| WILLIAM AND BESSIE
STROUBE HOUSE.
Local oil operator William C. Stroube and his wife Bessie
commissioned this 2-story Spanish Colonial Revival house,
designed by renown Dallas architect David R. Williams in 1927.
Its stylistic features include exterior walls of stone and
stucco, a tripped roof with clay tiles, and a cantilevered
balcony over the primary entrance that reflect Williams' interest
in vernacular architectural traditions. As the leading proponent
of the regionalist movement among Texas architects during
the late 1920s and 1930s, Williams espoused incorporation
of 'indigenous' Texas architectural forms into new domestic
designs. For his first commission in Corsicana, he incorporated
stone salvaged from an early house in Palo Pinto County and
columns from an old post office in Dallas (McCarthy 1984:
78). The house also incorporated wood carvings by noted artisan
Peter Mansbendel of Austin. Contemporaneous outbuildings including
a free standing porte cochere and a 1-story garage and servants
quarters create an informal spaces reminiscent of Mexican
architecture, a hallmark of Williams' regionalist work. In
the span of the next four years, Williams twice returned to
the neighborhood, designing houses in this aesthetic for Francis
and Katherine Mickey (613 Mills Place Drive; 1929) and Lowry
and Lila Martin (1218 West Park Avenue; 1931).
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