Houston’s Historic Kirby Mansion Demolished Under New Ownership – Houston Public Media

Kyle McClenagan/Houston Public Media

Demolition of a historic Houston landmark began Friday morning, less than a month after the property was purchased by a company with apparent ties to the gas station and convenience store industry.

The Kirby mansion, approximately 20,000 square feet, had stood at 2000 Smith St. for more than 100 years and was one of the last examples of a Tudor Revival house in the city. The demolition took place just a few weeks later Houston Public Media reported that OB Texas Properties LLC purchased the property.

According to public records, the registered agent for OB Texas Properties LLC, Omair Bashir, is also the registered agent for Smith St. C Store LLC and has business dealings with Brake Time Corner Market LLC – a convenience store and gas station company.

Bashir and his companies did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding plans to further develop the property.

Friday morning, half of the southwest facade of the mansion had already disappeared. A bookshelf, decorated with carefully organized leather-bound books, was still visible in what remained of one of the rooms on the building’s second floor.

Kyle McClenagan/Houston Public Media

Eric Lezias waited at a Houston METRO bus stop on the same block, looking through the property’s fence at what remained of the mansion. He remembers seeing the “old building” throughout his childhood.

“We always thought it could be something like a restaurant or something,” Lezias said. “I always wondered if it could be something better, something more. … It’s really sad to see it go, but that’s the way it is in this town. They tear down old things.”

As previously reported Houston Public MediaTexas Alcoholic Beverage Commission records show Smith St C Store LLC applied for and received a liquor license for the property earlier this year.

Last week, Preservation Houston — a nonprofit organization that advocates for local historic buildings and districts — announced that a sewer disconnection permit was issued for the property on October 14. Additionally, Preservation Houston said the Texas Department of State Health Services has listed asbestos abatement for the property.

Speaking on Houston Public Media Hello Houston Friday, Preservation Houston Executive Director Jennifer Krapal said the property would likely be turned into a gas station.

“There’s a long history, there’s a lot of craftsmanship, a lot of significance to this building,” Krapal said. “And we’re losing it to a gas station and a convenience store, from what we can see from all the permits.”

Kyle McClenagan/Houston Public Media

Although the property does not have a historic designation, according to Krapal, demolition of the building appeared to have stopped Friday evening. Krapal said this was likely due to a lack of proper authorization.

“It takes a series of approvals to get a demolition permit, and there was no demolition permit for that building, so they started demolition without a permit,” she said. “So the city came in and stopped the rest of the demolition. There’s just a few boxes left to check. … But I mean, you can see in the pictures, a lot of things have already been lost.”

The History of Kirby Mansion

The history of the mansion dates back to 1894, when then-businessman JS Price built the original house on the property.

However, Jim Parsons, director of programs and communications for Preservation Houston, previously said Houston Public Media that the Tudor Revival form of the mansion was not built until 1926.

“(Price) sold it relatively early to John Henry Kirby,” Parsons said. “Kirby was a big name in the East Texas lumber business and one of the leaders in the Houston lumber market. … He brought in an architect named James Ruskin Bailey to basically rebuild the place into the house we see today, which I think has 36 rooms.”

According to Parsons, some believe parts of the original 1892 house still existed inside.

“The interesting story is sort of an urban legend that the Kirbys were superstitious about living in a completely new house,” Parsons said. “So it may contain elements of this 1892 house.”

Parsons said it’s one of the few remnants of Houston’s old South End neighborhood.

“It was the elite residential area of ​​Houston in the late 19th century and early 20th century, so it was sort of the River Oaks of Houston at that time,” he said. “It’s a bit shocking to see Kirby Manor in its current surroundings, but we must remember that 100 years ago it would have been surrounded by similar houses.”

Besides the mansion, Kirby is also the namesake of Kirby Drive and the Upper Kirby neighborhood of Houston.

Parsons said the mansion had been open to the public periodically in the past, but had not been open to visitors in at least 10 years.