Dr. John H. Foster House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Dr. John H. Foster House.

John Hoskins Foster came into this world in Austin County in 1876, and from the very start, you get the sense this was a man building toward something. He earned his degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston, which in those days was no small undertaking, and then he set his sights on Houston. The Foster family made that move between 1909 and 1910, and Houston, for its part, was about to get a very capable doctor.

Dr. Foster practiced medicine at several hospitals in the city, and if that weren't enough, he helped organize the Houston Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in 1923. The man was not content to simply show up.

Now, back in 1912, while Dr. Foster was building his practice, a house was being built for the family in the Bute Addition of the First Montrose Commons neighborhood. Houston architect Birdsall P.

Briscoe designed it, and Briscoe did not phone it in. What he produced was a unique example of Prairie Style, with substantial covered porches and broad, overhanging eaves. Stand in front of it, and you understand immediately that this is a house meant to breathe, meant to settle into the Texas heat with a kind of quiet authority.

A doctor who organized hospitals. A house that outlasted them all. Some things are built to last, and in Houston, this one did.

What the marker says

BORN IN AUSTIN COUNTY IN 1876, JOHN HOSKINS FOSTER EARNED HIS DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL SCHOOL IN GALVESTON. THE FOSTER FAMILY MOVED TO HOUSTON BETWEEN 1909 AND 1910. DR. FOSTER PRACTICED MEDICINE AT SEVERAL HOSPITALS IN HOUSTON AND HELPED ORGANIZE THE HOUSTON EYE, EAR AND THROAT HOSPITAL IN 1923. LOCATED IN THE BUTE ADDITION OF THE FIRST MONTROSE COMMONS NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS HOME WAS BUILT IN 1912. DESIGNED BY HOUSTON ARCHITECT BIRDSALL P. BRISCOE, THE STRUCTURE IS A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF PRAIRIE STYLE AND FEATURES SUBSTANTIAL COVERED PORCHES AND BROAD, OVERHANGING EAVES.