The Sam Houston Hall was a building in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It was located at 801 Bagby Street in the Fourth Ward, though now considered a part of downtown. It was designed as a temporary structure for the

1928 Democratic National Convention The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. Keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for pre ...

. It served as the venue for the

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Sta ...

from 1932 to 1936, after which it was demolished.

History

The Sam Houston Hall was a wooden structure covering a length of three football fields erected for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. It was designed by

Kenneth Franzheim Kenneth Franzheim was an architect in Chicago and Boston in the early 1920s with C. Howard Crane. He started an independent practice in New York in 1925 and specialized in the design of large commercial buildings and airports. Franzheim became ...

and

Alfred C. Finn Alfred Charles Finn (July 2, 1883 – June 26, 1964) was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. H ...

under contract with

Jesse H. Jones Jesse Holman Jones (April 5, 1874June 1, 1956) was an American Democratic politician and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. Jones managed a Tennessee tobacco factory at age fourteen, and at nineteen, he was put in charge of his uncle's lumbery ...

, who insisted on a venue that would accommodate the conventioneers and thousands of spectators. The building was optimized for air flow and equipped with heavy duty "typhoon fans." However, it was also designed as a racially-segregated facility: a substandard area fenced off by chicken wire was designated for African Americans. The hall was completed within four months. Sam Houston Hall hosted the first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in the spring of 1932. A streetcar system made the hall accessible to many Houstonians. It was also located close to the Houston Farmers' Market. The first show, in the middle of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, drew 2,000 people. The show was held annually at the hall through 1936. The Sam Houston Hall was torn down after the 1936 Livestock Show and Rodeo, then replaced by the

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

. The site is now occupied by the

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a theater in Houston, Texas, United States. Opened to the public in 2002, the theater is located downtown on the edge of the Houston Theater District. Hobby Center features glass walls with views ...

References

{{Democratic National Convention venues Defunct indoor arenas in Texas Demolished buildings and structures in Houston Music venues in Houston Buildings and structures completed in 1928 Buildings and structures demolished in 1936 Former music venues in the United States 1928 establishments in Texas 1936 disestablishments in Texas