Houston Post Building

15 July 1913: The newspaper which became The Houston Post was founded in 1880, and underwent several name changes and shifts of ownership before this building was erected in 1904. The entire publishing enterprise was housed in this small building. Presses and paper storage were on the basement level, and the 1st floor housed business offices. More offices and a mail room were on the 2nd level while the 3rd floor was for editorial offices and the 4th level was the composing room. Although it is hard to see on this printing of the card, the numerals on face of the clock are replaced with “The Daily Post,” the name of the newspaper in use at the time the card was printed. This building was headquarters for the post until 1924 when control of the paper came under the direction of Ross S. Sterling, Chairman of the Board and William P. Hobby, president. In 1926 the new Post Dispatch Building at 1100 Texas at Fannin was used for some administration functions (advertising) while printing of the paper was done at 2318 Polk at Dowling [now Emancipation Avenue in EADO (East of DownTown]. After the Post evacuated the building, it became a series of enterprises: Archer-Stewart Hardware Co.; The Dollar Store; Shotwell’s clothing store annex; Phoenix Furniture Company, Westheimer Furniture Company.

24 March 2019: Designed by I. M. Pie and finished in 1982, the 75 story JPMorgan Chase Tower is the tallest building in Houston. This façade at the southwest corner of Texas at Travis is the backside of the glacial gray tower which fills the entire block where the Houston Post once stood. The only splash of color on the block sits on the opposite corner at the main entrance of the building where a colorful five-story statue brightens the otherwise dismal plaza. Titled simply “Miro” for its creator, it is often referred to with a misnomer, “Personage with birds,” but it seems more likely that it is a surrealist representation of a male artist with protuberant penis holding aloft three palettes of the primary colors.  

Postmarked: 15 July 1913; Houston, Texas 
Stamp: 1c Green George Washington #405 
To: Mrs E. C. Stewart, 
7181 Upland, Street., 
Pittsburgh. Penn’a Homewood. Station 
Message: Houston Texas. 7-15-13 
Dear Friend:: Maybe you will be surprised to receive this from me. but I am the young Lady that you were talking to over at the Homewood Station one Saturday. would be pleased to hear from you. My address is. Irma Salyers c/o Mrs D. J. Coulter. Houston Texas “General Del.” 

   Irma was clearly homesick as she wrote to a woman she barely knew back home. Irma had spoken to Mrs. E. C. Stewart at Homewood Station fairly recently, probably just weeks ago, and they must have exchanged addresses. Irma was from near Homewood Station herself, a 20 year old young lady now many miles from her home at 501 Lorenze in Pittsburg, where her father, Charles H. Salyers, mother Jennie Murray, and sister Carrie apparently remained behind. Mrs. Earl Campbell Stewart lived less than a mile away from the Salyers at 7181 Upland, where Earl worked as an engineer for the railroad. Neither family was originally from Pennsylvania, a topic which may have come up when they were conversing at Homewood Station: The Salyers family was originally from Louisa, Lawrence County, Kentucky where Charles learned carpentry, and Earl Stewart was from Hancock County, West Virginia. Both families were likely drawn to Pittsburg by its burgeoning economy based on its steel mills and converging rail lines. At the time Pittsburg had a population of half a million people in 1910, and was the regional powerhouse between the east coast and growing economic centers of the heartland in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Houston was less than 80,000 at this same time, one sixth the size of Pittsburgh.  
   Irma seems to be lost to history after she sent this postcard, and no record of her in Texas or Pennsylvania has been found. Mrs. E. C. Stewart, Georgia Stewart, married Earl some time after he came to Pennsylvania. He was tall and slender with blue eyes and red hair, they had no children. Georgia seems also to have been lost to history, no record of her can be found after 1920. Earl married again on 15 November 1926 to Bertha Emma Hartman, who was the widow of William Henry Boden by whom she had two daughters: Gertrude born 2 April 1907, and Marion Ruth, born 23 November 1909 after her father died August 17, 1909 of diabetes.  
   Earl and Bertha continued to live in the Pittsburgh area, though they changed addresses a few times. Marion Boden died 11 March 1939 at age 3 and her mother Bertha died 7 May 1948 when they lived in Pitcairn, PA east of the city. Bertha and Marion are buried in Irwin Union Cemetery, next to her husband Earl, who died twenty years later. Gertrude m1: Sommerfield, and m2: John Walter Otto. She died 7 July 1990.