DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm gonna tell you this one the way the official marker tells it — so trust the stone, not the storyteller. Well, pull up close, because this is a story about a woman who walked into a job in 1903 and didn't walk out for more than forty years, and by the time she was done, she had put her name on one of the finest buildings in Houston. That's the kind of story Texas knows how to grow.
It starts, like a lot of good Texas stories, with a problem and some determined people trying to fix it. Houston's Lyceum, local women's organizations, and Andrew Carnegie's national foundation all put their shoulders to the wheel, and in 1904, they got themselves a Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library Building. Fine enough.
But the city had also made a hire in 1903 — just one year before that building opened its doors — and her name was Julia Bedford Ideson. She was the city's first librarian, and that title, first, is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this tale. Now, Julia Ideson was not the kind of person who sat still while the books piled up.
Under her direction, the collection grew, the services expanded, and the people of Houston kept on coming. They kept coming so faithfully, so relentlessly, that by 1920 that 1904 building — the one that had seemed like such an achievement — was flat-out too small. Houston had outgrown its own library.
The city kept using that building through the early twenties, calling it the Houston Public Library by then, but everybody with any sense could see what was coming. In 1926, a new library building opened, right here at this site, and the old one stepped aside. But here's where the story gets rich, because that 1926 building didn't just appear out of thin air.
Through the whole of the 1920s, Ideson and the library building committee were working — visiting other U.S. cities, studying what worked, reviewing proposals from several noted architects. They were not in any hurry to get it wrong. When they finally made their choice, they landed on Ralph Adams Cram and his Boston firm, Cram and Ferguson.
Cram was noted for his design work throughout the Northeast — a northeastern man, you might say, brought down to a southern Texas city with a Spanish soul. And Cram, to his credit, read the room. He chose the Spanish Renaissance Revival style for Houston's library, and the details he delivered were something to behold: tile roof, arched openings, cast stone window surrounds, finials lining the parapet wall, ornate metalwork.
The L-shaped building went up in brick, cast stone, and limestone. Cram didn't work alone, of course. He coordinated with local architects William Ward Watkin and Louis A.
Glover, and with the city's own architect, W.A. Dowdy. The Southwestern Construction Company did the building.
It took a village — a very talented village — and when it was done, Houston had something to stand in front of and feel proud of. Julia Ideson kept right on running it. More than forty years as Houston's librarian — forty years of ordering books, expanding services, steering the institution through the decades — and then in 1945, she died.
Six years later, the city did what cities sometimes do when they finally understand what they had: they renamed the library in her honor. Not just for the library work, mind you, but for her involvement in numerous civic groups and professional associations. The woman was everywhere, doing everything, for decades.
The city's library facilities and services have continued to grow since 1926, as Houston tends to do everything — bigger, faster, more. But the Ideson Building is still there. Still serving as a library, still standing as a local landmark, still wearing that Spanish Renaissance Revival style like it was born to it.
First hired in 1903. Building opens in 1926. Name on the door in 1951.
Some legacies, friend, are built in brick and limestone, and they hold.
What the marker says
Early efforts by Houston's Lyceum, local women's organizations and Andrew Carnegie's national foundation led to the 1904 Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library Building. Julia Bedford Ideson, hired in 1903, was the city's first librarian. Under her direction, the library's collection and services expanded until, by 1920, the 1904 building was too small. The city continued to use the building, known by the 1920s as the Houston Public Library, until 1926, when the new library building opened at this site. Ideson and the library building committee worked throughout the 1920s to formulate a plan and program for the new structure, visiting other U.S. cities and accepting proposals from several noted architects. They chose Ralph Adams Cram and his Boston firm, Cram and Ferguson, for the project. Cram worked with local architects William Ward Watkin and Louis A. Glover, coordinating also with the city's architect, W.A. Dowdy. The Southwestern Construction Company served as the builder. Noted for his design work throughout the Northeast, Cram chose the Spanish Renaissance Revival style for Houston's library. Details include tile roof, arched openings, cast stone window surrounds, finials lining the parapet wall, and ornate metalwork. The L-shaped building's materials are primarily brick, cast stone and limestone. After more than 40 years as Houston's librarian, Ideson died in 1945. The city renamed the library six years later to honor her contributions to Houston's library program, as well as her involvement in numerous civic groups and professional associations. Although the city's library facilities and services have continued to expand since the Ideson Building's construction in 1926, the structure continues to serve as a library and local landmark. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2003