This Old President's House

History of a House

In 1919, Harry Carothers Wiess was rising to local prominence as a co-founder of Humble Oil and Refining Company—now ExxonMobil. He and his family moved to Houston from Beaumont when Harry took charge of the company’s Baytown refinery. The Wiesses built their home adjacent to the Rice campus in the Shadyside neighborhood, where other Humble Oil founders already had established themselves.

Wiess was more than just a neighbor to Rice. In the 1920s, he began a tradition of philanthropy to the university that continued throughout his life. His other efforts on the institute’s behalf were substantial as well. He was instrumental in Rice’s 1942 purchase of the Rincon Oil Field, one of the university’s most important early investments. Wiess was named to the Board of Trustees in 1944, and he spearheaded the search for Rice’s second president, William V. Houston. Some of Wiess’s accomplishments as a trustee included being involved in the conception and construction of Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory, Anderson Hall, and Fondren Library. In 1948, he became the board’s vice chair.

After Wiess’s death in 1948, his wife and children continued his tradition of philanthropy by making significant contributions to the university. A residence hall—today called Wiess College—was dedicated in his honor in 1941, and the family made financial pledges toward the Wiess Science and Engineering Fund. Geology, in particular, owes a giant debt of gratitude to the Wiesses, beginning with the Harry Carothers Wiess Chair in Geology, established in 1952, and continuing with their creation of the geology department and the construction of the Keith–Wiess Geological Laboratory.

On December 18, 1974, Olga Keith Wiess extended even more generosity to the university by donating her historic home to Rice. The house—with its stucco walls and red tile roof—is a continuation of the campus, explains Stephen Fox, an architectural historian and adjunct lecturer at Rice. It was designed by William Ward Watkin, the same architect who designed some of Rice’s earliest buildings and later helped establish the university’s School of Architecture. Fox calls Watkin a “one-man operation promoting an extension of Rice architecture.” He was very consistent in reproducing that style in nearby structures, including Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church and Autry House on Main Street.

Harry Wiess always had been taken with the Mediterranean architecture of the campus, and he had a connection to Watkin, who designed the Beaumont home of Wiess’s sister as well as other buildings in the East Texas town. Reminiscent of an Italian villa, the home, with its grand exterior and stately interior, was the perfect setting for the family’s art and antique collection. It also set the tone for the elegant Shadyside neighborhood, which, Fox says, introduced a new level of elite domestic style in Houston. The Wiess House and other early homes in the neighborhood, including the Blaffer House and the Farish House, were models for homes built later in River Oaks.

The Wiess House resembles a country estate even though it was built in a suburban area, Fox explains. The double-fronted house was designed with an arrival court on the west side and a garden terrace on the east side, facing Main Street. The double-entry concept allowed the winds to blow through the home, an important feature in the days before air-conditioning.

But the entries and other elements of the home were altered in a dramatic 1926 renovation. “There was a huge change, almost an image change, in such a short period of time,” Neuhaus says. “The renovation reflected the fact that more entertaining was being done in the house.” Indeed, there likely was some social competition among Shadyside families, Fox notes, and as their wealth increased, the expectation of how they entertained changed as well.

For this renovation, the Wiesses turned to prominent architect Harrie T. Lindeberg, who designed several other Shadyside homes. Fox says that Lindeberg “took a grand home and made it even grander.” He added a two-story wing on the southwest corner that featured a large living room with a master bedroom suite above. The original living room was reconfigured into a spacious dining room and cloakroom that were used when the family entertained, and the front staircase was replaced with a detailed spiral stair. Lindeberg reversed the home’s entry pattern, making the primary entrance on the east side, facing Main Street, where he added a half-circle drive for automobiles and a copper canopy above the porch.

John Staub, a renowned architect who designed many homes on River Oaks and South Boulevards, added a servants’ wing onto the northwest corner in 1936. He also added air-conditioning and built the exterior wall along Main Street and Sunset. Other changes were made over the years, including a 1923 expansion of the kitchen and Lindeberg’s 1928 renovation and paneling of the library, a room that is considered one of the home’s most notable interior spaces.