Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches: Gulf Coast Deco XII

Liberty County Courthouse, 1931 (Liberty)

Temple of Rest, Beth Israel Cemetery, 1935
(Houston's Fourth Ward*)

*Had a surreal experience as I tried to get a decent picture of the Temple of Rest. The Temple of Rest is a historic Houston landmark because it was designed by architect Joseph Finger, who is also buried there. The Beth Israel Cemetery is the first Jewish burial ground in Texas. It was established in 1844. So it is a very old part of Houston. The area's historic name is the Fourth Ward and it has a reputation, I think, for being a rough neighborhood at some point in its history. I happened to drive down an alley in the neighborhood pictured above, and drove past ~~a gang~~ a group of five or six young men who were sitting on the backdoor stoop of a house backed-up onto the alley. One of the young men either flashed the neighborhood sign or signaled to me he was "holding" as I drove slowly past him and his friends in that tight little alley. For a brief, terrifying moment I didn't know what to do. Do I wave? Do I acknowledge him at all? I figured it probably wouldn't be wise to flash him the sign back, seeing as I wasn't ~~one of the gang members~~ one of his pals. So I kept looking straight, straight ahead, with both hands planted firmly on the steering wheel.

Chambers County Courthouse, 1936 (Anahuac)

Goose Creek Federal Building and Post Office, 1937 (Baytown)

Eldorado Ballroom, 1939 (Houston)

The good old days.

1837 Branard St., 1939 (Houston)

First National Bank of Goose Creek, 1941 (Baytown)

Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, 1941 (Houston)

According to Houston Deco, this place is endangered. There's also a picture of the cornerstone with the word "COLORED" engraved in it.

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Late Gothic Deco, 1958 (Baytown)