If Jesse Holman Jones were still alive, he would celebrate his 137th birthday this week, and I’m sure he would still be living somewhere on Main Street in Houston. From the time he arrived in our fair city in 1898, until the time of his death in 1956, he always lived on Main.
Local history buffs might recall that he lived at the Rice Hotel for several decades, but he also lived in two other homes on Main Street.
At the age of 24, young Jesse arrived in Houston to stay with his aunt, Mrs. Martin T. Jones. They lived at 2908 Main Street in a large house with four resident servants: a cook, a coachman, a maid and a gardener. Jesse’s uncle Martin had passed away and his Aunt Louisa needed help in operating the M.T. Jones Lumber Company. This house, which was near the corner of Main and Tuam, is long gone. The property is now an empty lot.
 |
| from 1905-06 city directory |
In the 1900 census he was living at the Capitol Hotel (Main at Texas). Interestingly, two other residents of the Capitol at that time were William and John Foley, who were selling groceries and liquor.
 |
| Capitol Hotel photo courtesy UH Libraries |
In 1911, when Jesse was 37 years old, he bought the Rice Hotel and demolished it. He rebuilt it on the same site, took up residence there in 1913 and stayed for the rest of his life. In the 1926 city directory he is listed there, with a phone number of 2278. This number was later CA-2278 and presumably became CA2-2278. But I digress.
When World War I started, Jesse filled out his papers and gave his address as 2908 Main Street, Houston. So he probably used both addresses as long as his aunt was living.
By 1946, he was so famous that he was featured in Life Magazine, with a photo of him at home. We think this was his Rice Hotel home, but who knows for sure?
 |
| Life magazine, October 1, 1946 |
Happy birthday, Jesse Jones. The next time I visit Jones Hall I’ll think of you and your illustrious life. Thanks for sharing your talents and wisdom with Houston.
Jesse didn't live at the Rice for the rest of his life, but that doesn't really interfere with your story. In 1927 (just after your city directory reference and just in time for the Democratic National Convention, which he secured for Houston with a personal check), Jesse built the Lamar Hotel on the former site of the Jesse H. Jones Lumber Company at the corner of Lamar and...you guessed it...Main Street. It was in the Lamar Hotel's penthouse that Jesse and the eventual Mary Gibbs Jones lived until their passing. Also worth mentioning that the Gulf Building, Jones' pride and joy as well as the tallest building in town from its 1929 completion until after his death, is listed at 712 Main.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Breen Dix
abd010@shsu.edu