CITY OF HOUSTON...Mrs. Rita Goodie Dorsey (b. October 16, 1924, d. May 27, 2016) Rita Goodie Dorsey was born on October 16, 1924 in Houston to Howard Goodie and Beulah Pitre Goodie

CITY OF HOUSTON Houston Archaeological & Historical Commission _ __ Planning and Development Department

[ The Pitre Goodie House] Page 1 of 14 [21L333]

LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT

LANDMARK NAME: The Pitre Goodie House AGENDA ITEM: C

OWNERS: Marsha Dorsey-Outlaw HPO FILE NO.: 21L333

APPLICANTS: Marsha Dorsey-Outlaw DATE ACCEPTED: 12/21/2020

LOCATION: 3347 Reeves Street, Houston, Texas, 77004 – Third

Ward

HAHC HEARING: 01_28_2020

SITE INFORMATION: Lot 12, Block 6, George Kuhlman, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas.

Landmark designation is requested for the two-story frame house. The building is 3,929 square feet on a

5,000 square foot lot.

TYPE OF APPROVAL REQUESTED: Landmark Designation

HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY:

The Pitre Goodie House is a two-story, frame Craftsman-style house built in 1922 and enlarged in 1948.

It is located in historic Third Ward. The property at 3347 Reeves Street has been owned by the Pitre

Goodie family since 1922. Howard Goodie and Beulah Pitre Goodie first purchased the lot from J.V.

Scott. Beulah Pitre Goodie became the owner of the property in the 1940s and lived at the house until

she passed away in 1984. She was very well-known in the neighborhood. To this day, people stop by the

house to inquire if the original family members still live there. Many recount that they – or someone

they know – were cared for by Beulah. She was a babysitter for many children beginning in the late

1950s, providing an essential service for women entering the workforce. In addition, she offered lodging

for college students at nearby Texas Southern University.

Third Ward contains numerous historic resources, but many do not have landmark or protected

landmark status. Due to its attractive location, the neighborhood is face intense development pressures

resulting in displacement of long-time residents and demolition of historic housing stock.

The current owner is seeking a landmark designation for the property in Third Ward to recognize and

record the history of this significant historic house. The Pitre Goodie House meets criteria 1, 4, 5 and 8

for landmark designation.

HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE

THIRD WARD

In 1840 Houston's charter was amended and the town was divided into four wards, with each ward

electing two representatives to the municipal government. The southeast ward, initially nicknamed the

“Silk Stocking District” because of the absence of railroads, became Third Ward. Following the end of

slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, Houston experienced an influx of formerly enslaved African-



Americans moving to the city. Many moved to Third Ward, Freedman’s Town and other neighborhoods

on the outskirts of Fourth Ward, and to the Frost town area of Second Ward.

The boundaries of Third Ward have shifted over time. Initially, the area was primarily rooted downtown,

at the corner of Main and Congress, extending southeast. At one point, Harrisburg (which is in current-

day East End) was considered part of Third Ward. Today US-45 (Gulf Freeway) demarcates the

northern boundary, with Almeda Road to the west, and Old Spanish Trail and Griggs to the east.

Emancipation Park is a well-known historic landmark in the community.

Due to Jim Crow laws mandating racial segregation in public places, the African-American church

functioned as the backbone of the community and served as a venue for educational, social and political

activities. In 1872, Reverend Jack Yates of Antioch Baptist Church and Reverend Elias Dibble of

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church spearheaded the purchase of land in Third Ward for the purpose of

memorializing Juneteenth, which marked the abolition of slavery in Texas. Located on Dowling Street

and known as Emancipation Park, the park they created was the first established for African-Americans

in Houston. It became a facility for social, political, recreational and educational purposes. Dowling

Street (now Emancipation Boulevard), the western boundary of Washington Terrace, became the main

artery of the Third Ward community. African-American residents built their own churches, schools,

businesses and other institutions. Many of those institutions still thrive today, including Texas Southern

University.

In the 1920s, Third Ward passed Fourth Ward in population density, and began to attract more black

institutions, including Houston Negro Hospital (now Riverside General Hospital), Yates High School

(the second black high school in Houston) and Houston Colored Junior College (the antecedent of Texas

Southern University). Both Third Ward and Fifth Ward became the birthplace of Bayou City Blues and

multiple music and entertainment venues were established in the Third Ward, including the El Dorado

Ballroom.

After World War I, the African American community and Third Ward grew exponentially, with an

increase of the population from 22, 929 to 66, 357 from 1910 to 1930 according to census records. Like

most African-American communities during segregation, Third Ward was like a separate city within

Houston, with Dowling Street as its main thoroughfare. The street was lined with black-owned

businesses, churches, fraternal offices, apartment buildings, single-family housing, theaters, restaurants

and nightclubs. While many of Houston’s wards declined during the mid-twentieth century, Third Ward

prospered during this period. By the mid-1960s, Third Ward had supplanted Fifth Ward as the center of

black business in the city.

