The Julius Lichtenstein House

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Marker No: 6323

Aluminum 27 x 42 Subject Marker

Texas Historic Landmark 

National Register of Historic Places

Geographic: ​27° 48.427′ N, 97° 23.726′ W

Location: 1617 North Chaparral Street, Corpus Christi

Marker Text: This was a merchant's residence of the early 1900s. Born in Indianola, Julius Lichtenstein (1871-1923) was three when his family moved to Corpus Christi and opened a drygoods store in 1874. From childhood, he worked in the store that in time became the noted M. Lichtenstein and Sons, a prestigious business relied upon in South Texas. Several Weil family members also joined the firm, and in 1902 Julius Lichtenstein married Carrie Weil (1877-1958). After the death in 1904 of his father, Moritz Lichtenstein, Julius was head of the firm. His duties frequently sent him on visits to the East, where he apparently acquired a liking for architecture that contrasted with the Victorian forms usually seen in this region.
​    Julius and Carrie Lichtenstein built this house in 1905 at 715 North Chaparral. The style is Colonial Revival, in a trend popularized by architect Stanford White of New York. Elegant as this structure was--with its stately front door, elliptical porch, peaked roof and other handsome features--the Lichtensteins built and moved into a larger house in 1913, owning this place, however, until 1926. Moved nine blocks north in 1929, this structure, survivor of many fads, stands as an exhibit of a distinctive housing style. (1976)