“One of Houston’s most beautiful office interiors”

In January 1957 Southwestern Fidelity Life advertised its suite at 207 East 11th Street for lease, and the ad made a remarkable claim for a Heights shop row: 4,700 square feet of “one of Houston’s most beautiful office interiors,” paneled oak and mahogany, colorful wall murals, wall-to-wall carpeting in the executive offices, a snack bar, a 60-car parking lot, and five photographs to prove it. The ad does not say the company was leaving; it still gave 207 East 11th as the company’s address.

Those photographs, of the glass entrance, the reception room, a general office, an executive office and the snack bar, are among the only period interior images of the building yet found, which makes a display advertisement one of the most valuable documents in the entire archive.