Houston, Texas: Unknown, c.1930[undated]

• Title: Houston, Texas 
  
• Author: Unknown
• Date: c.1930 [undated]
• Condition: Excellent
• Inches: 20 x 16 [Paper] 
• Centimeters: 50.80 x 40.64 [Paper] 
• Product ID: 308553

This later printed photograph depicts downtown Houston, Texas around the early 1930s, as viewed from a high vantage point atop the Gulf Building, facing northwest toward the residential neighborhoods and green spaces beyond the central city. The striking architectural feature in the foreground is the crown of the Niels Esperson Building, while the striped-roofed Sam Houston Coliseum sits prominently at right, surrounded by early commercial storefronts, civic spaces, and scattered homes characteristic of the city’s transitional pre-war urban landscape.

Houston in the 1930s

In the 1930s, Houston became the most populous city in Texas, propelled by rapid growth in the oil industry and port activities. While the Great Depression slowed the economy and caused significant unemployment, Houston fared somewhat better than many American cities due to its diversified economic base and strong business leadership—no Houston banks failed during the era, thanks in part to Jesse H. Jones. The period also saw major civic projects like new public buildings, the founding of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and severe challenges such as the catastrophic 1935 flood that inundated large parts of the city.