Houston Metropolitian Research Center (HMRC)

The Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) is comprised of archival, Texan and local history, and special collections departments with the primary objectives of locating, preserving, and making available to researchers the documentary evidence of Houston's history. The HMRC is located in the New Archival Wing of the Julia Ideson Building at:
500 McKinney St.
Houston, Texas 77002

HMRC's hours are:

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wednesday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Friday and Sunday: Closed

In This Issue

HPL Digital Archives – Now Featuring Frank J. Schlueter Photographs
Texas Room Exhibit - John F. Kennedy
Feature – Architecture
Architecture Exhibit - Public Service: Architecture for Everyone
HMRC Related Links

Collaborative Exhibit between The Heritage Society and HMRC

More Than a Toy: Dolls from the Victorian Era

November 23, 2010 – April 10, 2011

Located at The Heritage Society 1100 Bagby Street Houston, Texas 77002

Dolls have been a part of childhood for hundreds of years. At least as early as the 1600s, they became a part of our material culture – defined as the physical evidence of human experience. Today people appreciate dolls for countless reasons. Whether the artistry, the ingenuity or the nostalgia of childhood, dolls have that special something that attracts and fascinates both collectors and children alike.

If you think you know dolls, think again! Models came in all different shapes, sizes, compositions and configurations. Two of The Heritage Society’s (THS) most significant collections are china-head dolls and bisque dolls. China-head dolls are so named because their head, neck, and the tops of the shoulders are made from porcelain or china. The hands and feet are china as well, while the body is stuffed fabric or kid leather. Like today’s Barbie doll, China-head dolls were made to represent women rather than children.

A young girl plays dress-up with her life-sized bisque/composition doll. c. 1900.

Heritage Society Permanent Collection Staiti Collection

The china doll had her heyday between 1840 and 1880. Beginning in the late 1860s, several French doll firms created the first unglazed porcelain dolls. These dolls, known as bisque, allowed for a more realistic skin tone and surpassed the china-head dolls in popularity by the 1880s. Bisque dolls have other features like real hair, sleeping eyes that open and close by counterweights, and an open mouth with finely painted lips. Both bisque and china-head dolls were dressed in appropriate styles of the era in which they were made. Their costumes were often very elaborate and included all of the pieces of clothing typically worn by fashionable women.The china doll had her heyday between 1840 and 1880. Beginning in the late 1860s, several French doll firms created the first unglazed porcelain dolls. These dolls, known as bisque, allowed for a more realistic skin tone and surpassed the china-head dolls in popularity by the 1880s. Bisque dolls have other features like real hair, sleeping eyes that open and close by counterweights, and an open mouth with finely painted lips. Both bisque and china-head dolls were dressed in appropriate styles of the era in which they were made. Their costumes were often very elaborate and included all of the pieces of clothing typically worn by fashionable women.

A young girl displays her doll collection on her front porch. c. 1890.

Heritage Society Permanent Collection

The Heritage Society strives to provide its visitors with exhibitions that represent the history and cultural heritage of the Houston community. The purpose of this exhibit is to highlight THS’s unique collection of rare dolls from the 1850s – 1920s and to present them as objects of material culture. As a bonus, THS will be working with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, part of Houston Public Library’s Special Collection Division, to display a wonderful assortment of nearly 100 children’s books from the Norma Meldrum Juvenile Special Collections.

The exhibit will be on display in The Heritage Society Museum Gallery from November 23, 2010 – April 10, 2011. More Than a Toy will also be featured during Candlelight Tour 2010. More than 4,500 visitors will view the exhibit over the two-day holiday event. The exhibit is organized by The Heritage Society. This project is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

HPL Digital Archives – Now Featuring Frank J. Schlueter Photographs

Frank J. Schlueter / Bank of the Southwest Collection

Over 1,000 historic images now online

Frank J. Schlueter was born March 4, 1874 in Wesphalia, Germany. He immigrated to the United States at age eleven. After working in his family’s bicycle/photography shop for a year, he established his own studio in Quanah, TX in 1892. In 1908 he and his wife, Lois, opened a studio at 1907 Decatur Street in Houston, TX.

Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library, MSS 0100.824 Frank J. Schlueter / Bank of the Southwest Collection

Schlueter chronicled Houston, its people, industries and events until his retirement in 1964. Best known for his photos of the oil industry, he also recorded the growing Houston skyline, the Ship Channel, agriculture and lifestyle. In his career he used several different camera formats including a Cirkut camera that produced magnificent panoramic photos.

He passed away on December 7, 1972.

Texas Room Exhibit - John F. Kennedy

Reflecting on JFK 47 Years after Assassination

Small Exhibit in the Texas Room
Featuring HMRC archival material

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the U.S., was made an honorary member of LULAC around 8:30 p.m., Nov. 21, 1963, at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas. The occasion was a ball in honor of State LULAC Director Joe Garza. John J. Herrera, past National President, served as Master of Ceremonies. National President Paul Andow presented honorary membership certificates to the President and Mrs. Kennedy.

Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library, MSS 0228.001 J. A. "Tony" Alvarez Collection

The mariachis “El Trio Internacional” played “Jacqueline” and “Kennedy, Kennedy,” two songs composed for the President’s recent visit to Mexico. The entire presidential party signed the [LULAC Downtown Council 389’s autograph] book. “Estoy muy contenta de estar aquí….” Thus began Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy in the last speech she was to make in public with her husband.

Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library, MSS 0255.004 Alex Arroyos / John F. Kennedy Collection

President Kennedy was the first U.S. President ever to become an honorary member of LULAC and the first President ever to attend an official function of the League of United American Citizens. Fifteen hours later the President was shot to death in Dallas. Texas Governor John B. Connally, who was seriously hurt when President Kennedy was assassinated, also attended the LULAC State Ball. He praised LULACs for efforts to improve the community. President John F. Kennedy spoke briefly and was followed by then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. The President and Vice President praised the work of LULAC.

Excerpts from the pages of the November-December, 1963 issue of LULAC News, RG 1314

Related Archival Collections:

John J. Herrera Papers - MSS 0160

John Herrera practiced law in Houston from 1943 to 1986 and was a leading civil rights advocate for Mexican Americans in Texas. In the early 1960s, he was an active supporter of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Herrera relates that one of the most memorable nights of his life was on November 21, 1963, when he introduced President John F. Kennedy to a group of LULAC members gathered at the Rice Hotel for a reception. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on the following day.

J. A. "Tony" Alvarez Collection - MSS 0228

J. A. “Tony” Alvarez was a successful Houston businessman who became involved with the League of United Latin-American Citizens. His collection includes a photograph book of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady at LULAC meeting. November 21, 1963 .

Alex Arroyos / John F. Kennedy Collection - MSS 0255

Collection consists of 8x10 black and white photographs taken by Alex Arroyos of President John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and LadyBird Johnson attending a meeting of LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) at the Rice Hotel in Houston on the night of November 21, 1963. President Kennedy was assassinated the following day in Dallas, Texas.

Related Texas Room Books:

From Love Field : our final hours with President John F. Kennedy - Nellie Connally and Mickey Herskowitz

Publisher: Rugged Land
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/01/2003
ISBN-13: 9781590710142
ISBN-10: 1590710142

Nellie Connally, Texas's first lady, had just said "Mr. President, you certainly can't say Dallas doesn't love you!" to President John Kennedy when shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963, killing the president and wounding the author's husband, Texas governor John Connall y. In this book, Nellie Connally, offers her own eyewitness version of the Kennedy assassination, sharing her personal diary of the events that unfolded both before and following November 22, 1963, disputing the Warren Commission's findings, and providing an intensely personal perspective on the nation's tragedy.

