Arthur B. Cohn House - Houston, Texas
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 45.335 W 095° 21.366
15R E 272172 N 3294028
Originally built in 1905, the house of Arthur Benjamin Cohn -- a businessman instrumental in the establishment of Rice University in 1912 -- was recently relocated to a local heritage tourism center.
Waymark Code: WMGT6K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/07/2013
Views: 4
The Arthur B. Cohn House is a two-story, white-framed late Queen Anne-style wooden home. Asymmetrically composed with a variety of decorative elements, it is distinguished by its patterned windows and wide, bracketed eaves under an irregularly pitched roof. The double front doors has a beveled glass design, sidelights and a transom. It was built by Arthur Benjamin Cohn (1871-1938), a native of Little Rock, Arkansas and the principal accountant for the William Marsh Rice Estate. Cohn is best remembered for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of Rice University in 1912, and for serving as its first business manager.
In 1905, Cohn purchased "Lot #12" situated at 1711 Rusk St. in Houston, Texas for $4,000, in a neighborhood then known as Quality Hill located just minutes from Houston's downtown district. The land was originally owned by Winnifred Browne, one of Houston’s early homesteaders and mother to former mayor John T. Browne. Cohn built his new Queen Anne home on top of the old late 1860's residence and even incorporated some of the Browne house into its final architecture.
According to Harris County deed records, Cohn sold the land in 1909 for $12,000 -- per house and land surveys of that time, the $8,000 land improvement was the cost of constructing that new house. The residence then went through a succession of owners and started to deteriorate when St. Francis Charities Inc. bought it in 1964, according to documents in the Society’s collection.
During the 1980's, the old Cohn House was threatened for demolition due to construction of a nearby three-story, solid brick commercial structure; that brick building did not survive for long, however. Several other structures were built all around the old Cohn house -- including the George R. Brown Convention Center -- yet the old house remained in place throughout these changes, and was even recorded in both the National Register of Historic Places and the Texas Historic Landmarks Registry in 1985 (see: NRHP Listing #85002771 and THC Marker #10633).
The city of Houston ultimately bought the house in March 2003, moved it a few feet West and turned 90 degrees so that -- like its historic William L. Foley House neighbor next door -- it fronted the other end of the Rusk St. intersection.
Finally, in early 2007, the mayor of Houston announced plans to convert both the Arthur B. Cohen house and the William L. Foley House and into a regional heritage tourism center: both buildings were relocated to the 800th block of the Avenida de las Americas, where they remain to this date.
Original Location: N 29° 45.283 W 095° 21.437
How it was moved: Wheels / Dolly / Truck
Type of move: Inside City
Building Status: Public
Related Website: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
Tell of your visit. Post an original photograph if possible.