DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. A Jewish-Russian immigrant named Oscar Berman made his way to Texas by the 1880s — and if you're thinkin' that's a long way from home, well, you'd be right. But Texas has a way of keeping people who show up with enough grit, and Oscar Berman had plenty.
Around 1890, he wed a woman named Rachel — Rachel Finklestein, though folks called her Ray — and he set about building something. He partnered with a man named Getzel Zadek and went into business in Luling, up in Caldwell County. The two of them later took their ambitions to San Antonio and opened a wholesale liquor business.
Now, that was going along just fine until 1918, when Prohibition rolled in like a slow-moving storm that everybody saw comin' and almost nobody was ready for. Oscar and Ray pivoted — as the resourceful tend to do — and branched into other businesses, loans among them. But here's the thing about Oscar Berman: even before the storm, even before the pivots, he had already done something that was going to outlast all of it.
In 1906, work began on the Berman House. He hired noted architect Harvey L. Page, and what Page delivered was something worth stopping the car for.
Neoclassical design with Prairie influences — Corinthian and Doric columns standing at attention, deep eaves reaching out like they own the shade, corbelled chimneys, and a full-height entry with a first-floor porch that curves inward in a way you don't see twice in a lifetime. The house was enlarged with wings in the 1920s, and has since been restored to its original design. Oscar Berman arrived in Texas with nothing the marker bothers to mention except his name and his nerve — and he left behind a house that architects still talk about.
That's a pretty good trade.
What the marker says
Jewish-Russian immigrant Oscar Berman was in Texas by the 1880s. He wed Rachel "Ray" Finklestein c. 1890 and became a businessman in Luling, Caldwell County, parterning with Getzel Zadek. They later opened a wholesale liquor business in San Antonio. With Prohibition in 1918, they branched into other businesses, including loans. In 1906, work began on the Berman House, designed by noted architect Harvey L. Page. The Neoclassical design with Prairie influences features Corinthian and Doric columns, deep eaves, corbelled chimneys, and a full-height entry with unique inward-curving first-floor porch. Enlarged with wings in the 1920s, the home has since been restored to its original design. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2006