FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE + LEISURE
THE STORY OF HOUSTON MELLIE ESPERSON
By Debbie Mauldin Cottrell
Images courtesy of Special Collections , University of Houston Libraries
MELLIE KEENAN ESPERSON , businesswoman and developer , was born in
Manhattan , Kansas , around 1870 , the daughter of THOMAS and HANNAH MARIE ( MCFARLAND ) KEENAN . She moved to Oklahoma as a young woman .
While living there she met NIELS ESPERSON , a native of Denmark . The couple married in 1893 and in 1903 moved to Houston , where Mellie learned the intricate dealings of the oil business while her husband became a pioneer developer of the Humble oilfield . Over the next decade the Espersons diversified their interests in Houston into real estate and other business efforts .
When Niels Esperson died in 1922 , he left his wife substantial commercial wealth , including an oil-rich ranch in Liberty County , interest in the Reed Roller Bit Company in Houston and large holdings in a tile plant in Kansas . Her first project was to construct the Majestic Theater , a film venue that opened in 1923 and was demolished in 1971 .
In 1924 Esperson initiated plans for an office building that her husband had envisioned for property he owned in downtown Houston . The 32-story Niels Esperson Building at the corner of Travis and Rusk Avenue opened in 1927 , the tallest structure in Texas at that time . The Italian Renaissance building features a gold-leaf tower topped by an elaborate six-story tiered monument . Inside , terra cotta urns , bronze elevator doors , arabesque obelisks and extensive use of imported Roman marble convey the ornate sense that Esperson wanted . When completed the building reflected her forward-looking style , with an exercise area and adjacent parking garage included in its design . She had the structure air-conditioned in 1938 .
Fourteen years after this building opened , Esperson completed the Mellie Esperson Building , a 19-story structure similar in style to its larger neighbor , which adjoins the first structure on most floors . The largest office building constructed in Houston during the Great Depression , it was also the first skyscraper in Houston to be built with central air-conditioning . The Esperson buildings remain a significant landmark in downtown Houston .
Apart from these projects , Esperson remained active in the oil business as a prospector and producer . She acquired substantial real estate holdings in Houston and the surrounding area . For some 20 years she oversaw all of these efforts from her suite of offices on the 25th floor of the Niels Esperson Building , taking great pride in her business judgment and ability to use wealth wisely .
Reprinted from the Texas State Historical Association ’ s Handbook of Houston , a project in cooperation with the Houston History Alliance . For more information , visit www . HoustonHistoryAlliance . org .
In 1925 Mellie Esperson married Harry Ewing Stewart , a man some 20 years her junior . The couple divorced in 1934 .
Esperson received much recognition for her visionary business sense and good spirit , including recognition in the 1930s as the city ’ s most successful businesswoman . She died in Houston on January 14 , 1945 , and was buried in Forest Park Cemetery . february 17 | LOCAL 55