Isaac H. and Henrietta Kempner House

Duane's take

The official marker on this one tells it straight, so let me give it to you the way Galveston deserves. Picture the year 1894. A Polish immigrant named Harris Kempner has built himself into one of the most formidable businessmen on the Gulf Coast.

Banking, insurance, railroads, cotton. The man had his hands in all of it. And then, at fifty-seven years old, Harris Kempner died.

Left behind eight children and a business empire that needed somebody to step up. The eldest of those eight children was Isaac Herbert Kempner. Isaac was twenty-one years old.

Twenty-one. And just like that, the whole thing landed on his shoulders. Now, some men would have stumbled under that kind of weight.

Isaac Kempner did not stumble. He took his father's many businesses and built on them, grew them, made a name entirely his own. In 1902 he married Henrietta Blum, daughter of a prominent Galveston businessman, and the two of them together became fixtures of this city.

Then came 1900. The storm. Galveston knows what that means, and so does anyone who's ever heard the story.

The devastating storm of 1900 tore into this island, and when the water pulled back, the work of rebuilding an entire infrastructure fell to people willing to lead. Isaac Kempner stepped forward. The marker calls it exceptional civic leadership, and it's hard to argue with that.

He served as Galveston's city mayor from 1917 to 1919, capping years of effort to put this place back together. Now, 1904. Isaac and Henrietta purchased three lots on Broadway, Galveston's most fashionable boulevard.

They weren't going to build just any house. They hired local architect Charles W. Bulger, and what Bulger designed was an imposing two-story neoclassical house, completed in 1906.

Colossal Corinthian columns out front. Art glass worked extensively into the windows. A large single entry door with a transom and sidelights.

This was a house that announced itself. Then in 1924 additional lots became available on the west side, and the Kempners brought in noted Houston architect John F. Staub to add a two-story concrete and stucco wing.

Two great architects, two distinct chapters, one house on Broadway. The Kempner family held onto it all the way until 1970. More than six decades of a family's life, right there on Galveston's grandest street.

A Polish immigrant's son, twenty-one years old and suddenly in charge of everything, built something that lasted. That's the story this house is still telling.

What the marker says

At the time of his death in 1894 Polish immigrant Harris Kempner, age 57, was a leading Galveston businessman with interests in banking, insurance, railroads, and cotton. Isaac Herbert Kempner, age 21 and the eldest of Harris Kempner's eight children, took over his father's many businesses. In 1902 Isaac married Henrietta Blum, daughter of a prominent Galveston businessman. Isaac Kempner became an important businessman in his own right and after the devastating storm of 1900 demonstrated exceptional civic leadership in his efforts to rebuild Galveston's entire infrastructure. From 1917 to 1919 he served as Galveston city mayor. In 1904 the Kempners purchased three lots here on Broadway, Galveston's most fashionable boulevard. This imposing two-story neoclassical style house was designed by local architect Charles W. Bulger and completed in 1906. The house features colossal Corinthian columns and extensive use of art glass in its windows and large single entry door with transom and sidelights. In 1924 additional lots became available on the west side and a two-story concrete and stucco wing designed by noted Houston architect John F. Staub was added. The house remained in the Kempner family until 1970. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1995