas

All rights reserved

First published 2020

e-book edition 2020

ISBN 978.1.43966.913.6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019951872

print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.281.6

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To my new daughter-in-law, Khai (Vicky) Hoan Nguyen Lardas. Welcome to the United States and Houston.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No book is the product of a single author. Many folks helped me as I wrote and assembled this book. Those who I especially would like to note include:

The Helen Hall Library in League City went above and beyond in providing materials from its Local History Collection and securing other material through interlibrary loan. This local public library is a great starting point for any researcher.

The University of Houston provided support in acquiring digital images. I have deep gratitude for Bethany Scott, Emily Vinson and Don Geraciat at the University of Houston. They went above and beyond the call of duty to help me get images from the universitys digital archives.

A similar thanks goes out to Matt Richardson, photography archive supervisor; the Houston Metropolitan Research Center at the Houston Public Library; and Sandra Cherry at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

I would also like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations that provided photos for this book: Marianne Avioliotis, Marianne Dyson, Bill Hensel (Port of Houston Authority), Paul Hester, the Houston Maritime Museum, William Lardas, John Lardas, Brian Reading and John H. Smith.

I would also like to thank Ben Gibson and Ashley Hill, my editors at The History Press, for their assistance.

The locations of the fifteen items presented in this book. They range from Spring, Texas, (Goodyear Blimp Bases) to Galveston, Texas (GalvestonHouston Electric Railroad). Drawing by author.

INTRODUCTION

Houston is often accused of being a city without a historyor at least a city that has forgotten its history. The first accusation is nonsense; Houston has a historyover 180 years of history. While much of Houstons history is local, some of it has literally changed the world. As to the accusation that Houston has forgotten its history, that has more foundation. Houstonians have traditionally been unsentimental about their historic landmarks; if something has outlived its usefulness, Houstonians typically yank it out and replace it with something more remunerative. It is a Houston tradition, so who are traditionalists to cry foul on a tradition? For that matter, if Houstonians can profit from stretching history a bitor even out of all recognitionthey will also do that. It is a tradition as old as the city itself. Read about that in this books first chapter.

If New York City is the Big Apple, New Orleans the Big Easy and Chicago the City of Broad Shoulders, then Houston is the City of Big Ideas. From the founding of Houston, the growth of cotton and the refining of petroleum to advancements in the medical industry, the development of its inland port and its tenure as Space City, all of Houstons big ideas were embraced and adopted by its citizens. With all of this innovation, is it surprising that Houstons past vanishes and gets forgotten, including its landmarks?

This book presents the story behind fifteen of Houstons past landmarks that are linked by modern obscurity. Some involve transportation, and others involve industry. Some of them are landmark buildings that were wiped away by progress, vanished places where people went for entertainment. Houston is filled with buildings that were once landmarks, places every Houstonian knew at one time but are now forgotten. Often, the events that occurred in these forgotten places are still remembered while the actual sites are shrouded in mysteries. The places mentioned in this book include the actual site of the first steamboat landing in Houston and the location of the Twin Sisters, two cannons that helped Texas gain its independence from Mexico. In other cases, while the locations of some of these places are known, their historic significance has been forgotten. These places include NASAs first Houston headquarters building, the site of the nations first public television station, the location where the worlds first shipping container landed and the Houston grocery store that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. For a moment, consider Houstons cotton industry. It dominated Houstons economy for two generations, but today, it has all but disappeared. The Cotton Exchange, which was once the beating economic heart of Houston, has so thoroughly vanished that it is now largely remembered for just one of its buildings.

Some of the locations in this book were places that every Houstonian knew about or used back when they were famous. These locations include the GalvestonHouston Electric Railroad, the Jefferson Davis Charity Hospital and the Goodyear Blimp Base north of Houston. You could not miss them when they were around. Other locations in this book are places where Houstonians sought entertainment. Some of these places include Buffs Stadium, Gilleys Nightclub and AstroWorld, and they were famous attractions. Folks who did not visit these places regularly would pass them. Even after these locations closed, memories of them were cherished for years. Now, they have been gone for so long that they are largely forgotten. This book also includes the story of a rich mans mansion that was only sort of famous because it was that rich mans mansion. It would have been completely forgotten if it had just been that, but the West Mansion, James M. Wests spectacular summer home on Clear Lake, became famous when it served as the home of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. The mansion was such an incongruous location for a scientific research center.

All of these stories are weird, funny, sad and, I hope, captivating. They should bring light to some of the forgotten yet fascinating corners of the Greater HoustonGalveston Metropolitan Area. The tales wander from Galveston to Spring and from Pasadena to Houstons west side.

If you enjoy the stories in the book and want more, do these two things:

1. Buy a copy of this book. Buy extra copies for yourself and your friends and relationsor even acquaintances. If enough copies sell, the publisher will want sequels. (They always do.)
2. If you know of a vanished Houston landmark that was neglected by this book, let me know. When I get fifteen suitable subjects, I will write More Vanished Houston Landmarks. I have a few right now. Remember the terra-cotta army replica that was overrun by the Grand Parkway? Did you know the first capitol building for the Republic of Texas stood where the Rice Hotel stands today? I have more.