I looked into a box today that I’d never noticed before even though I probably have walked past it several time a week for the last fifteen years or so. It’s a big box, and a flat one. To my amazement it was full of maps and drawings, very old ones, that had come out of the business manager’s office many years ago. Most of these maps and drawings are of Houston and it’s environs in the early part of the 20th century, some of them wide views and others close up depictions of single neighborhoods. It’s not clear what they were for, although at least some seemed to be supporting documents for mortgage applications.
Several of them were frankly pretty exciting. Here’s one that’s well worth a look:
Two things jump out immediately. First, the map is dated 1923 and the rail spur is still intact. I didn’t know it was there so long and I still don’t know when it finally disappeared. Second, of course, is the box labeled “Fraternity Home Addition” out over by the athletic field area where University Boulevard is today. That was a piece of property that the Institute didn’t acquire right away. It had once been home to a gunpowder factory, I believe. The Fraternity Home Addition was meant to be a tiny subdivision, which I know because I also found this is the box:
It obviously didn’t happen, but I’m not sure what the sequence of events was. I’ll see if I can figure it out after Christmas break.
For those of you following my dental saga, my root canal is now complete! Rejoicing can begin.