Scanlan Building
405 Main St., Houston, TXCompleted in 1909 on the site of the first official "White House" of the Republic of Texas, the Scanlan Building is considered a landmark in Houston because of its association with the colorful Scanlan family, whose involvement in local politics, industry, and religion was noteworthy and often controversial. It is significant as the only known office building in Texas designed by D.H. Burnham & Company of Chicago, and because, as the first building of its size and style to be designed in Houston by a major national architect, it set a trend that still prevails. Because of its style, quality, and careful maintenance, the building has for seventy years made a valuable contribution to the economic well-being of Houston's central business district.
Thomas Howe Scanlan (November 10, 1832, July 9, 1906), born in Limerick County, Ireland, immigrated to New York with his family in 1839, and to Houston in 1853. His political career, which extended from 1867 through 1879, included service as Alderman of the Third Ward, two-term Mayor of Houston, and Postmaster of the city. As a representative of the Radical Reconstruction government of Texas, Scanlan was not a popular mayor. However, later historians have noted the many civic improvements made by his administration during a difficult period in Houston's history. Despite the criticism of his detractors, Scanlan continued to make Houston his home. He invested heavily in Houston real estate and was interested in a number of industries vital to the city's growth; the Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railway, the City Street Railway, the Houston Gas Light Company, and the ship channel improvement. A major occupation was the presidency of Houston's Water Works Company, a private (and the only) supplier of municipal water to the city. Scanlan had acquired a controlling interest in the company in the early 1880s and sold it to the city in 1906 shortly before his death. Its facilities form the basis of the present city water system.
As early as 1903, Scanlan planned a large modern office building on property at Main and Preston which he had owned since 1865. After his death, his seven spinster daughters carried out his wishes as a memorial to their father. Kate, who died in 1836 at approximately 60 years of age, was the decision maker, but the Scanlan Sisters always acted in concert. Devout, quiet, almost reclusive despite their great wealth, their lives were devoted to Catholic charities and the welfare of poor families of Mexican and Bohemian descent who lived near their 8,400-acre sugar plantation on the Brazos River southwest of Houston. At her death in 1947, Lillian established the Scanlan Foundation; and following the death of the last surviving Scanlan sister, Stella, in 1950, it was revealed that the entire Scanlan fortune would go to various Catholic religious orders and educational institutions, to individual scholarships, and to the Scanlan Foundation for Catholic charities. As an asset of the Foundation, the income from the Scanlan Building and the proceeds of its recent sale have been used for charitable purposes.
The property upon which the building rests was first purchased from the Allen brothers, founders of Houston, in January 1837, by Francis Richard Lubbock, who built a frame storehouse there. The property and its building were sold in 1838 to the Republic of Texas for use as the official home for Presidents Sam Houston and Mirabeau B. Lamar before the government was moved to Austin in late 1839. A plaque commemorating the site of the first White House of the Republic of Texas was placed on the entrance of the present building by the state in 1936. Aside from its historic connection, the site was an advantageous one, centrally located between the lower Main Street financial district and the Rice Hotel in one direction, and between Courthouse and Market Squares in the other. It was a logical site for a major office building.
When the Scanlan family selected D.H. Burnham & Co. of Chicago as its architect, they chose one of the most prestigious firms in America at the time. Daniel H. Burnham (1846- 1912) was a leading exponent of the Commercial Style of architecture which reached its zenith in America between 1890 and 1915. Examples of major works by Burnham or his firms (Burnham & Root, and D.H. Burnham & Co.) spanned the continent and extended to London and the Philippines. As an architect and city planner, Burnham gained fame as a designer and promoter of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In later life he headed commissions to extend the original plans for the District of Columbia; to modernize and rebuild Manila and the summer capital at Baguio in the Philippine Islands; and to select the site, architect, and sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial. He also planned improvements for the cities of San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. A member of A.I.A. since 1884, he was named a fellow in 1887, and president of the Association in 1894.
The Scanlan Building is the only office building and one of only two commissions known to have been completed by Burnham in Texas, the other being the 1904 Union Station in El Paso. At its opening, August 1, 1909, the Scanlan Building was hailed as the largest building in the largest city in the largest state. As the first of its type and size to be completed by a nationally acclaimed architectural firm, it set precedents that other owners raced to outdo, thus breaking the ten-story barrier that leading developer Jesse Jones had set as his personal ideal for the city. The trend toward superlatives still prevails in Houston today. The building's modern design and amenities as well as its desirable location made it attractive to prominent lawyers and physicians, and to real estate, oil, and insurance businesses, thus enhancing the economic base of Houston's central business district. Its design and quality of construction have enabled the building to survive with reasonable care and without major alteration and to maintain a respectable occupancy rate in an otherwise declining area where it still serves as a stabilizing influence. The owner plans to restore the exterior facades, update the interior facilities, and continue the use of the building as prime commercial space.
Bibliography
Houston Post. Copies of articles on file at the Texas Historical Commission.
Houston Press. (Copy of article in attached file)
McComb, David G. Houston, the Bayou City. Austin and London: University of Texas Press, 1969.
Timmons, Bascomb Nolly. Jesse Holman Jones. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1956
Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1969.
Withey, Henry F. and Elsie Rathburn. Biographical Dictionary of American Architects. Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, Inc., 1970.
Writers' Program, Works Projects Administration. Houston: A History and Guide. Houston: Anson Jones Press, 1942.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
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.