Back in the 1940s and '50s, petrochemical executives and other Baytown elites would gather for parties in the third-floor terrazzo-and-marble ballroom of the Kirkpatrick mansion. The home's three-acre lawn, covered with roses and day lilies, featured the first swimming pool in the city.

Kirkpatrick House, Brownwood subdivision, October 1977. Courtesy Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District.

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