Garrow House
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John W. Garrow (1879-1944), a successful cotton broker, had this house built in 1913 for his family. Designed by Houston architect Birdsall P. Briscoe, this was the seventh house built in the exclusive Courtlandt Place neighborhood. The house is an excellent example of Italian renaissance influence, a style popular in the United States between 1890 and 1935. Garrow family members lived in the house until 1944. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Cotton broker John W. Garrow commissioned this house in 1913 as the seventh home built in Houston's exclusive Courtlandt Place enclave. Designed by noted architect Birdsall P. Briscoe, it is a fine example of the Italian Renaissance style fashionable in America between 1890 and 1935. The Garrow family lived here until 1944, leaving a landmark of early-twentieth-century Houston prosperity.
Why it matters
The Garrow House reflects the cotton wealth and architectural ambition that built Houston's first planned upper-class neighborhoods.
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Related people
- Β· John W. Garrow
- Β· Birdsall P. Briscoe
Themes & tags
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