Meek, James V., House
3704 Garrott Ave., Houston, TXThe James V. Meek House (1905) is an excellent example of an early 20th-century Houston residence. The house was built by H.N. Jones for the Meek family and occupied by them for 49 years. The building represents the transition from the late 19th century Queen Anne style to the bungalow forms popular in the early 20th century. The Meek House meets Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an excellent example of early 20th-century domestic architecture popular in Houston.
Queen Anne houses primarily consisted of two major components; the first dealing with form and character, the second with detail and pattern. The Meek house is typical Queen Anne style with asymmetrical form, highlighted by a tower, an angular bay on the south side, and its side-gabled roof. The full-width porch which wraps around to the south side is also typical of Queen Anne. The bungalow form is suggested by the lack of ornamental detail, tapered porch supports, and brackets under the front eave of the house simulating exposed rafter tails.
The Meek House occupies 1-1/2 lots on Garrott Street between West Alabama and Marshall Avenues in Houston's Westmoreland Addition. Westmoreland was the first subdivision in Houston patterned after the private places of St. Louis. The plan was developed by the South End Land Company. W.W. Baldwin, president of the company, retained Julius Pitzman, the St. Louis civil engineer responsible for the private place neighborhoods in St. Louis such as Benton Place (1868), Vandervent Place (1870), and the Forest Park Addition (1888), to design the Westmoreland Addition for Houston. The St. Louis private places were all characterized by a main thoroughfare with an expansive median. The Westmoreland Addition was designed instead with the main thoroughfare (Westmoreland Avenue) being wider than the adjacent streets (Emerson and Marshall) with wide setbacks between the curb and the sidewalk. The entrance of Westmoreland was originally marked by brick piers that supported iron gates as were all of the St. Louis predecessors. These were positioned at the east end of Westmoreland Avenue but were demolished in the early 1950s.
James V. Meek was a Houston attorney and later judge. In 1905 he bought Lots 3 and 4 from the South End Land Company for $1600.00. Later Meek bought the south half of Lot 5 from C.M. and Carrie Kemp who built the house at 3700 Garrott. The Meeks sold Lot 3 to Stephen Kunn who built the house at 3706 Garrott. James V. Meek and their family resided at 3704 Garrott until his death in 1931. His widow Rosalie Meek remained in the residence until her death in 1954. In 1956 the Houston City directories record Brandt and Best and Associate photographers who lived and worked out of the residence. The house remained in their ownership through 1977 when Lammey Associates Architects purchased the house for a residence and business.
As seen in the historic photograph, the James V. Meek House has been preserved in essentially its original form. The additions (the two enclosures of the sleeping porches) are the only significant changes to the house. The addition of a swimming pool, garage, and guest house does not detract from the integrity of the house. Having been meticulously cared for both on the exterior and interior, the James V. Meek House is an excellent example of local domestic architecture and is eligible under Criterion C at the local level.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
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.