National Register Listing

Sam Houston Hotel

1117 Prairie St., Houston, TX

The Sam Houston Hotel (1924) represents an important period of growth for downtown Houston associated with rail and automobile travel and the rise of the "business traveler." The hotel is located on what is locally referred to as "Hotel Row" and is neighbored by two other historic hotels of the same era. The hotel is eligible in the area of Architecture as a representative example of high-rise construction by notable Texas architects Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb. The hotel embodies the distinctive characteristics of high-rise construction during the early twentieth century, as seen in the concrete frame structure, and by the design for light and air circulation which could be controlled by the individual patrons. The decorative cast stone and brick elements as well as the tripartite design (heavy base dominated by an expansive glass storefront, repetitive shaft, and strong cornice) are also representative of the skyscraper design of the early twentieth century. Despite alterations, the building's form, materials, and overall character remain. Plans to rehabilitate the building as a hotel are in progress and will be submitted as a certified rehabilitation with the National Park Service. The storefront design will be based on the extant examples and the interior plan configuration will be re-established in the new design.

Brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen founded the city of Houston in 1836. The city was platted by surveyors Cecil Borden (1801-1874) and Thomas H. Borden (1804-1877) and consisted of sixty-two blocks, two hundred fifty feet square. It was located in the southeast corner of the John Austin League that had been acquired by the Allens in August of 1836. The brothers named their town after General Sam Houston and promoted it as the "great interior commercial emporium of Texas." The Allen brothers were able to persuade the Texas legislature to designate the newly established city of Houston as the site of the temporary capital of the new Republic of Texas. In April of 1837, the legislature convened in Houston in a two-story wood frame building at the corner of Main and Texas Streets. The Republic of Texas Capital remained in Houston until 1839 when it moved to Austin. During the legislative session, incorporation was granted and James S. Holman became the first mayor. That same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County, renamed Harris County in 1839.

Between 1836 and 1838, the Allen brothers expanded the city limits south and east, and north across Buffalo Bayou. The growing city would soon see a wave of prosperity as trade connections were made and agriculture became the primary means of business. "Oceangoing ships brought to Galveston cargoes of cloth, flour, whisky, gunpowder, iron castings, lead, coffee, sugar, nails, books, and hundreds of little items. Small river steamships took the goods from Galveston to Houston. In the reverse direction came cotton, corn, and hides through Houston to Galveston and on to New Orleans, New York, and Europe." This prosperity continued through the late 1850s with the construction of the Houston and Texas Central Railways as well as the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railway. Railroad construction continued after the Civil War, which permitted merchants to expand into new markets and renewed Houston's role as a growing center of trade and finance. The County courthouse that was begun in 1860 was completed along with a permanent City Hall and Market House.

Houston underwent another explosion of growth after the turn of the century. The continuing railroad construction and additional connections, the discovery of oil, and the construction of a deep-draught ship channel were factors in the city's development. A new surge of construction in the lower downtown area favored classical architectural details and included designs by new architects, often of national reputation, who were called to Houston to undertake important commissions.

The First National Bank brought Sanguinet and Staats to Houston and established a branch office for the architectural firm, which operated until 1930. This branch office of Sanguinet and Staats Hedrick and Gottlieb produced the design for the Sam Houston Hotel. During the same period, Houston's Union Station was built and Houston saw a population increase from 44,633 in 1900 to 78,800 in 1910. This building boom lasted until about 1913.

The building boom following World War I in the 1920s eclipsed all previous episodes of rapid growth in Houston. The population of Houston soared to 138,276 by 1920. During this period, newer portions of downtown were created south and east of the Market Square area. The expansion of the First National Bank in 1923 and 1925 by Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb, and the Sam Houston Hotel were among the many downtown construction projects of this period. The Sam Houston was built on what was to become locally known as "Hotel Row," a row of hotels along and near Prairie Street, just blocks from Union Station and on the way to the heart of downtown. Of the hotels that lined the streets leading to downtown from Union Station, only the Sam Houston, The William Penn, the Ben Milam, and the Tennison remain. During the same time period, a third wing was added to the Rice Hotel, and the Warwick and the Auditorium were constructed nearby.

