DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lasker Home for Children, standing there in Galveston County. Now, some buildings just sit on a street and hold their secrets close. This one's been doing that since about 1870, when a Galveston attorney by the name of Marcus C.
McLemore put it up — a two-story, galleried Greek revival residence, the kind of place that knows it looks good and doesn't apologize for it. McLemore passed in 1898, and whatever became of the home in the years between, by 1901 it had found a new purpose altogether. That year, the Society for the Help of Homeless Children bought the property and turned it into a charitable center.
Think about that for a moment. A house built for one family, handed over to the care of children who had none. The building had more life ahead of it than behind it.
Then along comes Morris Lasker — local businessman, born 1840, died 1916 — and in 1912 he put his money where Galveston's need was. His contributed funds paid for an expanded basement and a new addition to the northwest corner, giving the old place more room to do its work. The house grew, as good things sometimes do when the right people pay attention.
And in 1913, they named it in his honor. The Lasker Home for Children. A Greek revival house, built by a lawyer, bought by a society, expanded by a businessman — and somewhere in the turning of all those hands, it became something bigger than any one of them intended.
That's the kind of story a building earns.
What the marker says
This two-story galleried Greek revival residence was built about 1870 by Galveston attorney Marcus C. McLemore (d. 1898). The Society for the Help of Homeless Children bought the home in 1901 for use as a charitable center. It was enlarged in 1912 with funds contributed by Morris Lasker (1840-1916), a local businessman. Changes included an expanded basement and an addition to the northwest corner. The house was named in honor of Lasker in 1913. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980