Minchen, Simon and Mamie, House

Built in 1931 at 1753 North Boulevard in Houston's Boulevard Oaks neighborhood, this two-story residence and its matching garage reflect the Italian Renaissance style. Architect Joseph Finger, better known for large commercial and institutional projects, designed it for Simon and Mamie Minchen, who chose the look from a photograph of Mediterranean coastal homes. The house has tan and brown brick walls, a green ceramic tile hipped roof with decorative eave brackets, arched windows and doors on the ground floor, and a cast stone entry surround with paired columns. Because materials and labor were inexpensive during the Depression, Finger used commercial specifications and heavy structural members, including concrete beams on reinforced piers. Inside, original plaster walls, red oak floors, crystal chandeliers and carved cornices survive. The roof was replaced in 1996 with matching tile from the original manufacturer. The property was listed for its architecture, as a well-preserved local example of a style rarely used for Texas houses, and for its link to Finger's work. The Minchen family has lived there continuously since 1931.