Built 1889 RTHL # 10786 Designated RTHL 1974 Architectural style Victorian architecture | NRHP Reference # 74002074 TSAL # 335 Opened 1889 Added to NRHP 23 June 1978 | |
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Location 301 Main Street
@ Congress
Houston, Texas
United States Similar Texas Company Annex, Preston, Bob Lanier Public Works Bu, 1200 Travis, El Paso Energy Building | ||
The Sweeney, Coombs, and Fredericks Building is a late Victorian commercial building with a 3-story corner turret and Eastlake decorative elements that was designed by George E. Dickey in 1889. The building is located at 301 Main Street in Houston, Texas and occupies the corner of Main Street and Congress Street in Downtown Houston. The building is one of the few Victorian-style architectural structures that remains in the city. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Location
The Sweeney, Coombs and Fredericks Building shares a 75-year ground lease from Harris County and adjacent to the historic Pillot Building. The building lies within the boundaries of Houston's Main Street/Market Square Historic District. Market Square, the namesake for the historic district, is just one block away on Congress Street.
Purchase
In 1882, John Jasper Sweeney and Edward L. Coombs commissioned the purchase of an 1861 building built by William A. Van Alstyne, the W.A. Van Alstyne Building.
Construction
Historical records indicate that the W.A. Van Alstyne Building was set to be demolished and replaced by the Sweeney and Coombs structure. Speculation remains as to whether the demolition of the W.A. Van Alstyne Building was ever completed; some theorists believe that the W.A. Van Alstyne Building was incorporated by renovation into the structure built by Sweeney and Coombs.
Construction of the building was completed in 1887.
Design
The building was designed by George E. Dickey and the style of the building reflects the Victorian Era of architecture. Design elements included a 3-story corner turret and Eastlake decorative elements. The decorative angled doors of the building are set facing the intersection of 220 Main Street.
Renovations
The building underwent a modest renovation in 1968, which preserved the exposed brick walls and original hardwood floors.
Ownership
Gus Fredericks joined the Sweeney and Coombs Jewelry firm before 1889.
In 1998, the building was purchased by Houston criminal lawyer Robert Scardino, retired businessman Joe Scardino and real estate attorney Tim Horan Jr. Horan stated that "the Sweeney, Combs is the oldest continuously occupied building in town," referring to the building which was, at the time, 135 years old.
The jewelry firm is still in business.