DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place — you decide what to make of it. Now, most houses in Houston's River Oaks neighborhood have a story. But this one — this angular, asymmetrical, white stucco house sitting on a triangular lot — this one has a story that stretches from a Texas courthouse all the way to the halls of the United States Treasury, with a stop in a motorcade in Dallas that changed everything.
Let's start at the beginning. In 1959, a Houston architect named Ernest L. Shult designed this mid-century modern house for his own residence.
He sited it right here on that triangular lot, and the house wears its contemporary style like a badge — asymmetrical façade, unornamented exterior walls, multiple roof sections, portions of the front façade extending forward and varying in height, and great wide expanses of windowless walls. It is not a shy building. It is not trying to fit in.
It knows what it is. But the house Shult built for himself eventually found its most famous occupants. In January of 1969, John Connally, Jr. and his wife, Idanell — known to just about everyone as Nellie — moved in.
They'd come a long way to get here. John Connally, born in 1917, had spent decades threading himself through the highest rooms in American public life. He was secretary to congressman Lyndon B.
Johnson back in 1939. He served for several years as Johnson's aide. He became Secretary of the Navy under President John F.
Kennedy in 1961. And in 1962, he was elected Governor of Texas — a post he would hold for three terms. Then came November 22, 1963.
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Connally was a passenger in that car. He was shot and seriously wounded.
There is no dramatic flourish needed there. That sentence carries its own weight. Connally survived, and he kept going.
As governor, he worked on improvements in education, government reform, historic preservation, and the state's tourism industry. Three terms. And when those terms were done, he and Nellie came to this house on this triangular lot in River Oaks.
He wasn't exactly retiring. In February of 1969 — just one month after moving in — Connally joined the Houston law firm of Vinson, Elkins, Searls and Connally. Then in 1971, he became President Richard Nixon's Secretary of the Treasury.
And while living right here, he campaigned for the United States presidency himself in 1980. The couple sold the house in 1984. John Connally, Jr. died in 1993.
Nellie Connally, who had been born in 1919, passed in 2006. They are buried together at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. The house itself has had its alterations over the years — a two-story addition on the north side among them.
But it still stands on that triangular lot, still asymmetrical, still unornamented, still extending forward at varying heights, like it has something to say and isn't waiting for permission to say it. For a building that started out as one architect's personal vision in 1959, it ended up holding quite a bit of American history within those windowless walls.
What the marker says
Houston architect Ernest L. Shult designed this mid-century modern house for his own residence in 1959. The home, sited on a triangular lot in the River Oaks neighborhood, is representative of the contemporary style popular in the post-war years. The house has had alterations over the years including a two-story addition on the north side. Prominent features of the house include its asymmetrical façade, white stucco and unornamented exterior wall, multiple roof sections, portions of the front façade extending forward and varying in height, and a large expanse of windowless walls. John Connally, Jr. (1917-1993) and his wife, Idanell “Nellie” Connally (1919-2006), moved here in January 1969 after he served three terms as Governor of Texas. During his residence at this location, Connally was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and campaigned for the U.S. presidency in 1980. The couple sold the house in 1984. John Connally, Jr. Is known for his extensive career in politics. He was secretary to congressman Lyndon B. Johnson in 1939, served for several years as Johnson’s aide, was Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy in 1961, and was elected Governor of Gexas in 1962. When President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963, Connally, a passenger in the car, was shot and seriously wounded. Among his accomplishments as governor were improvements in the areas of education, government reform, historic preservation and the state’s tourism industry. He joined Houston law firm Vinson, Elkins, Searls and Connally in February 1969 and became President Richard Nixon’s Secretary of the Treasury in 1971. Governor and Mrs. Connally are buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.