Sam Houston Hall

Last updated February 20, 2019

The Sam Houston Hall was a building in Houston, Texas. It was located at 801 Bagby Street in the Fourth Ward, though now considered a part of downtown. It was designed as a temporary structure for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. It served as the venue for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from 1932 to 1936, after which it was demolished.

The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for President and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for Vice President.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibitions and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.

History

The Sam Houston Hall was a wooden structure covering a length of three football fields erected for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. It was designed by Kenneth Franzheim and Alfred C. Finn under contract with Jesse H. Jones, who insisted on a venue that would accommodate the conventioneers and thousands of spectators. The building was optimized for air flow and equipped with heavy duty "typhoon fans." However, it was also designed as a racially-segregated facility: a substandard area fenced off by chicken wire was designated for African Americans. The hall was completed within four months.^[1]

Kenneth Franzheim was an architect in Chicago and Boston in the early 1920s with C. Howard Crane. He started an independent practice in New York in 1925 and specialized in the design of large commercial buildings and airports.

Alfred Charles Finn was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. His credits during his tenure residential structures, but firm was a leader in steel-frame construction of skyscrapers.

Jesse Holman Jones was a Democratic politician and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1940 to 1945.

Sam Houston Hall hosted the first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in the spring of 1932. A streetcar system made the hall accessible to many Houstonians. It was also located close to the Houston Farmers' Market. The first show, in the middle of the Great Depression, drew 2,000 people. The show was held annually at the hall through 1936.^[2]

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

The Sam Houston Hall was torn down after the 1936 Livestock Show and Rodeo, then replaced by the Sam Houston Coliseum. The site is now occupied by the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.^[2]

Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. It was located at 801 Bagby Street near downtown. The Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected on the site for the 1928 Democratic National Convention and torn down in 1936. The Public Works Administration contributed $1,329,508 to the project designed by architect Alfred C. Finn. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 4, 1936. The arena opened in November 1937 and had a capacity of 9,200. It was built in conjunction with the Houston Music Hall, which was adjacent to the Coliseum.

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a theater in Houston, Texas, US. Opened to the public in 2002, the theater is located downtown on the edge of the Houston Theater District. Hobby Center features 60-foot-high glass walls with views of Houston's skyscrapers, Tranquility Park and Houston City Hall. The Hobby Center is named for former Texas lieutenant governor and Houston businessman, William P. Hobby, Jr., whose family foundation donated the naming gift for the center. The center replaced the former Houston Music Hall and Sam Houston Coliseum.

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References

↑ Fenberg, Stephen (2011). Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism, and the Common Good. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. pp. 140–141.
1 2 Glenn, Mike (11 June 2016). "A downtown lunch helped spark Houston Rodeo". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

Coordinates: 29°45′42.70″N95°22′11.95″W / 29.7618611°N 95.3699861°W / 29.7618611; -95.3699861

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[1] Fenberg, Stephen (2011). Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism, and the Common Good. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. pp. 140–141.

[chron-2] 1 2 Glenn, Mike (11 June 2016). "A downtown lunch helped spark Houston Rodeo". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 4 November 2018.