Audubon Place Historic District Site
History and Culture
Audubon Place was designated as an historic district in June 2011. The designation was based on its value as a visible reminder of Houston’s development, from 1907–1925, and its architecture. Today, many residents participate in the Audubon Place Civic Association, established in 1986.
Significant Historic Buildings and Sites
- Ewart and Lillian Lightfoot House, 3702 Audubon Place, was built in 1923. Lightfoot was the superintendent of construction for the George T. Broun Company from 1916–1924. That company built at least 12 homes in the Montrose area, including four in Audubon Place. Lightfoot built this “airplane bungalow” for his own family. He later started his own construction company, which built apartment buildings and houses around Houston, and motor courts across northeast Texas. The Lightfoot heirs still own this house.
- George Cohen House, 607 Kipling, was built in 1919 in the Colonial Revival style. Cohen was the president of the Foley Brothers department store.
- Joseph and Mary Stevenson House, 804 Harold, was built in 1915. A Craftsman bungalow, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a City of Houston Protected Landmark. Joseph Stevenson was a carriage maker. In 1903, he went into business with a blacksmith named C. Jim Stewart. They built and repaired wagons and buggies, and operated the largest horse-shoeing operation in Texas. Over time, the company changed to provide auto body and engine services. Today, Stevenson & Stewart provides engineering services and power systems worldwide.
Notable Residents
- Thomas Tellepsen (3601 Audubon) was a Norwegian immigrant who started a small contracting business in Houston in the early 1900s. He built several houses in Montrose, both for the Houston Land Corporation and (speculatively) for himself. The Tellepsen Construction Company went on to become one of the largest construction firms in the South. The Shamrock Hotel was one of their major projects.
- Herman Vogt (812 Hawthorne), a carpenter and builder, built his own home and six other houses in Audubon Place. He enjoyed a steady business, constructing at least four new houses each year between 1925 and 1936. Many of these were in the Southmore area and new additions west of Montrose. Herman and his wife Alice Vogt often moved into the houses they built in Southmore. By the 1940s, they had moved to River Oaks.
- Oscar P. Jacksonowned one of the largest garden seed companies in the Southwest.
- Edna W. Saunders was a famous impresario who, in 1919, brought the French Army Veterans Band and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to Houston for the first time.
- Paul Berge was the conductor for the Houston Symphony.
