Pitt House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Pitt House, out there in Cameron County. Now settle in, because this one travels a long way before it's done. We're talking about a man who crossed an ocean, landed in Galveston in 1909, and somehow ended up leaving his mark on the Rio Grande Valley in stone and tile and hand-shaped concrete.

Arthur Pitt, straight out of England, stepped off into Texas and found work at a citrus nursery. Not a bad start for a man in a new country. Then in 1918, he made his move down to the Valley, and he didn't just take a job this time.

He founded a citrus tree business. And he ran that business for sixty years. Sixty.

You let that sink in a moment. Now, a man who tends something for sixty years has roots of his own, and by 1930 Arthur Pitt and his wife, Evelyn Roper Pitt, decided it was time to put those roots into a proper house. They contracted an architect named E.

Guy Holliday, a man who had worked with the renowned firm of Trost and Trost over in El Paso, and they told him what they wanted. What Holliday designed was a Spanish Revival home, asymmetrical floor plan, low-pitched tile roof, half-round arches, ornate tile, the whole graceful package. But here's where the story gets interesting.

Arthur Pitt was English, and he did not forget it. Tucked into that Spanish Revival house are European design elements, custom-made tile patterns and, in the foyer window, a pre-cast concrete cross-pattern that reflects his British heritage. A man from England, building a Spanish Revival home in South Texas, and leaving a little piece of the old country right there in the window where the light comes through every morning.

That is the Pitt House.

What the marker says

PITT HOUSE ARTHUR PITT OF ENGLAND ARRIVED IN GALVESTON, TEXAS IN 1909 WHERE HE FOUND WORK AT A CITRUS NURSERY. PITT MOVED TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN 1918 WHERE HE FOUNDED A CITRUS TREE BUSINESS THAT HE RAN FOR SIXTY YEARS. IN 1930, PITT AND HIS WIFE, EVELYN ROPER PITT, CONTRACTED E. GUY HOLLIDAY, AN ARCHITECT WHO HAD WORKED WITH TROST & TROST IN EL PASO, TO DESIGN A HOME FOR THE FAMILY. THE HOUSE FEATURES TRADITIONAL SPANISH REVIVAL ELEMENTS, SUCH AS AN ASYMMETRICAL FLOOR PLAN, LOW-PITCHED TILE ROOF, HALF-ROUND ARCHES, AND ORNATE TILE. IT ALSO INCLUDES EUROPEAN DESIGN ELEMENTS, SUCH AS CUSTOM-MADE TILE PATTERNS AND A PRE-CAST CONCRETE CROSS-PATTERN IN THE FOYER WINDOW THAT REFLECT PITT'S BRITISH HERITAGE.