Alfred C. Finn Sites

By the early 1880s, the U.S. Custom House on Post Office Street was inadequate to contain all the federal offices in Galveston. To supplement it, a new United States Courthouse, Post Office, and Custom House was built at the corner of Rosenberg and Church Streets between 1886 and 1891. By the mid-1930s that ponderous Victorian building had also become inadequate, even though a separate Custom House had been built on Galveston’s “Strand” in 1933. Therefore, this six-story federal building, occupying the entire block front on Rosenberg Street, was authorized. Designed by Alfred C. Finn of Houston, it exemplifies the penchant of...

The post office in Susanville, California was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses a New Deal mural by Helen Forbes, is still in service.  The facade of the building has been totally modified, however, by the addition of a front porch in the 1960s. There are photos of the building's construction, original facade and reconstruction in cases inside the building (alas, the photographs of those photos, below, show reflection from the glass in the cases). 

The Public Works Administration contributed $1,329,508 toward the construction of the Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall. The architect of record was Alfred C. Finn. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 4, 1936 and dedication was held on November 26, 1937. The buildings housed circuses, concerts, athletic events, stock shows and conventions. The coliseum and music hall were demolished in 1998. The former site of the coliseum was redeveloped into the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2003.

"Impressive celebrations were held throughout the State of Texas in 1936 to commemorate the centennial of its secession from the Republic of Mexico. One of the most important events leading to this act was the decisive Battle of San Jacinto fought on April 21, 1836, in which the Texans were completely victorious. It was therefore decided to erect a memorial on the battlefield honoring the heroes who fought so well. The monument rests on two terraces which rise 15 feet above the natural grade and consists of a base 36 feet high from which the shaft extends to a total height...

The University of Houston's old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: "Newest of the units is the INDUSTRIAL BUILDING (open workdays), north east of the central quadrangle. The first of a six-structure center planned for industrial training in a proposed north quadrangle, the one-story building harmonises in design with the other edifices and, like them, is finished in Texas limestone. Over-all dimensions are 310 feet by 150 feet. Following the industrial style, windows almost completely encircle the building. Its central facade...

The University of Houston's old Industrial Building, now known as the Technology Annex, was constructed with the assistance of the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal agency. Houston, a history and guide: "Most of the heavily wooded campus was made available through donations of the Settegast and Ben Taub estates, of 75 acres and 35 acres respectively. The school board purchased a small tract. On the grounds are 101 varieties of trees and shrubs. This campus in 1941 was being improved by a large-scale landscaping program designed by Hare and Hare of Kansas City, Missouri, in cooperation with the Work Projects...