Remembering Houston Seeing the city through the eyes of Bob Bailey BY S T E V E N R. STROM EIGHT YEARS AGO, when the University Metropolitan Research Center, located of Texas' Center for American History the Houston Public Library's Julia Ideson announced it had acquired the Boh Bailey Building, house the Bailey archives, but Studios photograph collection, a sigh of in the end the acquisition and storage despair was heard from Houston's his- costs proved loo much. So the University torical research community. And with of Texas stepped in to become the host good reason—few commercial names for this nationally notable collection o! resonate with Houstomans as much as photography. that of Boh Bailey Studios. The studio Though in the opinion of some began operations in 1929, and in the Houstonians the Center for American six plus decades that it was in business, History (CAH) was a depository ot I.is: thousands of Houstonians had their por- resort—one respected Houston historic traits taken by Bob Bailey and his brother preservationist remarked that the men- Marvin, or hired them to shoot their thought ot losing the Bailey Collection tn homes, new businesses, civic buildings, UT-Austin made her "blood boil"—it wa* l hristmas telebrations, birthday parties, nonetheless an institution that recognized and other events. The Baileys were, in a the collection's importance and had tlu way, the city's family photographers, and resources to care for it. For the Univcrsit, Houstonians lutd hoped to keep their of Texas, acquiring the Bailey Collection piles of pictures, and with it the memories represented a major institutional invest- they evoked, at home. ment. And contrary ro local folklore, the Sadly, that didn't happen. An l .AM did noi .HUM- in I Eouston m tlu attempt was made to have the Houston middle ot the night and then sneak out ot 0 0 |T.- ' I ' l l J 1 : - •' OPENING SOON OPENING SOON ^" HOUSTON S NEWEST ."OWTON S NEWEST INTERSTATE THEATRE JMERSTATE THEATRE All photos O Bob Bailey Studio Photographic Archive. Center lot American Huron the UnAtersily nl leu i at Austin 18 CITE 67 : SUMMER 2006 town w i t h the Bailey C o l l e c t i o n in t o w . SANTA ROSA THEATRE, 1946 { P R E V I O U S PAGE) As C A H director D o n C a r l c t o n remem- bers it, " A f t e r we conducted a close and This p h o t o was taken just p r i o r to the theater's opening. The image conjures up the detailed evaluation of a w i d e sample severe postwar decline in the movie industry that w o u l d soon take place f o l l o w i n g of the images in the Bailey Collection , the widespread introductio n of television. The Santa Rosa was a part of the Texas- it became crystal clear in us that these based Interstate Theatre c h a i n , w h i c h was highly influenri.il in the g r o w t h and photographs not o n l y were a significant expansion ••! Housto n movie theaters, and was n pi. il nt Interstate's neighborhood resource for stare and local history, but theaters. It was also the chain's last i n d o o r movie theater to be built in H o u s t o n also a treasure trove for research in the until 1965, when construction began on Interstate's Clear Lake Theatre. Because the urban history of the United States d u r i n g Bailey Studio was regularly hired by Interstate to record nor only the construction of the 2 0 th century." us H o u s t o n theaters, but also movie premieres and promotiona l events for new films, CAH photographic archivist Lind a the Bailey Collection is invaluable for film historians. Peterson has nicely summarized the stu- dio's achievement: " T h e Baileys were able to push their equipment in new and excit- ing ways that documen t in an historic sense, as well as an artistic sense. T h e i r collection is astonishing b o t h in the range o f its subject matter and the artistry of its visual style." Still, more than a few Houstonian s were less ih.iu happy. Researching the archives n o w meant traveling to A u s t i n , 1 and once there, p o r i n g over v o l u m i n o u s . ledgers to locate photographs. Even after they were identified , the pictures c o u l d be difficult to retrieve f r o m the collection's temporary storage area. O n l y the most stalwart and dedicated researchers were , willing to face the task. I But after years of chafing over the col- lection's move to A u s t i n , there's n o w good news for Bailey-enamored Houstonians. Last year, the C A H announced that images from the Bailey Collection had been 8 digitized and w o u l d be made available on the Texas A r c h i v a l Resources O n l i n e website. Before l o n g , some 5,000 of the Bailey Studio's best images w i l l be avail- able online. This may seem less than perfect, % given that there are an estimated 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 pictures in the collection (though o n l y ! some 20,000-25,00 0 are considered to * 'Hun constitute the collection's core). But in (ruth, this makes the Bailey photos more niiiifl easily available to m o r e Houstonian s t h a n ;•;•! ever before, I ;;:= In many instances H o u s t o n researchers IIP will be able to view needed Bailey images On their computers and order copies w i t h - out ever leaving t o w n . A n d as researchers request addiiinii.il images thai haven't been digitized, those pictures w i l l be added to the online collection. Ultimately, the entire Bailey Collection could end up f only a mouse click away. !i that happens, the Baileys' record SAN JACINTO HOTEL, MAIN STREET of I lousron as it moved through the 2 0 t h century w i l l have come home again after In the f o r e g r o u n d can be seen the San Jacinto I l o t e l , at the corner of M a i n and Walker. all. Even now, it is possible in the Bailey The ten-story San Jacinto H o t el was originally constructed as the Bender H o t el by Collection's online offerings to trace the Houston businessman E.L. Bender and contained 2H5 rooms. It was typical of the growth of the city. buildings along M a i n Street, w h i c h lent an air of importance to the city's principal Following are a few representative commercial c o r r i d or in the early 2 0 t h century. W h e n the hotel opened in December images f r o m the online collection. These 1911, it was extensively advertised as " t h e only hotel in the South w i t h an electric pictures reveal an artistry that is surpris- grill," and it was k n o w n for its ornate ornamentation . Like other H o u s t o n hotels that ing for a commercial studio. • catered to traveling businessmen, the San Jacinto contained a w i d e range of on-site In access the Bailey Collection images, go service facilities, including a cafeteria, a Turkis h b a t h , and a d r u g store. The hotel was to ii'irir.lili.iiii-xjs.i'ilii/tdro/titeah/00451/ converted into offices beginning in 1950. ath004Sl.html. CITE 6? • SUMMER 2006 19 III I !? ^ ^ * HOUSTON CITY HALL AND CIVIC CENTER, 1957 In the left foreground, the construction of the west wing addition to the Houston Public Library's Julia Idcson Building, completed in 1958, is visible. In front o( City Hall, finished in 19.19, the original landscaping by 1 iare c%: Hare landscape architects can be seen. In the background is the now-demolished Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall, presently the site of the Hobby Center. The Bailey Studio photographed Houston's ( ity I I.lll during all phases of Us construction, providing outstanding documentation of the art moderne city landmark designed by Joseph f'inger. 20 CITE 57 : SUMMER 2006 I 0 MAJESTIC THEATRE MARQUEE. 1936 Advertised in bright light is comedian Joe E. brown's feature film Earthworm Tractors. The Majestic was designed by noted theater architect John Lberson, and was his first ".imtospheru " (heater. ,i style that became his trademark. Completed in 192.? for Karl Hohlit/.eilc of rlie Interstate chain, the Majestic was located at 908 Rusk. The Majestic was one <»t downtown I louston's "big three" movie palaces, along with Loew's State and the Metropolitan. It was torn down in 1971. CITE 67 SUMMER 2006 2\ ALLEN'S SHOES, MAIN STREET, 1935 The Bailey Studio's visual record ot the city's show windows—including the elaborate displays of l-'oley's.