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The Houston Light Guard Armory
With the opening of the deepened Houston Ship Channel in 1914, the generally
favorable economic climate of the 1920's began. The petroleum industry created
jobs and profits. The city burgeoned. Two trends developed. A dramatic increase
in population pushed residential development into suburban areas, and commercial
development escalated to a plateau previously unknown to Houston. The city's
central business district advanced into the formerly elite residential area along
Main Street in what today is the southern end of downtown. The years from the mid-
1920's until the beginning of the great depression mere a golden period. 1
The Rice Hotel wing of 1925-1926, the Lamar Hotel of 1927, Jones Lumber Com-
pany of 1924, Houston Scottish Rite Cathedral of 1922, and Houston light Guard
Armory of 1924 were all structures made necessary by Houston's rapid growth in
population and prosperity. All were designed by Houston architect Alfred C. Finn.
The demand for better office buildings, stores, hotels, service stations,
theatres, warehouses, and structures for fraternal and charitable institutions
was satisfied by architect Alfred C. Finn (1883-1964). A native of Bellville,
Texas, Finn came to Houston in 1912 with Sanguinet & Staats, a Fort Worth archi-
tectural firm which had offices in Houston. In 1913 Finn commenced independent
practice. His firm designed residences for the upper middle class which developed
in the South End, Montrose, Shadyside, and Courtlandt Place. He is best known,
however, for his large commercial and institutional projects which include the
Gulf Building, Jefferson Davis Hospital, Sam Houston Coliseium and Music Hall,
and the San Jacinto Monument. For three and one-half decades, Mr. Finn was recog-
nized as the principal architect of Houston. He was voted a Fellow of the Ameri-
can Institute of Architects February 9, 1949.2 The ability of Finn to respond to