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Morgans Point Historic District 0/ Peter Flagg Maxson The Morgan's Point Ilistoric District nomination to the National Register of Historic Places was approved by the Texas Ilistorieal Commission's State Board of Review at their meeting in Iiouston last September. The nomination awaits linal reviews by the Texas Ilistorical Commission staff and the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C. before final listing occurs. TI I.C . architecturdl historian I,isa Ilart anticipates the nomination will be submitted sometime this spring and that listing will occur in the summer. Prominently sited along a ridge above Calves ton Bay lX'twel'n LaPorte and the San Jacinto Hiwr, the !\lorgan's Point Ilistorie District is one of Tcxa<;'s most sii,.'l1illcant 5(~颅 side historic resioelllial devdoprnenU; and hm; been a visual I,mdmark since ils earliest IIm路s. '/lIP rJislrid has excellent cxamllics or most resident ial w'chiledural sl ~ II'S popular in Ilw half-century bel ween HNO and 19-+0. The mnlipJration 01' the riisl riel 51 ill reflects the original planning 5()lution to the bayl'ront site. with large bayfront homes and In 1928, Alfred C. Finn's designer Robert C. Smallwood produced this neoGeorgian country house for Ross smaller, corresponding former Texas two years later. service buildings inland. in Texas legend for having distracted Morgan's Point has an unusual histol)' cd by Captain James Morgan (1786-1866), General Santa Anna at the outbreak of the whose mulatto slave Emily Morgan, the as the third nolllhie settlement on the peninnearby Battle of San Jaeinto. New famed Yellow Rose of Texas, is remembered sula. The lirst, New Washington, was found-
HOUSTON PROPOSES ITS FIRST PRESERVATION ORDINANCE Since the 1930s approximately 1800 municipalities throughout the nation have adopted preservation ordinances to guide local decision-making about the preservation, alteration, or destruction of significant landmarks and historic districts. Ilouston is the only major American city without any public program to guide these decisions. In Texas, 47 towns and cities have approved preservation ordinances. Research indicates that local preservation ordinances arc among the most frequently used revitalization tools in cities and towns across the county. A survey conducted by the National 1..('1IgUe of Cities of economic development professionals has identified historic preservation as one of the primary tools used throughout the nation in local economic development efforts. Iiouston's notorious disregard for the preservation of its heritage may soon end. During the past several months, following a unanimous vote by Mayor Lanier and City Council to move forward, the city has been working on a proposed preservation ordinance. The first draft of this proposal was released March 2, and, since then, several public hearil1b'S have been held before the Areheological and Ilistorical Commission
and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Following is a brief summary of the proposed provisions. The ordinance would add a historic preservation section to Chapter 33 of the Code of Ordinances, Ilouston, and would be administered by the Planning & Development Dcpartment. 'Ihe ordinance reaffirms the Archeological & Ilistorical Commission (I IN IC), an 11-memhcr voluntcer review body appointed by the Mayor and City Council. I..ocal historic landmarks (buildings, structures, sites or o~jects), districts and archaeological sites could be designated by City Council. According to the March 2 draft, application for landmark or archaeological site desif,'l1ation could be initiated by the owner of the property or by the I IN Ie. Application I'or historic district designation could be made by owners of at least 51 % of the property of the district or the I IN Ie. Arter a public hearing is held by I IN IC, and upon their approval, a recommendation would be forwarded to the Planning & Zoning Commission, which in tum would hold a second publit hearing. A written recommendation from the Planning & Zoning
Commission would then be sent to City Council. Designation would require final approval by City Council. Certificates of appropriateness (G\) would be issued on designated properties upon submission to and approval by the lIN IC. A G\ would be required for archaeological excavation; for new construction within a historic district; for building relocation or demolition and li)r construction, alteration, rehabilitation and restoration of desi!,rnatcd buildillb'S' A G\ would not be required for ordinary repair and maintenance or for any kind of alteration or remodeling of building interiors. Conservation plans for each historic district to eslllhiish a set of standards for reviewing applications for G\'s is optional but not required . If proposed, conservation plans would be approved by City Council. Appeals on any 0\ decision would be made to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Violation of the ordinance would be considered a misdemeanor offense. Emergency a<.1.ion, including demolition. could be taken by the Director of the Planning & Development Department when the hr.aJth and salcty or the citizenry is at risk.
S. Sterling, who was elected Governor of
Washington was destroyed during the Texas Revolution, and a second town, called Morgan's Point, was devastated by the 1875 hurricane. In the 1890s, a group of prominent Iioustonians acquired forty acres to create Bay Ridge Park, an exclusive waterfront summer resort notable li)r its cool Gulf breezes, carefree social life and the indigenous Texas bay houses described by architectural historian Cordon Wittenberg. A Iiouston & Texas Central rail spur linked the Bay RidgelMorgan's Point community with Iiouston. During its heyday in the 1920s, Morgan's Point had homes built by some of Texas's most esteemed architects, including John Staub, Alfred Finn, Joseph Finger, Russell Brown, and Sanguinet and Staats. Outdistancing the simple hay houSC5 and Victorian cotlages of earlier years, these came close to the "American Countl)' I louse" ideal with the siting of homes on narrow but vel)' deep bay front lots. One of the grandest Texas homes of the decade was constructed here, the massive White I louse approximation built for Texas Governor Ross Sterling and his wife Maude. Other diverse citizens, including Judge Roy llofheinz, Clenn M<.oCarthy, and members of the Carter, Sakowitz, and McAshan families, had hand5()me homes there at various times. The Morgan's Point area went into a mild decline after the Great Dcpression, and northern portions of the community were destroyed for the construction of the Port of Iiouston's Barbour's Cut facility in the 1960s. Some historic buildings were demol-
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