Sewall, Cleveland Harding, House
3452 Inwood St., Houston, TXThe Cleveland Harding Sewall Residence at 3452 Inwood in the heart of the River Oaks section of Houston, Texas, is an outstanding example of the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture that was popular in this country during the period from 1915 to 1930. Designed by the noted Texas architect Ralph Adams Cram in 1924, the house represents his most outstanding residential work. Mr. Cram was commissioned by the Sewalls because he had designed the original buildings on the Rice University campus and Mrs. Sewall was fond of his architectural style. The Sewalls moved into their new residence in 1925.
Mr. Sewall owned a wholesale grocery company, Gordon Sewall & Company Marine Division. He was a very successful businessman and enjoyed entertaining Houston society in his home with its spacious gardens. After his death in 1942, Mrs. Sewall assumed management of the wholesale grocery business.
The house sits on a tract of six acres in the center of River Oaks and adjoins the River Oaks Country Club on the north edge. Mr. and Mrs. Sewall furnished their palatial residence with Spanish, Jacobean, and Mediterranean furnishings and tapestries from Europe. Mrs. Sewall died in June 1973 at the age of 84 and willed her house and its fine furnishings to Rice University. Miss Louise Franklin, Mrs. Sewall's companion for 28 years, moved from the house in December 1973 along with the other servants. The Fine Arts Department at Rice University has retained most of the valuable furnishings, but the house has been left vacant and unattended since December 1973. During the time that has elapsed since the servants and Miss Franklin moved from the premises, the house has been brutally vandalized. Almost every window has been broken as well as the fine mirrors. Rice University's board of governors has voted recently to sell the property into three two-acre tracts at $5.00 per square foot for a total of $1,300,000. At the present time, the Texas Commerce Bank, executor of the estate for Rice University, has had an inquiry from a private individual to purchase the property, restore the house and grounds, and occupy it as a private residence.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
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.