Clare, J. H., House
Why it's listed
Built in 1904 for J. H. Clare, this one-story frame house at 939 Arlington in the Houston Heights sits on brick piers and faces east. A hipped roof covers the main block, with a gable-front section at the northeast corner. The three-bay facade has 2-over-2 windows and a wooden door with a multi-paned upper window and transom. A porch with tapered box columns on brick piers and a wooden balustrade covers the first two bays. The gable is closed by a pent roof, with fish-scale shingles surrounding a narrow window and decorative shingles in the gable eave. It is considered remarkably intact for the housing stock of the Heights and a distinctive example of transitional Queen Anne vernacular building. Clare bought the neighboring lot in 1906, sold half of it that year, and sold the property in 1907 to Englebert J. Schmitz, who lived there for a number of years. The house still stands among similar houses of its period and design.
Significance in brief: The house is described as an early-20th-century dwelling remarkably intact for the housing stock of the Heights. Its decorative gable features make it a distinctive example of transitional Queen Anne vernacular building. It is significant at the local level in the area of architecture.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87002244, listed January 15, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 939 Arlington, Houston |
|---|---|
| County | Harris County |
| Listed | January 15, 1988 |
| Reference number | 87002244 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900 - |
| Architectural style | Vernacular (Transitional Queen Anne) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Physical condition is listed as good; the house remains in residential use. A 1950s rear garage is noted as non-contributing, and the porch may have been altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 29.78842, -95.39439 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87002244.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110001064
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.