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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorthgate History Information HISTORICAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS FOR NORTHGATE PRESERVATION Resource Name: Address: Owner: What was the role that the owner / church / person played in the history of Northgate? How is the building related to the development of the community in Northgate? What were some historically significant events and / or patterns of activity associated with the property? General description of Northgate during the periods when it achieved significance. Who were the main active personalities involved with commercial, churches, residential areas? Are there any documents on the buildings and Northgate? Historic photos, old drawings of the outside of the building and the inside , maps etc. Who were the persons responsible for the design or construction of the property? What is your opinion on preservation of the area and the buildings, and on the demolishing and rebuilding of the area? Are there any specific buildings that you feel need to be preserved? HISTORICAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS FOR NORTHGATE PRESERVATION Resource Name: A and M United Methodist Church Address: Owner: 1. What was the role that the owner /church /person played in the history of Northgate? When Texas A and M first opened its doors in 1876,the college provided Sunday morning chapel services for the student body with attendance compulsory. Students assembled by companies on Military Walk and marched to the old chapel which stood where Hart Hall now stands and later to Guion Hall for services. Ministers from denominations across Texas conducted services at the chapel which families in the community also attended. The nearest Methodist Churches were located at Union Hill (halfway between Bryan and the college); Wellborn, located 5 miles south; and Bryan where First Methodist had been established since 1868. Shiloh Methodist, 2 miles south was no longer active. In the 1918 -1919 period A and M College President Dr. W.B. Bizzell, asked ministers of churches in the Bryan community to provide religious services for students of their respective denominations. Methodist residents of College Station as well as students at the college welcomed the prospect of organizing their own Methodist Church. 2. How is the building related to the development of the community in Northgate? In late 1919 First Methodist Church in Bryan offered a $500 budget surplus to the Texas Conference to begin a missionary -like church for A And M students. In 1920 the first religious person assigned specifically to College Station was King Vivion, a Methodist. He was charged with developing Sunday evening services and discussion groups to support the already established campus chapel program. That same summer Rev. R.L. Brown was sent to start a Baptist Church, and a few weeks later Rev. W. H.Matthews arrived to minister to the Presbyterian group. When chapel services were discontinued on campus in 1932 Sunday morning worship services joined existing Sunday School classes at A and M Methodist. Soon after Rev. King Vivion's arrival, W.C. Boyett deeded a lot to A and M Methodist for $1,000. About the same time the south half of the block was purchased for $1000 from Boyett by the A and M Masonic Club. On church property Vivion built a parsonage using scrap planks which stood in the spot of the present church courtyard. With extensions and additions it served as parsonage and Sunday School space until 1927. Masonic Club member W.A.Duncan Director of the College Subsistence Department determined that the south part of the block should be sold to the church. He guided negotiations made more difficult by the fact that the Masonic Club had become inactive. The church acquired the property from the club for $10,000. The 1923 Quarterly Conference announced that temporary- makeshift building, known as the Tabernacle, was being constructed. It was to served as the church for the next 40 years when more suitable and permanent facilities were erected. The 1 Tabernacle stood between the present education building and the sanctuary in a north -south direction. Its interior was of uncertain design with swaying arches and sidewalls. Windows lined the walls at upper and lower levels providing good ventilation while creaky floors were always cold in the winter. Gas heaters replaced wood stoves in 1928 and improved the heating slightly. On the sides of the main worship area a battery of hinged doors opened to provide more seating space or closed to conserve heat. After 1951 when a new sanctuary was constructed, it served as a Fellowship Hall and home to Wesley Student Foundation until it was demolished in 1964. East of the Church and Tauber St. intersection, a second parsonage was built on the south end. It seemed adequate to serve as a pastor's home from 1927 to 1957. When vacated in 1957 it served as the youth center until it was moved in 1962 to provide a site for the current Wesley Foundation and chapel building. During World War II, it became evident that an educational building was needed, but the war effort had