Table of Contents

A simple act of murder : November 22, 1963 - Mark Fuhrman

Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2006
ISBN-13: 9780060721541
ISBN-10: 0060721545

The former LAPD detective and best-selling author of Murder in Greenwich takes his own look at the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, re-examining the hard evidence of the crime and the testimony of hundreds of witnesses to cut through the myths and misinformation about the murder.

First Chapter Table of Contents

When the news went live : Dallas 1963 - Robert Huffaker

Publisher: Taylor Trade Pub.
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/28/2004
ISBN-13: 9781589791398
ISBN-10: 1589791398

This book tells the stories of four men Bob Huffaker, Bill Mercer, George Phenix, and Wes Wise who were among those responsible for covering the assassination of JFK and its aftermath for KRLD, the Dallas CBS television and radio affiliate. From presidential motorcade to Parkland hospital, from Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting to the trial and lonesome death of Jack Ruby, they were there, on the inside.

The road to Dallas : the assassination of John F. Kennedy - David E. Kaiser

Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/31/2008
ISBN-13: 9780674027664
ISBN-10: 0674027663

This story of the JFK assassination and its aftermath reveals how the case cannot be fully understood without fully grasping the U.S. government's campaign against organized crime and the furtive quest to eliminate Fidel Castro, in a chilling saga of conspiracy, underworld crime, and murder. The author is a professional historian and focused on the tantalizing testimony of Cuban exile Silvia Odio.

Table of Contents

That day in Dallas : three photographers capture on film the day President Kennedy died - Richard B. Trask

Publisher: Yeoman Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1998
ISBN-13: 9780963859525
ISBN-10: 0963859528

Follow three professional photographers as they scramble to record the most dramatic and far-reaching news story of the last half of the twentieth century. Hear these articulate observers recount the traumatic, historic and sad events they witnessed. Examine their photo coverage in large-format, full-frame images made on that day in Dallas - November 22, 1963.

Related Digital Oral Histories:

Jane Ely - Jane Ely describes her career as a journalist working for the Houston Post. She talks about gender discrimination in her field, the coverage of the J.F. Kennedy assassination, and other events that made news at the time. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

William "Bill" Hobby - Former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby talks with Jane Ely about growing up in Houston, the newspaper business, the Kennedy assassination, and his political career. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Frumencio Reyes - Hispanic American lawyer and political activist, Frumencio Reyes talks about some of his most famous cases, his involvement in local politics and the city of Houston political scene. He also describes some of his experiences working on JFK's campaign for president. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Welcome Wilson, Sr. - Businessmen Welcome Wilson has served as Assistant Director of Civil Defense for the city of Houston; assistant to former Mayor Roy Hofheinz; and real estate and financial entrepreneur. He discusses his experiences when national figures such as Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, and John F. Kennedy visited to Houston. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Feature – Architecture

HMRC Architectural Archives

Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library, RG D 0026 Hare & Hare Collection

The Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC), in its mission to preserve the history of Houston and promote an understanding of the development of its communities, maintains a collection of over 9,200 architectural projects. This collection contains an estimated 150,000 sheets of drawings representing the work of over 250 architects whose projects date back to the early 20th century.

The HMRC Architectural Archives consists of drawings, photographs, manuscripts, and some models and artifacts. Landscape, interior, and engineering plans, as well as architectural photographs, are also included. The archive focuses on architecture and architects from the local Houston area, including Harris County, with other areas of Texas also represented in the collection on a limited basis.

The manuscript and photo collections of various architects are housed in the new archival wing of the Julia Ideson Building, and are readily available for research in the Texas Room.

Please Note: Presently, the architectural drawings are housed in a climate controlled off-site facility and are unavailable for normal use. HMRC is currently on schedule to resume routine access to the Architectural Component of its archival collections in late Summer 2011. We apologize for any inconvenience that may be incurred during the process of preparing approximately 150,000 sheets of architectural drawings to be installed in their future and permanent home in the Architectural Archives of the historic Julia Ideson Building.

