The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 98, July 1994 - April, 1995 Page: 4
682 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
it to contemporary American building needs. After his death at the
height of his popularity, architects of varying degrees of talent spread
the style across the country, making Richardson one of the most influen-
tial figures in American architecture. Gordon's approach to the Ro-
manesque, often incorporating Moorish or mudejar elements, sets him
apart as one of Richardson's more innovative followers.10
It should be pointed out that architectural styles often utilize elements
also found in other styles, blurring distinctions between them. Also, oth-
er architects in this period, including Richardson, incorporated Moorish
elements in their work. Nonetheless, Gordon developed a discernibly in-
dividual style due in part to his appropriation of Moorish elements. In
the vicinity of San Antonio are several missions that were considered to
have more of a Moorish influence than later missions in California," so
such an appropriation would have relevance to the region, like his
Aransas County courthouse.
The Romanesque phase of Gordon's courthouse work began with his
earliest extant courthouse, which he designed in partnership with D. E.
Laub,2 for Fayette County (La Grange, 1891). Although undoubtedly
influenced by Richardson's courthouse work, Gordon also drew from
additional historical and contemporary sources here and for his other
courthouses of the early 189os. With the Bexar County Courthouse
(1892-1895, Fig. 1) in his own city of San Antonio, Gordon established
himself as an artist capable of injecting original vitality into the popular
style. The building is a massive Romanesque tour de force with an asym-
metrical facade that defies any direct association with Richardson's
work. With his career clearly on the rise, the highly publicized Texas
State Building competition offered Gordon a choice opportunity to pre-
sent his work to a broader national and international audience. Even
had his design not been selected, the publicity surrounding his partici-
pation in the competition would have bolstered his practice in Texas.
In addition, the Chicago World's Fair provided a vehicle for national
dissemination of a major architectural movement that also had a pro-
'o "Muddjar" refers to a transitional style of Spanish architecture built by Moslem artisans who
remained after the Christian Spaniards re-conquered the area. For more on the influence of
Richardson, see Paul C. Larson and Susan M. Brown (eds.), The Sprnt of H. H. Richardson on the
Midland Praires: Regional Transformations of an Architectural Style (Ames: Iowa State University
Press, 1988). Despite some inaccuracies, this work provides much information on the neglected
subject of regional manifestations of the Romanesque.
" Arthur H. Knoll, "The Texas 'Missions,'" The Amencan Architect and BuildingNews, LVII (Aug.
28, 1897), 71.
1 Gordon and Laub was one of many partnerships that Gordon formed and dissolved during
his career. Laub's career has been eclipsed by that of his senior partner. The partnership ended
in 1892 or 1893, and Laub faded into obscurity. I found no material delineating his contribu-
tion, if any, to the Texas State Building during the research for this article.July
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 98, July 1994 - April, 1995, periodical, 1995; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101216/m1/32/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.