Isabella Court

Isabella Court
Isabella Court
Isabella Court is located in Texas
Isabella Court
Isabella Court is located in the United States
Isabella Court
Location3909-3917 S Main St, Houston, Texas
Coordinates29°44′11″N 95°22′50″W / 29.73639°N 95.38056°W / 29.73639; -95.38056
Built1929
ArchitectWilliam D. Bordeaux
Architectural styleMission Revival-Spanish Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No.94000628[1]
Added to NRHPJune 24, 1994

Isabella Court is a Spanish Colonial Revival style mixed-use residential and commercial complex at 3909-3917 South Main Street in the Midtown district of Houston, Texas, United States.[2] It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Isabella Court's residents mainly consist of artists and other professionals. As of 2009 Trudy Hutchings owns the complex.[3]

History

William Bordeaux served as the architect and designed Isabella Court, built during 1928 and 1929, as a Spanish colonial revival-style building.[4] The complex has a courtyard, a stuccoed exterior, and a red tile roof.[5] Isabella Court, which opened in 1929, was designed as a mixed-use building with commercial use on the ground floor and apartments on the upper two floors.[5][6] During his lifetime, architect Charles W. Moore, author of the excerpts within You Have to Pay for the Public Life, wrote that the "charming" Isabella Court had 'a serious case of what California real estate people call "deferred maintenance."'[4]

In 1991 Trudy Hutchings purchased the complex.[6] On June 24, 1994 Isabella Court received listing in the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Many of the apartment tenants and businesses are oriented towards the arts. For a period during the construction of the METRORail Red Line some businesses left the building. In 2007 the commercial space was fully leased; during that year Houston Press awarded the building the "Best Artistic Renovation."[6]

It is featured in Houston's "Good Brick Tour".[7]

In 2020 the people owning the property requested from the City of Houston protected historic status.[8]

Features

The complex includes multiple balconies.[9]

Zoned schools

Isabella Court is within the Houston Independent School District.[8]

Residents are zoned to MacGregor Elementary School,[10] Gregory-Lincoln Education Center (for middle school),[11] and Lamar High School.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ There are separate boundaries for the Midtown Super Neighborhood and the Midtown Management District. See City of Houston maps: Midtown Super Neighborhood and Management district map. Retrieved on June 4, 2019. - Also see: 2006 Midtown Management District Land Use Map and "SERVICE AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR FISCAL YEARS 2015-2024." Midtown Houston Management District. Retrieved on April 4, 2009. Map on page 25/25 of the PDF.
  3. ^ Shropshire, Corilyn. "Courtly days and nights in Midtown." Houston Chronicle. January 23, 2009. Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Moore, Charles W. You Have to Pay for the Public Life. MIT Press. 2004. 362.
  5. ^ a b Simons, Helen and Catherine A. Hoyt. A Guide to Hispanic Texas. University of Texas Press. 1992. 69.
  6. ^ a b c "Best Artistic Renovation (2007)." Houston Press. Retrieved on January 9, 2009.
  7. ^ Cowen, Diane (2017-04-21). "Isabella Court, where the bohemian crowd hangs out". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  8. ^ a b Gilthorpe, Darla Guillen (2020-04-30). "Houston's eclectic Isabella Court nominated for protected landmark status". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-10-14. 3913 Main Street - Cross reference the address with school boundary maps.
  9. ^ Ford, Lauren Smith (April 2018). "The Old World Charms of Houston's Isabella Court". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  10. ^ "MacGregor Elementary School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. April 18, 2018.
  11. ^ "Gregory-Lincoln Middle School Attendance Boundary Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on April 18, 2018.
  12. ^ "Lamar High School Attendance Boundary Archived 2015-05-13 at the Wayback Machine," Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on December 19, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isabella Court.