placed a moratorium on civilian construction. A special dispensation was granted to the church because of the large student population in a university community. Slow constructions during wartime delayed occupation until 1946. The plan provided for ductwork large enough for heating, but not for cooling. Thoughts of installing larger ducts to serve for both were dismissed when the consultant gave convincing testimony that "air conditioning of a building that size and use would be exorbitantly costly, utterly impracticable, and would overwhelm the church budget." Twenty years later a central heating - cooling system was installed with larger duct at considerable expense. In 1957 it was dedicated to J. Gordon Gay,long time Sunday School superintendent and YMCA General Secretary. In the late forties, Texas Methodists over the state gave generously to fund the construction of the Gothic sanctuary erected on the south end, former site of the A and M Masonic Club. Completed in 1951, its formal opening worship service was conducted on November 11, 1951. Rev. James F. Jackson the church's sixth minister served during the construction period. Inside plain white plastered walls support the vaulted and beamed ceiling. The central aisle leads to the chancel and elevated altar with 6 stain glass window on each outside wall. On the south end, overlooking the campus, high above the altar is a large stained glass Rose Window. Above the north min entrance are 3 tall Trinity Windows. A small casement window in the northeast corner below the balcony is dedicated to the memory of a workman electrocuted during construction. The Fellowship Hall and connecting link between the Sanctuary and J. Gordon Gay Education Building was constructed in 1967. 3. What were some historically significant events and /or patterns of activity associated with the property? When Shiloh Methodist Church closed, the pioneer cemetery located on the church site became the property of the Methodist 2 Episcopal Church,South. Because A and M Methodist was the closest Methodist Church to the cemetery, by church law, it became responsible for its administration. Technically the cemetery became the responsibility of the A and M Methodist Church the moment it was organized in 1923. An inventory of its property at that time read: one cemetery. In 1947 A and M Methodist conveyed Shiloh Cemetery to the City of College Station for the price of $1.00. In 1926 A and M Methodist Church minister Jesse C. Thomson participated in the opening service of the newly- constructed Saint Mary's Catholic Church at the invitation of Father John B. Gleisser which began a friendship and cordial relationship of the churches for many years. Years later Saint Mary's Catholic Church held its 1971 Vacation Church School in the A and M Methodist Church building serving 90 of the parish's children. Until the late thirties, several denominations held a hope that space would be provided on campus for their buildings. In May 1938, the A and M College Board of Directors denied a formal request by Presbyterian Church for a building site on campus. The Board reaffirmed a long established policy to permit no organization to erect buildings on campus. The Methodist group accepted this action as final and made no additional pursuits of this nature. 4. General Description of Northgate during the periods when it achieved significance. Early photo taken from campus with Bolton Hall in the foreground shows the temporary tabernacle building built in 1923 and the second parsonage across the street that was completed in 1928. Nothing was beyond the Tabernacle northward to Bryan. The Baptists had a "spacious" parking lot a block from their church, across the street from the Methodists and often was used by both congregations. For a while the area where the present sanctuary is now located was designated by the Methodists as their parking lot was equally assessable to both Baptists and Methodists. 5. Who were the main active personalities involved with commercial, churches, residential areas. King Vivion -- 1920- 1924 - -first minister assigned to Methodist students and families in College Station, erected first building- - crudely built parsonage W.C.Boyett - -owner of land purchased by church Jesse C. Thomson - 1924 - 1932 -- minister during occupancy of first temporary building, the Tabernacle, and second parsonage A. D. Jackson -- charter member, chairman of the board, Board of Trustees, Church school superintendent P.L. Downs, Jr. - - "Mr. A and M" layman for 25 -30 years, usually walked to church from his home a mile away, directly through dormitory area, post office, Northgate -- visiting all along the way- - arrived at regular place in the Sanctuary - -2nd row back, west side. 3 Ministers: King Vivion -- 1920 -1924 Jesse Thomson -- 1924 -1932 R.L. Jackson -- 1932 -1936 James Carlin -- 1936 -1942 Walton Gardner -- 1943 -1944 Raymond Terry -- 1944 -1947 James Jackson -- 1947 -1952 Nolan Vance -- 1952 -1957 James Argue -- 1957 -1961 Byron Lovelady -- 1961 -1964 Walter McPherson1964 -1969 Jack Sparling -- 1969 -1971 James Brannen - -1971 -1979 Bob Waters -- 1979 -1987 Bill Armstrong -- 1987 -1994 6. Are there