Lewis, Ella, Store and Rental Houses
3404--3406--3408 Courtland St., Houston, TXThe Ella Lewis General Store and Rental Houses are buildings near the center of Independence Heights. The properties are associated with the primary owner and businesswoman, Ella Lewis. Ms. Lewis is one of a number of independent business owners in the community during the period of significance. This is the only remaining complex consisting of both a general store/restaurant/dressmaking shop/residence and rental houses.
The Ella Lewis General Store and Rental Houses represents local business development in Independence Heights in the early part of the 20th century. Lewis opened the general store in about 1920 and operated it as a neighborhood grocery for most of the period of significance. The store offered a variety of grocery and confectionery items marketed to nearby residents. Lewis apparently lived in the 2-story building and is also listed as a dressmaker in the early 1920s. The building also housed Lewis' dressmaking shop and a small restaurant/café. This mix of small businesses appears common in the community and follows the pattern of black-owned businesses of the period.
Lewis also contracted for the construction of the adjacent rental houses in about 1920. Each house follows a basic shotgun form but is modified with bungalow features. Such houses were typical as rental houses and may actually be standard models available from local builders or lumber companies. Single ownership of rental buildings and an adjacent commercial enterprise is also documented in other African American neighborhoods of Houston.
This complex of buildings is a significant example of independent businesses operated by African Americans in Independence Heights. They are also representative of local commerce and ethnic heritage.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
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.