Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park in Houston in Harris County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Eugene Thomas Heiner
(August 20, 1852 - April 26, 1901)
Photographed By Brian Anderson, September 3, 2018
1. Eugene Thomas Heiner Marker
Inscription.
Eugene Thomas Heiner. (August 20, 1852 - April 26, 1901). Born in New York City to German immigrants Nicholas and Margaretta Heiner, Eugene Thomas Heiner apprenticed himself to a Chicago architect when he was thirteen years old and later completed his training in Berlin, Germany. Heiner became a draftsman for architect J. A. Vrydaugh in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1873. Three years later, with the prize money he won in a design competition at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Eugene T. Heiner moved to Dallas. There he met and married Viola Isenhour. They settled in Houston and were the parents of four daughters. His first major design was rendered for the Galveston County Jail in 1878. Heiner became known for his work on Texas county courthouses and jails, though his work also included many commercial buildings and private homes., Heiner's designs of the 1870s and 1880s often employed variations of Classical detail typical of American High Victorian architecture. The two-story Italianate and Second Empire style Smith County Jail in Tyler (1880-1881) was designed during the prosperous days after Reconstruction. His style then shifted toward the increasingly popular Richardsonian Romanesque, but retained his strong High Victorian tendency toward vertical lines and structural ornamentation. Heiner designed more than twenty courthouses and jails in as many years. He also was responsible for the design of such unusual buildings as the Houston Cotton Exchange and Board Of Trade Building (1884). A founding member of the Texas Association of Architects in 1886, he left a remarkable legacy of public buildings in Texas.
Born in New York City to German immigrants Nicholas and Margaretta Heiner, Eugene Thomas Heiner apprenticed himself to a Chicago architect when he was thirteen years old and later completed his training in Berlin, Germany. Heiner became a draftsman for architect J. A. Vrydaugh in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1873. Three years later, with the prize money he won in a design competition at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Eugene T. Heiner moved to Dallas. There he met and married Viola Isenhour. They settled in Houston and were the parents of four daughters. His first major design was rendered for the Galveston County Jail in 1878. Heiner became known for his work on Texas county courthouses and jails, though his work also included many commercial buildings and private homes.
Heiner's designs of the 1870s and 1880s often employed variations of Classical detail typical of American High Victorian architecture. The two-story Italianate and Second Empire style Smith County Jail in Tyler (1880-1881) was designed during the prosperous days after Reconstruction. His style then shifted toward the increasingly popular Richardsonian Romanesque, but retained his strong High Victorian tendency toward vertical lines and structural ornamentation. Heiner designed more than twenty courthouses and jails in as many years. He also was responsible
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for the design of such unusual buildings as the Houston Cotton Exchange and Board Of Trade Building (1884). A founding member of the Texas Association of Architects in 1886, he left a remarkable legacy of public buildings in Texas.
Erected 2000 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11965.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture.
Location. 29° 45.992′ N, 95° 23.238′ W. Marker is in Houston, Texas, in Harris County. It is in Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park. Marker can be reached from Washington Avenue. Eugene Thomas Heiner is buried in Glenwood Cemetery, West Avenue section, Lot 274. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2525 Washington Avenue, Houston TX 77007, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2018, by Brian Anderson of Humble, Texas. This page has been viewed 226 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 5, 2018, by Brian Anderson of Humble, Texas. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.