Sam Houston's design and the emphasis of its opening day advertising indicate that the hotel sought clientele of modest means, looking for value and some of the comforts of home while traveling on business. The painted signs on the hotel's party walls announce "No rooms over $2.50. No room under $2.00" and the description of the hotel's interior states that "Everything in the hotel, while modern and most beautiful, will be plain, no attempt having been made to add the many frills which usually feature present-day hotel construction." The clientele is referred to as the "traveling public" who will be provided with operations "at a nominal cost to the public." The goal of the hotel was to make its customers feel at home in a moderately priced hotel. As described by the hotel manager, "it is the frills and fancies of the modern hotel that cost." The Sam Houston Hotel operated under its original operators, the Sam Houston Hotel Company from 1924-1934, after which the Prairie Hotel Company operated the hotel until the mid-1970s. The hotel closed its doors in 1975 and has been unoccupied ever since.

Architectural Significance

The Sam Houston Hotel was named for General Sam Houston, who served as the first president of the Republic of Texas, and later as a U.S. senator and governor of the state.

The hotel was constructed for $500,000 with an additional $150,000 spent on the site and another $100,000 spent on furnishings. The hotel touted 200 rooms, each with its own bathroom and a view. The hotel was designed with the most modern conveniences of the time. Excerpts from the October 1st issue of the Houston-Post Dispatch describe the hotel on the day of opening ceremonies: "The Sam Houston Hotel will be one of the best-ventilated hotel structures in the State. Each door is being arranged with panels, which, with the ventilation in every hall, will afford a pleasant draft which may be regulated according to the desire of those who occupy rooms." It was placed on what was referred to as "Hotel Row," a row of hotels leading from the main train station to the heart of the city's downtown business district. The hotel's grand opening was quite an affair in Houston with more than 5000 people turning out for the gala. Sam Houston's son, Colonel A. J. Houston, was the first man to register in the hotel's guest book.

The Sam Houston Hotel was designed by the well-known Fort Worth and Houston-based firm of Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb. The contractor for the hotel was Don Hall of Houston, a well-known local who oversaw the construction of other well-known local projects such as the Cotton Exchange Building, the Art League Museum, and the Houston City Police and Fire Station.

The firm of Sanguinet and Staats began in 1902 when Marshall Robert Sanguinet and Carl G. Staats formed a partnership. Originally the firm was headquartered in Fort Worth and rapidly developed into one of the largest architectural practices in Texas. The firm produced different types of buildings ranging from factories to large hotels and homes. The firm is best known for its contributions to the design of steel-framed skyscrapers. At one time, the tallest buildings in Beaumont, Houston, Midland, San Antonio, and Waco's skylines were designed by Sanguinet and Staats. The firm's variety of designs transformed the scale and style of the state's ever-growing cities. Sanguinet and Staats was also one of the first firms to employ a large office team of architects, engineers, and other support staff. The firm eventually established offices in Dallas, Wichita Falls, San Antonio, Waco, and Houston and was also one of the first Texas firms to have statewide practice. Some of Sanguinet and Staats best-known works are the First National Bank Building in Houston, the Scarborough Building in Austin, the Neil P. Anderson Building in Fort Worth, and the Jackson Building in Jackson, Mississippi.

In 1922, Wyatt C. Hedrick bought a partial interest in the firm, and the new practice was known as Sanguinet, Staats and Hedrick. The Houston branch operated under the name of Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick and Gotlieb, under the direction of R. D. Gottlieb, a limited partner. In 1926, Wyatt Hedrick bought Sanguinet's and Staats' shares of the firm upon their retirement. Hedrick continued to practice under his own name in Fort Worth with limited partnerships in Houston and Dallas. Until the 1950s, Hedrick had a practice that spanned over the nation and at one time was considered the third-largest architectural firm in the United States. He designed a wide range of historical and modern styles. Some of his best-known works are the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, the Medical Arts Building in Fort Worth, and many facilities for various universities including Texas Tech, Texas Christian University, and the University of North Texas.

