House at 1217 Harvard

This one-story frame duplex at 1217 Harvard in Houston Heights was built in 1914 and follows a bungalow form. It faces east and sits on cast stone piers beneath a hip-on-gable roof with a wide overhang and exposed rafter ends. The four-bay front has paired one-over-one windows in the outer bays and panelled doors with three vertical windows in the middle two. An inset porch runs across the front, carried by four tapered box columns on brick piers, and wooden steps with brick stoops lead to the doors. Four triangular knee braces highlight the front eaves, and a horizontal window with decorative vertical lights marks the gable. The duplex illustrates the modest housing available in the Heights from the turn of the century to about 1930, and its simple craftsman details make it a strong local example of the style. A two-story rear garage with apartment, added in 1927, is not counted as contributing. The building remains a residence in good condition.