Site of Guitar Mansion

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Site of Guitar Mansion, right here in Taylor County. Now, some families just pass through a town. And then some families arrive and make the whole town sit up a little straighter.

John and Laura Hudson Guitar were that second kind. They came from Missouri, John and Laura did, rolling into Abilene in 1898. And John Guitar was no stranger to money when he got here.

The man already owned cotton gins and cotton oil mills scattered across Texas, most of them planted in towns along the Texas and Pacific Railroad. He held farming interests, ranching interests, and lucrative Abilene real estate on top of all that. Laura, for her part, was deep in the life of the city, prominent in Abilene's social and civic organizations and a committed member of the First Christian Church.

These were people who had arrived, in every sense of the word. So when the Guitars bought property on this very site in 1905 and went looking for someone to design their new home, they didn't look next door. They reached all the way back to Kansas City, Missouri, for an architectural firm.

And when it came time to build, Guitar employees put up a grand mission-style house with Spanish influences. The total cost came to seventy-five thousand dollars. That was in 1910.

Let that number sit with you a moment. The front of the house greeted you with an arcade of concrete arches beneath an elaborate parapet. The mansion had five bedrooms and a carriage house.

The grounds took up half a city block, and the whole thing faced the railroad, like it had something to prove to every passing train. Inside and out, the details were something to behold. Crystal and stained glass windows.

Fine wood and marble interiors. And here's where it gets interesting, because the Guitars weren't just building beautiful, they were building ahead of their time. Security lights.

Intercoms. Door bells. A heating system.

And, tucked somewhere in that grand house, a bowling alley with an early pin setter. In a private home. In Abilene.

In 1910. John and Laura reared eight children in that showplace. It was a significant addition to the city's architectural wealth, and Abilene knew it.

John Guitar died in 1936. Laura followed in 1948, and after she was gone the mansion stood vacant. Vandalism set in.

Deterioration crept through those marble interiors and stained glass halls. And eventually, the couple's heirs made the hard call. They razed the house in 1964.

But here's the thing about a place that meant something. It doesn't disappear clean. Pieces of the structure were saved and placed in museum and private collections around Abilene.

Including one piece that feels almost like the house left a signature on the way out: a stone griffin, holding a guitar. Somewhere in this town, that griffin is still keeping watch.

What the marker says

John and Laura Hudson Guitar of Missouri moved to Abilene in 1898. John was already a wealthy businessman who owned a number of cotton gins and cotton oil mills throughout Texas, most in towns served by the Texas & Pacific Railroad. He held large farming and ranching interests as well as lucrative Abilene real estate. Laura was a prominent member of Abilene's social and civic organizations and the First Christian Church. The Guitars bought property on this site in 1905 and hired an architectural firm from Kansas City, Missouri, to design their new home. Guitar employees erected a grand mission-style house with Spanish influences at a total cost of $75,000 in 1910. An arcade of concrete arches beneath an elaborate parapet adorned the front of the house. The five-bedroom mansion and carriage house faced the railroad, and the grounds encompassed half a city block. The edifice featured many highly decorative details such as crystal and stained glass windows and fine wood and marble interiors, innovative elements included security lights, intercoms, door bells, a heating system and a bowling alley with an early pin setter. The Guitars reared eight children in the house, a showplace of Abilene society and a significant addition to the city's architectural wealth. John died in 1936, and after Laura's death in 1948 the house remained vacant. Vandalism and deterioration prompted the couple's heirs to raze the house in 1964. Pieces of the structure, including a stone griffin holding a guitar, were placed in both museum and private collections in Abilene. (1999)