Dr. John H. Foster House
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
BORN IN AUSTIN COUNTY IN 1876, JOHN HOSKINS FOSTER EARNED HIS DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL SCHOOL IN GALVESTON. THE FOSTER FAMILY MOVED TO HOUSTON BETWEEN 1909 AND 1910. DR. FOSTER PRACTICED MEDICINE AT SEVERAL HOSPITALS IN HOUSTON AND HELPED ORGANIZE THE HOUSTON EYE, EAR AND THROAT HOSPITAL IN 1923. LOCATED IN THE BUTE ADDITION OF THE FIRST MONTROSE COMMONS NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS HOME WAS BUILT IN 1912. DESIGNED BY HOUSTON ARCHITECT BIRDSALL P. BRISCOE, THE STRUCTURE IS A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF PRAIRIE STYLE AND FEATURES SUBSTANTIAL COVERED PORCHES AND BROAD, OVERHANGING EAVES.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Austin County in 1876, Dr. John Hoskins Foster earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston and moved to Houston around 1909–1910, helping to organize the Houston Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in 1923. His 1912 home in the Montrose-area Bute Addition, designed by Houston architect Birdsall P. Briscoe, is a distinctive example of Prairie-style design.
Why it matters
The house reflects the growth of Houston's early medical community and the spread of the Prairie style through the neighborhoods of a booming young city.
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Related people
- · John Hoskins Foster
- · Birdsall P. Briscoe
Themes & tags
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