It’s hard to believe that our 50th Anniversary year is winding down. We’ve gotten such great feedback on our articles covering the histories of the sites for our buildings. And there’s more to come!
A big shout out goes to UHD Archivist Bryan Salazar for his research and incredible help.
The site of UHD’s Commerce Street Building, home to our College of Public Service, has seen several large buildings come and go.
From 1900 until 1919, Flaxman Dry Goods and Notions stood on the site. Flaxman’s was part of Houston’s thriving commercial area with access to docks on the bayou and the rail. Although no record exists of exactly what Flaxman’s sold, it is likely that Houstonians bought textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and household items at the store.
Such commercial activity in Houston did not spring up overnight, though: It took more
than 20 years until manufacturing
began to flourish. In 1869, Houston City Mills, which was located right on Buffalo
Bayou near our current site, was “a textile factory, which employed 80 people and
paid $1,500 per month in wages, [that] began production in a three-story building
on the southern bank of the bayou near the eastern edge of the town” (McComb, 1981,
17). After the Civil War, cotton became king in Houston. With the success of the
cotton industry in the late 19th century, various companies arose, and by 1930, Houston
had become one of the leading cotton markets in the nation (McComb, 1981, 77).
As Houston’s economy changed, so did its commercial center, and the once active warehouses and wholesalers gave way to other businesses. In 1961, the Continental Houston Motor Hotel was built on the corner of Commerce and Main, later becoming the Harley Hotel. From 1982 until 1991, the building provided on-campus housing as the University of Houston Downtown Center. The 200-room dormitory was demolished in 1993, paving the way for the construction of the current building in 2004 to house the new College of Public Service and its three programs: Urban Education, Criminal Justice, and Social Work.