The Sam Houston Hotel was designed during the heyday of the Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb firms. During the same period, the firm was responsible for the Federal Reserve Branch Bank of Dallas Building (1921-1922), the Houston Cotton Exchange Building (1922-1924), and an addition to the First National Bank Building (1922-1925), the Houston Post Dispatch Building (1924-1926), the Medical Arts Building (1925-1926) and the Sam Houston Hotel. The tall buildings among this group conformed to a tripartite scheme but with more variety than the firm's earlier work. Projecting cornices were dispensed with and the "shaft" of the building tended to be treated more simply with a balance of verticality and horizontality, as is evident in the Medical Arts Building and in the Sam Houston. Stephen Fox describes the Sam Houston Hotel as "a lower budget version of the hotel style worked out in the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth and the Steven F. Austin Hotel in Austin." Indeed, both hotels, especially the Steven F. Austin Hotel, are similar to Sam Houston. As leaders in their field, the firm of Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb applied their design expertise to the Sam Houston in a way that reflected the modest and "plain" hotel their client wanted. The Sam Houston is hence representative of high-rise hotel design in general and representative of modestly priced hotels catering to the new traveling businessman.

The Sam Houston Hotel is similar in style, size, scale, materials, and massing to many downtown hotels built across Texas in the 1920s, such as Bryan's 1928 La Salle Hotel (George Louis Walling, architect; NR 2000), and the 1927 Jean Lafitte Hotel in Galveston (Andrew C. Fraser, architect; NR 1984). This type of fireproof construction, utilizing a concrete frame and brick veneer, was typical in Texas in the 1920s, and many hotel buildings and other commercial and industrial edifices marketed their 'fireproof rooms and construction. The Sam Houston Hotel is a good example of a 2- part vertical block with restrained ornamentation, exemplifying the style in its simplicity, symmetry, and detailing. The building's simple and elegant decorative elements include patterned brick on the second and tenth floors, the cast stone and limestone cornice, and the subtly stepped parapet.

Rehabilitation Plans for Sam Houston Hotel

The rehabilitation of the Sam Houston Hotel includes re-establishing the building as a hotel under the original name. Exterior work includes the repair and replacement of windows to match the existing windows on the upper floors, and configured to match the historic light pattern on the second floor - the majority of the existing windows are in good condition. The missing balconies on the top floor will be recreated and the storefront will be reconstructed based on what remains of the historic storefront. Entrances will be off of Prairie and San Jacinto, in the historic locations. Alternations to the historic storefront design will be made in one bay of the San Jacinto Street frontage to provide an enlarged service entrance. The roof will be replaced, historic windows on the penthouse levels will be repaired and the masonry will be repaired as required. The two historic painted signs on the party walls of the building will be left as found.

On the interior, the ground floor public spaces will be configured exactly as the historic hotel spaces were and the floor tile and ceiling treatments will be repaired and restored, including a lay-light and skylight centered on the lobby. The remainder of the ground floor will be used as a restaurant and bar, accessed from the lobby. Some form of interpretation of the historic hotel, the details of which are to be determined, is planned for both the formal hotel opening and for visitors to the hotel. The historic stairs in the lobby will be restored to take visitors to the second floor to the conference space and an exercise facility. The second floor will also provide access to an open-air roof deck at the rear of the building where restaurant and bar service will be available. The upper floors will serve as guest rooms. The historic corridor that served the guest rooms will be restored. The basement will be used for laundry and mechanical space.

The historic Sam Houston Hotel sign that once existed on the corner of Prairie and San Jacinto will be used as inspiration for a new sign in the same location. The flag pole will be replaced and a flag will be raised in the historic location. Sidewalk improvements by the city of Houston have been completed. Parking will be provided off-site. The rehabilitation is in the process of being certified by the National Park Service for the tax credit program. The Texas Historical Commission has reviewed the project and made recommendations that the owner is addressing in revised plans to be submitted back to the Texas Historical Commission in August of 2001. Construction began in July 2001.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2002.