Sample Architectural Collections:

MSS 0019 – Alfred C. Finn Collection
Alfred Finn is one of Houston’s most recognized architects, claiming among his clients Tom Ball and Jesse H. Jones. Finn began employment with the firm of Sanguinet and Staats in 1904, and moved on to establish his own firm in 1913. During his career he designed many of Houston’s landmark buildings including the Gulf Building, the San Jacinto Monument, and the Sam Houston Music Hall and Coliseum. (Inclusive Dates 1913-1956)

MSS 0054 – Maurice J. Sullivan Papers

Beginning in 1912, Maurice Sullivan worked as a City Architect for Houston where his commissions included greenhouses, park shelters, field houses, and other structures for the Houston Parks system. In 1919 Sullivan founded his own practice where he went on to design the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston-Houston, St. Mary’s Church, and the Villa de Matel. (Inclusive Dates 1915-1974, Bulk Dates 1920s-1940s)

MSS 0163 – Harvin C. Moore Collection

Harvin Moore, with partner Herman Lloyd, shaped much of Houston between 1934 and 1941 and they became known for their traditional residential buildings in Houston's elite River Oaks suburb. Their commercial buildings took on a functional Moderne style, and encompassed every building type including retail, office, industrial, and restaurant. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Moore received commissions for sizable federal projects in Texas, including the Houston Federal Building and Manned Spacecraft Center for NASA. (Inclusive Dates 1933-1981)

MSS 0177 – Dale S. Cooper Collection

Dale S. Cooper began his career as an electrical engineer with the General Electric Company, which sent him to Houston, where he worked in several positions in engineering design and application of air conditioning systems. In 1945 he began his own firm specializing in electrical, mechanical, industrial, air conditioning, and later structural, petrochemical, and process design engineering. Engineering projects include the Ellington Air Force Base, the Astrodome, and the Houston Zoo. (Inclusive Dates 1950s-1970s)

MSS 0178 – Howard Barnstone Papers

Howard Barnstone was educated at Yale, where he received a master's degree in architecture in 1948. He later came to Houston to teach at the University of Houston and began a career as an architect and author. The Barnstone Papers contain the drawings for almost all of Howard Barnstone's most important projects, dating from 1950 to 1987. Some of these projects include Rothko Chapel, the Galveston County News Building, Piney Point Elementary School, and several buildings and residences for Dominique and John de Menil. (Inclusive Dates 1961-1987)

RG D 0026 – Hare and Hare Collection
The Hare and Hare firm was formed in 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri. Although Hare and Hare maintained a nationwide practice, they were especially active in Houston. The firm was charged with the city’s entire park planning from 1923-1960. Some of the firm’s major contributions include Memorial Park and Hermann Park, the plans for improvements along Buffalo Bayou, the proposed 1928 Civic Center, and the landscaping plans for various public schools. (Inclusive Dates 1908-1961, Bulk Dates 1920s-1940s)

Related HPL Digital Archives Books:

Houston; tentative plans for its development : report to the Houston Park Commission by Arthur Coleman Comey, from 1913

Plan for the development of the City of Houston presented by architect and consultant on city planning Arthur C. Comey. Plan includes the development of the parks system, school playgrounds, highway system, bridges, commercial waterways, railroads, recreation and civic centers, and height regulation for buildings.

Houston Town Company Book of Sales from 1837
The 1837 original book of sales of lots, kept by the Houston Town Company. Contents: Index of Houston blocks, Index of blocks on the north side of Buffalo and White Oaks Bayous. Contains drawings of the blocks.

Standard blue book of Texas [1907-08]: Houston by Who's Who Publishing Company, from 1907
Standard directory of Houston for 1907. Contains numerous photos of prominent people, churches, clubs, schools and other structures; as well as advertisements of local businesses.

