At a busy intersection near downtown Houston, a century-old, castle-like mansion stands against a backdrop of towering skyscrapers. Historic blue-and-white street-name tiles embedded in the nearby sidewalk offer another glimpse of the city’s past. Now, one of the last surviving grand homes of old Houston has changed hands, raising concerns about its future.
The historic Kirby Mansion at 2000 Smith St. in Midtown was sold around Oct. 1 to OB Texas Properties LLC, according to Jim Parsons, program and communications director for Preservation Houston. Despite standing for more than a century, the 36-room Tudor Revival mansion has no local, state or federal historic designation, leaving it without landmark protections against demolition.
“We’re really concerned about the future of this building,” Parsons told Chron. “We obviously want to see the building retained and put to productive use.”
Preservation Houston sounded the alarm in an Oct. 6 Facebook post, drawing comments from residents who recalled the mansion’s history and expressed hopes that it would be saved. The organization’s next step is to meet with the new owner, whose plans for the property remain unknown.
A glimpse of old Houston
The mansion’s history dates back to the 1890s, when the original house was built for businessman J.S. Price. Lumber magnate John Henry Kirby, nicknamed the “Prince of the Pines” and the namesake of Houston’s Kirby Drive, later purchased the property. In 1926, architect James Ruskin Bailey transformed it into the sprawling English manor-style residence that stands today.
While the mansion’s red-brick walls, towering chimneys and steeply pitched roof make it stand out today, it once had plenty of company. The surrounding neighborhood, then known as the South End, was among Houston’s wealthiest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with block after block of elaborate mansions, gardens and sprawling estates.
Most of those homes have since been demolished, leaving Kirby Mansion as the largest and most substantial surviving residence from the neighborhood’s heyday…