Benjamin Apartments facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Benjamin Apartments
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Frontage on Webster Street
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 Location in Texas
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1218 Webster, Houston, Texas |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1924 |
| Architect | Alfred C. Finn |
| Architectural style | Arts and Crafts, Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 02001063 |
| Added to NRHP | 29 July 2003 |
The Benjamin Apartments is a special building in Houston, Texas. It is so important that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a place worth saving and learning about!
A famous local architect named Alfred C. Finn designed the building. It was finished in 1924. At first, it was a four-apartment building where the owner lived in one part. Over the years, it changed a lot. It was a hospital, then a family home, and now it is used as offices.
Contents
What's the Story of the Benjamin Apartments?
The Benjamin Apartments building is located in a part of Houston called Midtown. It sits on Webster Street, right on the corner of Caroline.
How it Started: Apartments
A person named Benjamin Cohen asked for the building to be designed in 1919. He wanted it to have four apartments. For the first 16 years, Benjamin Cohen himself lived in one of these apartments!
From Home to Hospital
In 1945, the apartments were changed into a hospital. It was first called Home Hospital. Later, its name changed to Physicians and Surgeons Hospital. Maps from the early 1950s show it was still a hospital then.
Empty Years and New Uses
After 1952, the building was empty for seven years. The neighborhood around it was changing. It used to be like a quiet suburb, but it started to have more businesses and boarding houses. In 1960, someone tried to make it a hospital again, but it didn't work out. The building stayed empty from 1961 to 1968.
In 1969, one room was rented as an apartment. Then, in 1970, John and Blanche Bankes bought the building. They turned it into a single-family home. John Bankes lived there until he passed away in 1993. Blanche stayed there until 1997.
A year later, a law firm bought the building. They fixed it up. Then, in 1999, they sold it to a real estate group. This group changed the building into offices for one business.
What Does the Benjamin Apartments Look Like?
The Benjamin Apartments building shows off a cool mix of styles from the early 1900s. It combines ideas from the Arts and Crafts movement with parts of the Renaissance Revival style.
Special Design Details
You can see fancy decorations around the front entrance. These designs are simple but still very pretty. The bricks on the building have different colors that create subtle patterns. This adds another neat design touch.
Changes Over Time
Some parts of the property today are not original to the 1924 design. For example, there is a metal fence around the back. There is also a carport for cars and a paved parking lot. These were added later.
Gallery
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The front entrance on Webster Street
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A special marker that tells about the building's history
