Old Braeswood, Houston
Old Braeswood is a neighborhood of single family homes in Houston, Texas, United States.
It is generally bounded by South Main, North Braeswood, Kirby Drive, and Holcombe.
In Section 1 and the southernmost streets of Braeswood Addition, the houses were built primarily in the late 1920s and the 1930s.
[5] This diversity and quality of the architecture prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to select Old Braeswood for its annual Candlelight Tour organized in conjunction with Houston Mod during its 2016 national convention held in Houston, Texas.
[3] The intent of Braeswood Corporation was to create a garden suburb of country houses along South Main Street,[8] with deed restrictions to protect the integrity of the neighborhood.
[1] The early development of Braeswood occurred simultaneously with, and parallel to, that of two other Houston neighborhoods, River Oaks and Riverside Terrace.
[9] Architects who shaped Old Braeswood's initial development, through the 1930s, included Harry D. Payne, Carl A. Mulvey, Cameron D. Fairchild, Charles S. Chase, Joseph Finger, Joseph W. Northrop, Jr., Hollis E. Parker, Eugene Werlin, Tom E. Lightfoot, Irving R. Klein, Maurice J. Sullivan, Lenard Gabert, Wirtz and Calhoun, Sam H. Dixon, Jr., A.
B. Ellis, James I. Campbell, Theo G. Keller, Bailey A. Swenson, Harvin C. Moore, Herman Lloyd, Claude E. Hooton, and William Fred Gray.
[4] Development in Old Braeswood in 1940 and 1941 made use of some architects new to the neighborhood including Wolf and Hoyt, Otto F. Woestemeyer, Theo G. Keller, G. Ancira, Irving R. Klein, Dixon and Greenwood, and Ben F.
[13] Then, legal restrictions on non-essential construction during World War II brought a temporary halt to development.
[5] Among the neighborhood's most widely celebrated examples of architecture are the Allen House (2337 Blue Bonnet Blvd.)
designed by Wirtz and Calhoun in the Bauhaus tradition,[15] the Gordon House (2307 Blue Bonnet Blvd.)
[18] An architectural history prepared by the Anchorage Foundation of Texas for the Old Braeswood Civic Club stated in 1988: “From Mulvey, Wirtz and Calhoun, Brochstein, László and Bolton and Barnstone to the architects of the 1980s, Braeswood has continued to be a place where architecturally important houses are built in Houston.
The Board and its committees enforce deed restrictions, maintain the parks, coordinate with Trees for Houston for the planting of trees, produce a directory of residents, produce a newsletter, contract for a private security patrol, welcome new residents, encourage historic preservation, raise funds for neighborhood projects and sponsor social events including family-oriented parties in the neighborhood park and open to the public.
