Livingston-Hess House
228 W. Huisache Ave., San Antonio, TXThe Livingston-Hess House is a fine example of the Prairie Style, and is a significant contributing building in the Monte Vista Historic District.
The house at 228 West Huisache was built for Charles Livingston and his wife. Rose, in 1915, in the stylish area known as Laurel Heights, a development first platted in 1890. In about 1910, Mr. Livingston moved to San Antonio from Wausau, Wisconsin, where his family operated a successful department store. The Livingstons lived in this house less than a year when Mr. Livingston died suddenly. His widow moved to Milwaukee, and the house was sold to Louis L. Hess, a Texas rancher whose family members were among the early settlers of Marathon in Brewster County. The Hess' used the Huisache Avenue house as their city home, living there until about 1950.
Designed by San Antonio architect Emest P. Behles, the house is among the finest examples of early 20th century, pre-World War I design in the City of San Antonio's Monte Vista Historic District. Behles, a skilled practitioner of the era's popular Prairie Style, worked with local architects James Wahrenberger, Atlee B. Ayres, and Charles Boelhauwe before establishing his own firm in 1917. The Livingston-Hess House combines strong horizontal elements emphasized by contrasting dark brick and light cast stone, with tall vertical gables. It is arguably the most refined expression of this style among the few large houses of its type found in Monte Vista. Its exterior expresses a wealthy San Antonian's willingness to construct a "modem" house, while its interior bespeaks the owner's strong traditional tastes. The Livingston-Hess House and the 2-story R.B. Cherry House (1913) to the west also designed by Behles, attest to the architect's skill. Together with the 1-story R.B. Cherry House to the east (1917-18; architect unknown) they present perhaps the strongest statement of the Prairie Style in San Antonio.
The Livingston-Hess House meets Criterion C (local level) in the area of Architecture as a fine and intact example of early 20th century Prairie School influence, as well as of the work of architect Emest P. Behles whose career in San Antonio and Texas ended in 1918. The house is an important contributing building in a still largely residential neighborhood and retains a remarkably high degree of integrity. Its period of significance extends from 1915 until 1946.
Bibliography
Bexar County Deed Records
Blumenson, John J.-G. Identifying American Architecture. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1981.
Chambers, S. Allen, Jr. and Nancy B. Schwartz. What Style is it? Washington, D.C: The Preservation Press, 1983.
Comer, William. San Antonio de Bexar: A Guide and History. San Antonio. San Antonio: Bainbridge and Comer, 1890.
Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library archives
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.