Julius Lichtenstein House
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This was a merchant's residence of the early 1900s. Born in Indianola, Julius Lichtenstein (1871-1923) was three when his family moved to Corpus Christi and opened a drygoods store in 1874. From childhood, he worked in the store that in time became the noted M. Lichtenstein and Sons, a prestigious business relied upon in South Texas. Several Weil family members also joined the firm, and in 1902 Julius Lichtenstein married Carrie Weil (1877-1958). After the death in 1904 of his father, Moritz Lichtenstein, Julius was head of the firm. His duties frequently sent him on visits to the East, where he apparently acquired a liking for architecture that contrasted with the Victorian forms usually seen in this region. Julius and Carrie Lichtenstein built this house in 1905 at 715 North Chaparral. The style is Colonial Revival, in a trend popularized by architect Stanford White of New York. Elegant as this structure was--with its stately front door, elliptical porch, peaked roof and other handsome features--the Lichtensteins built and moved into a larger house in 1913, owning this place, however, until 1926. Moved nine blocks north in 1929, this structure, survivor of many fads, stands as an exhibit of a distinctive housing style. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Julius Lichtenstein came to Corpus Christi as a small child when his family opened a drygoods store in 1874, a business that grew into the respected M. Lichtenstein and Sons, relied upon across South Texas. Head of the firm after his father's death in 1904, Julius developed a taste for architecture on his eastern buying trips and in 1905 built this Colonial Revival house—stately and elliptical-porched—in a style then made fashionable by New York's Stanford White. The family moved to a larger home in 1913, and the house was relocated nine blocks north in 1929.
Why it matters
The house reflects the prosperous merchant class that built South Texas commerce, and the reach of national architectural fashion into a remote Gulf Coast town.
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Related people
- · Julius Lichtenstein
- · Carrie Weil
- · Moritz Lichtenstein
Themes & tags
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