The Sweeney, Coombs, and Fredericks Building is a late Victorian commercial building with a 3-story corner turret and Eastlake decorative elements that was designed by George E. Dickey in 1889. The building is located at 301 Main Street in

Houston 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 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and occupies the corner of Main Street and Congress Street in

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

. The building is one of the few Victorian-style architectural structures that remains in the city. The building received a "City of Houston Landmark" designation in 2009. The building is included in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

by virtue of being a conforming structure in the Main Street/Market Square Historic District.

Location

The Sweeney, Coombs and Fredericks Building shares a 75-year ground lease from Harris County and adjacent to the historic Pillot Building. The building lies within the boundaries of Houston's

Main Street/Market Square Historic District Main Street Market Square Historic District is a historic district in Houston, Texas that includes the Market Square Park. It includes buildings nearby, as well as the square itself. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

. Market Square, the namesake for the historic district, is just one block away on Congress Street.

Purchase, Development, and Construction

Purchase

In 1882, John Jasper Sweeney and Edward L. Coombs commissioned the purchase of an 1861 building built by William A. Van Alstyne, the W.A. Van Alstyne Building.

Construction

Historical records indicate that the W. A. Van Alstyne Building was set to be demolished and replaced by the Sweeney and Coombs structure. Speculation remains as to whether the demolition of the W. A. Van Alstyne Building was ever completed; some theorists believe that the W. A. Van Alstyne Building was incorporated by renovation into the structure built by Sweeney and Coombs. Construction of the building was completed in 1887.

Design

The building was designed by George E. Dickey and the style of the building reflects the Victorian Era of architecture. Design elements included a 3-story corner turret and Eastlake decorative elements. The decorative angled doors of the building are set facing the intersection of 220 Main Street.

Renovations

The building underwent a modest renovation in 1968, which preserved the exposed brick walls and original hardwood floors.

Ownership

Gus Fredericks joined the Sweeney and Coombs Jewelry firm before 1889. The jewelry firm is still in business. In 1974, Harris County acquired the building through condemnation. The Environmental Practice Group of the Harris County Attorney’s Office occupies the 2nd floor and a portion of the County Auditor’s Office occupies the third.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Houston Buildings and structures in Houston 1889 establishments in Texas Buildings and structures completed in 1889 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks