About this property
Battelstein's is a commercial skyscraper located on Main Street in downtown Houston, Texas, United States. From 1924 until 1980, it housed an eponymous department store founded by Philip Battelstein. Originally only two floors, it was expanded to its present ten-story form between 1934 and 1950 by architects Joseph Finger and George Rustay. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 6, 2020. Philip Battelstein arrived in Houston in 1897 as a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania. Arriving with only a few dollars to his name, he soon opened his own tailor and haberdashery, P. Battelstein & Company, located inside the Prince Theater building at 314 Fannin Street (now a walkway adjacent to the Harris County Tax Office); it later burned down. Battelstein restarted his business at 618 Main Street in 1909; around the same time, the partnership dissolved and the company name became just "P. Battelstein". This business also burned down in 1924 after a fire broke out at the adjacent Old Capitol Hotel. Battelstein then purchased the present-day site at 812 Main Street. This new iteration of Battelstein's was a simple two-story building, completed in early 1924; however, the architect Battelstein hired to plan the works is unknown, but at least the interior fixtures were the work of Houston Showcase & Manufacturing Co. Originally, Battelstein shared the building with several other tenants, but quickly began to expand. By June 1924, Battelstein's announced it would double in size and touted itself as "being made the most modern in the Southwest". By 1933, his business had expanded enough to take up the entirety of the first floor. The following year, Battelstein hired Houston architect Joseph Finger to design an expansion. The store expanded again in 1937, this time adding three floors and multiple new departments. Battelstein's prospered during the post-World War II years. The department store business in Houston flourished, and several expanded their buildings and services during this time; they were some of the first companie to start building skyscrapers in downtown Houston. By the late 1940s, Battelstein's was ready to increase in size again and planned a major remodel along with it. Finger was rehired and Tellepsen Construction Company was chosen to construct it. The expansion was completed in 1950 and was followed by several minor restorations and redecorations over the decades, as well as the opening of two new stores: at River Oaks in 1953 and at Sharpstown Mall in 1961. Although Battelstein himself died in 1955, his store's success did not slow. From 1952 to 1956, Battelstein's was announced to have advertised so much that it led the nation in newspaper linage for its menswear ads.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Battelstein's listed on the National Register?
Battelstein's was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 6, 2020.
What type of historic resource is Battelstein's?
Battelstein's is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Battelstein's?
The period of significance for Battelstein's is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1924.
Can I research the history near Battelstein's?
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