Highrise Tower Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 I was browsing the newspaper The Houston post dated January 10, 1906 and came across an article about a new roller rink about to open. A New Rink Building Being Erected on Main and Lamar. To Be Ideal Structure Messrs. Beach and Bruce Are the Proprietors and Will Be Ready by February 1. Roller skating in Houston is to have the additional stimulus of a new rink, built especially for the purpose. Work has already been begun preliminary to the erection of the building, which will be locate don the southwest corner of Lamar Avenue and Main Street, and, according to the contract, it will be ready for use within eighteen days from yesterday. On the 1st of February the new rink will be formally opened to the public. Messrs. Monta Beach and R.L. Bruce have associated themselves together in this enterprise, and they plan to make it one of the nest arranged structures of the kind in the South. The total coast of the building and equipment will ne $5000 and it will be built in pavilion style. In outside dimensions it will measure 75x150 feet. The superstructure will be wood and the building will be roofed with metal. The walls will rise twelve feet from the floor, and there will be an open space of several feet for ventilation between that and the roof. All around there will be placed two tiers of seats and the center floor will be space for skating. The skating surface will be a floor of hard maple and will be made ideal for the purpose. When skating is not in the season it may be used as a dancing pavilion, it is to skating. In fact, the erection of the proposed structure means the addition of another amusement hall to the city and it be hailed with delight by the young people.-- September 20, 1906: Houston Roller Rink Cor. Main and Lamar Will open for the season Monday morning, Sept. 24 Three Sessions Daily (Except Sunday) Thayer's Band Afternoon and evening Everything new but the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 Found this on the 1907 Sanborn map! So, no address? Interesting. The next address I see is 1018 Lamar Av. Perhaps this would be located at 1017 Lamar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Highrise Tower said: Found this on the 1907 Sanborn map! So, no address? Interesting. The next address I see is 1018 Lamar Av. Perhaps this would be located at 1017 Lamar? 1017 is on the other side of the street. The rink address would have been something like 1008 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 Found a depiction of this 1906 building! Talk about a needle in a haystack. The developers/owners were Messrs, Monta Beach, And R.L. Bruce. A little confused who Messrs is. I believe that was a Houston architect. Wasn't there a Mayor, or someone in Government, with a last name Messrs as well? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 No mystery. Messrs is the plural of Mister, not the name of a person. You rarely see the term used anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 59 minutes ago, Dave W said: No mystery. Messrs is the plural of Mister, not the name of a person. You rarely see the term used anymore. Very cool. Never knew that. In this case, Messrs was indeed a person. Him and Mitchell Westheimer were in business together at one point. Either in the late 1800s or the early 1900s. Here is one of the principals of the skating rink, Monta Beach: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 Here it is, 1868. In this case, I believe you are right! *But I still think there was an architect with the same name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 I think you're right, but for what it's worth: Arthur Albert Messer was born in England in 1864 and trained there as an architect. He came to Texas in 1888 and became the partner of Fort Worth architect A. J. Armstrong. I was referring to this. West Front of the Administration Building at the William M. Rice Institute , Houston, TX, 1912, Messrs. Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 He may have done business with Arthur Messer of the architectural firm Armstrong & Messer but that's unrelated to Messrs as the plural of Mister. I understand the confusion, though, especially since it's such an obsolete term today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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