Related Texas Room Books:

Texas houses built by the book : the use of published designs, 1850-1925 - Margaret Culbertson

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/1999
ISBN-13: 9780890968635
ISBN-10: 0890968632

Early house catalogues appropriated vernacular forms and disseminated them across the country. Margaret Culbertson, director of the Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, provides an introduction to the use of designs published in magazines, books, and catalogues and examines how homeowners, carpenters, contractors, developers, and even architects took advantage of the unprecedented wealth of these designs available during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Table of Contents

The country houses of John F. Staub - Stephen Fox and Richard Cheek

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/30/2007
ISBN-13: 9781585445950
ISBN-10: 1585445959

Architect John F. Staub’s work in such Houston communities as Shadyside, Broadacres, and River Oaks is featured in this volume that includes stunning color images and a thorough analysis of all aspects of his work. Architect’s Newspaper said this book “will likely become the definitive academic study of an American regionalist architect’s domestic work.”

Table of Contents

Houston's forgotten heritage : landscape, houses, interiors, 1824-1914 - Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton

Publisher: Rice University Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/01/1992
ISBN-13: 9780892633111
ISBN-10: 0892633115

The history of Houston's domestic architecture in the years from the city's founding to World War I is surveyed in rich detail and accompanied by many period photographs. The archive of photographs and primary source materials the authors compiled during their research was donated to the Houston Public Library and now is part of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center in the Julia Ideson Building.

Houston deco : modernistic architecture of the Texas coast - Jim Parsons and David Bush

Publisher: Bright Sky Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/15/2008
ISBN-13: 9781933979069
ISBN-10: 1933979062

140 Art Deco buildings in Houston, divided into the categories such as commercial, institutional, residential, and industrial, are highlighted along with their addresses, year built, and architects. Publishers Weekly states "The authors, who did most of the color photography on every page, went through the city and its environs to chronicle existing structures… Their work is intended as a field guide and may be of interest beyond Houston to similar preservation groups in cities across America."

Philip Johnson & Texas - Frank D. Welch, photographs by Paul Hester

Publisher: University of Texas Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/01/2000
ISBN-13: 9780292791343
ISBN-10: 0292791348

In his forward to Frank Welch's award-winning study, Philip Johnson states, "Texas is my favorite country....All of my important work is here". Welch brings an architect's perspective to his detailed study of Johnson's Texas commissions, including the house for John and Dominique de Menil, the Post Oak complex and Transco (now Williams) Tower in the Galleria area, numerous buildings and the plan for the University of St. Thomas, and Pennzoil Place and Republic Bank (now Bank of America) downtown. Paul Hester's photographs render the buildings with lush clarity.

Table of Contents

Related Digital Oral Histories:

Sadie Gwin Blackburn - Sadie Blackburn, horticulturalist and environmentalist, talks about her life and her work designing and beautifying Houston's parks and gardens. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Joan Denkler - Joan Denkler discusses her experiences in Houston and her activism with affordable housing in Houston, especially in Fourth Ward and Allen Parkway Village areas. (Gregory School Oral History Collection)

Ralph Ellifrit - Ralph Ellifrit was responsible for the development in Hermann Park and many other parks all over Houston. He had a degree in landscape architecture and city planning and was employed by Hare and Hare. He discusses his experiences at Hare and Hare and his various projects in Houston. (HMRC Oral History Collection)

Bob Eury - Bob Eury discusses his nine years with the Rice Center for Community Design and Research, his time as President of the Downtown Houston Management District, and his experiences as the President of Central Houston, Inc. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Gerald Hines - Gerald Hines describes his career as a real estate entrepreneur. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Gene Slater - Gene Slater was an architect who graduated from Rice University and under the guidance of Jimmy Chillman built Hotels, among them the Rice Hotel. He describes his time as an architecture student at Rice University and many projects he was involved with. (HMRC Oral History Collection)

Ray Strange - Ray Watkin Hoagland Strange discusses her father architect William Ward Watkin, her childhood in Houston, and the development of Rice University. She is interviewed by architect Barry Moore. (Mayor Bill White Collection)

Herbert Wells - Designer Herbert Wells talks about the nationally recognized architects he worked with, the local stores he used to shop at, and about some of his most prominent clients. (Mayor Bill White Collection)