Before the Coliseum: Sam Houston Hall

According to The San Antonio Light, the Sam Houston Hall was built on the site of former marshland in just 64-working days. Why the rush? Because Houston businessman Jesse Jones (with a little help from Texas Governor Dan Moody) helped bring the 1928 Democratic National Convention to Houston. When the committee met in Washington on January 12, 1928, Jones was there and put in a bid of $200,000 with his own personal check. To counter a later bid of $250,000 from San Francisco, Jones promised a new 25,000-seat convention center. That sealed the deal, and Houston won the bid.

Now, just one small problem. With the convention opening date set for June 26, 1928, that gave roughly five months to plan, design, and build a large public facility. But build it they did. The resultant structure was built primarily of wood, and City Council had to let slide certain ordinances concerning non-fire-proof structures within fire zones. To ensure the safety of convention goers, twenty-five veteran firemen stood watch in the main hall during working sessions, and more than a few patrolled off-hours, as well. The name of the building came from Clem Shaver, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He suggested “Sam Houston Hall,”and that's the name that stuck.

Across the street from Sam Houston Hall (at the corner of Walker and Bagby), a “Hospitality House” was set up to give conventioneers a place to relax and to give the overflow crowd a place to hangout. To call this a “house” is a bit misleading. It was more like a series of heat-insulated roofs that formed a pavilion that spanned an entire city block. A community of homes had to be removed to make way for the $25,000 structure. To keep those informed of convention proceedings, loudspeakers were installed. In addition, the area was equipped with restrooms, writing rooms, iced drinking fountains, information booths, and a hospital, among other things. The main area could hold over 3,000 people.

(Hospitality House)

As far as the convention, itself: The weather was hot (no surprise there), the hotels were crowded, perhaps too crowded. On the first day, a man took his pistol and shot at the elevators at the Rice Hotel because they were taking too long. The next day, pandemonium broke out on the convention floor over some remarks Senator Joseph T. Robinson from Arkansas said in his opening speech. The Olean Times reported that “for 15 minutes the convention was a mob, it was in an uproar with several fights on the floor that necessiated [sic] the summoning of burly Texas policemen with clubs a-flying to quell.”

All in all, however, the convention went smooth enough. New York governor Alfred E. Smith was chosen as the presidential candidate, and the trouble-making orator Senator Joseph Robinson was nominated as the vice presidential candidate.

So what happened to the Sam Houston Hall? It continued to host various events. However, on June 24, 1936, The Abilene Daily Reporter reported that six bids were received for the building. Despite the original construction cost of roughly $200,000, the highest bid was only $3,250. The building was razed soon afterwards to make way for the Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall, which were completed the following year.