HOUSTON, Texas — Crews began knocking down the Kirby Mansion at 2000 Smith St. in Midtown on Friday morning, and the City of Houston ordered the work stopped after a large part of the Tudor Revival home was already gone.
A Houston Public Works inspector checked the lot and confirmed the teardown had started with no permit in hand, according to the city. Crews were told to stop at once, and a stop-work notice went up on the property. City records show only a sewer disconnection permit, dated Oct. 14. Follow-up items from an Oct. 20 inspection were still open, which kept a demolition permit from being granted.
By midmorning, much of the front of the house had been reduced to rubble. Preservation Houston said no salvage work appears to have been done, so original tile, paneling and even shelves of books were left inside. The group said it had tried for weeks to talk with the new owner about saving the house, without success.
The property changed hands less than a month ago. Public records list OB Texas Properties LLC as the buyer, and its registered agent is also tied to companies in the gas station and convenience store business. The new owner has not shared plans for the site.
Preservation Houston, a nonprofit that works to save historic buildings, believes the site is headed toward a gas station and convenience store judging from permits filed for the property. A liquor license was also granted for the address earlier this year under a related company. The house did not carry a historical designation.
The home traces back to 1894. Lumber magnate John Henry Kirby later had it rebuilt in its Tudor Revival form, finished in 1926. It served as the regional headquarters of the American Red Cross from the 1940s through the 1970s, later housed law offices and has mostly been used for storage since 2018.
Filed under: Houston TX Neighborhood News