Waldrop House

Duane's take

The official marker's the one tellin' this tale, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, Bryan, Texas has seen its share of fine homes come and go, but there's one that's been standin' its ground since the early nineteen hundreds, and it's got a story worth slowing down for. The Waldrop House.

Designed by Houston architects Jones and Tabor, built for Allister and Nanne Waldrop. Allister, born in eighteen seventy-seven, was by all accounts a prominent retail merchant in the area. Man knew how to run a business, and apparently he knew how to build a house, too.

He also served as President of the Bryan School Board, which tells you something about the kind of man he was. He wasn't just selling goods, he was invested in the community. He passed in nineteen thirty-six, but that house, that house kept standing.

Now here's where the story gets interesting for those of us who pay attention to how things are put together. The Waldrop House was built in the American Four-Square style. And that style is exactly what it sounds like.

Clean lines, no fuss, no architectural showing off. It was a movement of its time, a leaning toward simplicity of design when the rest of the world was still nailing decorative curlicues onto everything in sight. But simplicity doesn't mean plain.

The house has features worth noticing. Palladian dormer windows, for one. Those are the kind of windows that make you stop on the sidewalk and look up.

And the second story is wrapped in wood shingles, a detail that gives the whole structure a texture and warmth that a photograph almost can't capture. You have to be there. Jones and Tabor drew the plans down in Houston, and somewhere between the drafting table and the final nail, they got it right.

The Waldrop House is still with us, a quiet but confident piece of Bryan's architectural past, and it's not going anywhere.

What the marker says

Designed by Houston architects Jones & Tabor, this home was built for Allister (1877-1936) and Nanne Waldrop in the early 1900s. Waldrop, a prominent area retail merchant, also served as President of the Bryan School Board. The Waldrop house, built in the American Four-Square style, reflects the architectural trend of the times toward simplicity of design. Interesting features include the Palladian dormer windows and the use of wood shingles on the second story. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983