any documents on the building and Northgate? Historic photos, old drawings of outside of the building and the inside, maps etc. First Parsonage -- Brison, Fred R.,The A &M United Methodist Church, The First Fifty Years:1923 -1973, p.49 Tabernacle -- Brison, p.28, 42 Northgate -- Brison. p.24, 86 J. Gordon Gay Education Building -- Brison, p.93 Sanctuary (outside) Brison p. 56,93 (inside) Brison p.54, 72, Wesley Student Center -- Brison, p.46 7. Who were the persons responsible for the design or construction of the property? King Vivion designed and built the first parsonage. A.D. Jackson was chairman of the building for the second parsonage Tabernacle J. Gordon Gay Education Building The Sanctuary -- Ernest Langford, supervising architect, F. R. Brison, building committee; Clarence Andrews, builder 4 NORTHGATE HISTORY Northgate had its humble beginning as a downtown during the 1930s. This was a period before the incorporation of the City of College Station (which incorporation was voted by its citizens on October 19, 1938. In fact, during the 20's, the United States Post Office and Boyett's, a local business, claimed the earliest beginning roots of business development. Also, prior to incorporation of College Station, it could easily be argued that the city "downtown" existed before the incorporation - a rather unique development. To support that proposition, in addition to the Post Office, there were numerous businesses that developed and flourished, some of which continue to flourish to this day. Those businesses included a pharmacy, cleaners, barber shops, tailors, and restaurants. Specifically, by name, these businesses included Aggieland Pharmacy, Lipscomb's Pharmacy, Luke's Campus Grocery, The College Inn, Holick's, and Loupot's. But it was during the 40's that its crowning glory as a downtown was solidified. Namely, the main Business District flourished and consisted of cafes, grocery stores, confectioners, jewelers, a dentist, photographers - and the magnificent structure which should be the cornerstone of Northgate - The Campus Theater - built at a cost of $65,000.00, it seated 628 people and had the "most modem movie equipment available." Even a bank opened in Northgate on May 1, 1946. Finally, in December 1947, the College Station, residents celebrated the opening of its new City Hall in downtown College Station. This property, although leased to a successful restaurant, is still owned by the City. Finally, to close, to my utter surprise, there are at least 5 homes in Northgate that are nearly 100 years old: 318 First Owner: Estate of A.P. Boyett, Sr. Erected: 1911, Sold 1941 Identification by: George H. Boyett, February 1, 1986 Caroline MVTitchell, January 16, 1986 Style: Small sized Queen Anne, minor modifications Previous residents on campus: RF. Smith, 1922, professor of mathematics E.P. Humbert, 1924, head, department of genetics 400 Boyett Owner: Charles E. Harris, Jr., 307 Greenway, Bryan Erected: 1902, Sold 1954 Identification by: Dr. Bardin Nelson, Sr. retired TAMU sociologist Style: Medium sized Queen Anne, considerably modified in recent years Previous residents on campus: RP. Marstellar, 1924, former Dean of School of Veterinary Medicine 402 Boyett Owner: Charles E. Harris, Jr., 307 Greenway, Bryan Erected: 1902, Sold 1955 Identification by: Dr. Bardin Nelson, Sr. retired TAMU sociologist Style: Originally a Medium sized Queen Anne, by badly burned in the 1960s and so renovated, it is difficult to tell that it was once a twin to the house at 400 Boyett. Previous residents on campus: Designated both in 1913 and in 1921, as the "surgeon's house" in the minutes of the Housing Committee 500 College Main Owner: Donald Eppley, 18210 Spellbrok Drive, Houston Erected: Date and campus location uncertain; style suggests about 1900 Sold: Date uncertain, probably 1948 -49 according to records in Tax Assessor- Collector's office. Identification as a campus by George H. Boyett, whose father purchased the house and moved it. Style: Small sized Queen Anne with neo- classical features; apparently close to original condition, few modifications recent years Previous residents on campus: ? 415 Tauber Owner: Howard C. Nelson, 12410 Cobblestone, Houston Erected: Perhaps 1910 -15; this dating is from design evidence Sold: Probably 1953 -54 according to tax records Identification by: Bardin Nelson Style: Cottage, considerably remodeled and modified since move Previous residents on campus: ? The plan for Northgate needs to be accomplished in conjunction with input from and financial cooperation with Texas A &M University. Lexington Photos - Show before /after This is a project that has historic implications for our community. More importantly, implementation of a Northgate plan will have a positive impact on economic development, of which tourism is now a number one resource, according to the Texas Department of Commerce. The timeliness of this project is also enhanced by the approaching development of the George Bush Library, which will bring thousands of new tourists to our community. It is time to take our most visible eyesore, and turn it into the community treasure it can become. Happy to answer questions