HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Holcombe House

Houston, Harris County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Businessman and developer Oscar Holcombe (1888-1968) and his wife Mary hired Houston architect L. W. Lindsay to design this home. Completed in 1925, it featured gardens designed by landscape architect Herbert L. Skogland. Outstanding features of the Tudor revival style house include a gabled and hipped roofscape, decorative half-timbering, a bay window, an elaborate chimney, and an entry portico with decorative brickwork. Holcombe, who served eleven nonconsecutive terms as mayor of Houston between 1921 and 1957, continued to live here until his death. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Houston businessman and developer Oscar Holcombe built this Tudor Revival home in 1925, hiring architect L. W. Lindsay and landscape architect Herbert Skogland for its gardens. Its half-timbering, elaborate chimney, and decorative brick entry portico mark it as a showpiece of the era. Holcombe, who served eleven nonconsecutive terms as mayor between 1921 and 1957, lived here until his death in 1968.

Why it matters

The home of Houston's longtime "Old Gray Fox" mayor stands as a monument to the civic leadership that guided the city through decades of explosive growth.

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Related people

  • Β· Oscar Holcombe

Themes & tags

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