There is a long and rich history of social activism in Third Ward, from sit-downs by black college

students to protest discriminatory policies in 1960, to housing the Urban League and the NAACP’s

offices. The noteworthy African American newspapers, The Defender and The Forward Times, both

began in the Third Ward. An important community center was founded in 1969 – S.H.A.P.E.

Community Center – a historically visible and involved community organization that “has led the way

toward justice, equal opportunity and institution building in the city, state, nation and world.” In

addition, Third Ward has a rich cultural legacy. The Ensemble Theatre, the Houston Museum of Art and



Culture, Project Row Houses were all born out of Third Ward. In addition, Dowling Street (named after

Confederate commander Richard Dowling) was renamed Emancipation Avenue in 2017.

Third Ward contains numerous historic resources, but many still do not have landmark or protected

landmark status. Due to its attractive location, the neighborhood is faces intense development pressures

resulting in displacement of long-time residents and demolition of historic housing stock. However,

several organizations, nonprofits, and civic and governmental partnerships have begun to revitalize the

area with a focus on preserving the community’s culture and historic housing.

HISTORY OF 3347 REEVES STREET

Howard Goodie and Beulah Pitre Goodie purchased “lot no. 12 in block no. 6 of George Kuhlman

subdivision of lot. No. 5 of the east one-half of Henry Tierwester ¼ league” on May 19, 1922 from J.V.

Scott (see Exhibit E). The Pitre Goodie House was first listed in the 1925 Houston city directory as 3405

Reeves Street. This was the address from 1925 to 1928. In 1929, street addresses were renumbered and

the address changed to 3347 Reeves.

The building was originally a traditional one-story, Craftsman-style house. In 1948, Beulah began a

project to raise the original house and build one floor underneath (see Exhibit B for a photo of the house

shortly after the new first floor was completed and Exhibit F for a page of the contractor notes detailing

some of the specifications).

Other family members also resided in the home over the years, as well as renters who lived in the main

house and in the two-story apartment building at the back of the property. According to the current

owner, several former residents have risen to prominence in the arts, politics and social justice. Rita

Goodie Dorsey, the second eldest daughter of Howard and Beulah, moved back into the house in the

1980s and became the owner by 1988. Rita resided on the property until she passed away in 2016. Her

daughter Marsha Dorsey-Outlaw inherited 3347 Reeves in 2016 and is the current owner.

OWNER HISTORY

Mr. Howard Goodie (b. around 1893, d. 1962) and Mrs. Beulah Pitre Goodie (b. December 6, 1896, d.

January 6, 1984)

Howard Goodie (also appears as Goody in some historical sources) and his wife Beulah were the first

owners of 3347 Reeves Street. Howard was born around 1893 in Louisiana. He worked as a longshoreman

at the Houston Ship Channel.

Beulah Pitre Goodie was born on December 6, 1896 in Carencro, Louisiana to Antoine Pitre and Agnes

Felix. The family name Pitre was often misspelled as Pete or Petre in several primary source documents.

Beulah was a homemaker who also worked as laundress and housemaid. Beulah and Howard married in

1922. They lived at 3347 Reeves with their three daughters, Agnes Marie Johnson (born January 21, 1923,

died August 29, 2015), Rita (b. October 15, 1924, d. May 27, 2016) and Jeannette Fowlkes (b. December

26, 1925, d. January 22, 2002). All three daughters went to St. Nicholas School in Third Ward.



After the couple divorced in 1935, Beulah became the owner of the property and continued to live there

until she passed away on January 6, 1984. Beulah Pitre Goodie was very well known in her community.

To this day, people stop by 3347 Reeves Street to inquire if the original family members still live there.

Many recount that they – or someone they know – were cared for by Beulah. She was a babysitter for

many children beginning in the late 1950s, providing an essential service for women entering the

workforce. In addition, she offered lodging for college students at nearby Texas Southern University; they

were welcome to stay with her until they finished their studies.

Mrs. Rita Goodie Dorsey (b. October 16, 1924, d. May 27, 2016)

Rita Goodie Dorsey was born on October 16, 1924 in Houston to Howard Goodie and Beulah Pitre

Goodie. She married Jerome Dorsey, Sr. on May 16, 1946. According to the Harris County Appraisal

District’s ownership history, Rita Dorsey was the owner of the property in 1988.

Rita passed away on May 27, 2016. She is entombed in Holy Cross Cemetery. She was preceded in death

by her third born child, Howard L. Dorsey. At the time of her death, she was survived by her children,

Jerome Dorsey, Jr., Jacqueline E. Galloway, Charles E. Dorsey, Walter L. Dorsey and Marsha R. Dorsey-

Outlaw, as well as seven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren.

The current owner is Rita’s daughter, Marsha Dorsey-Outlaw, who inherited the property in 2016.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION AND RESTORATION HISTORY

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

American Craftsman

3347 Reeves Street is a two-story frame, Craftsman-style house. The Craftsman style evolved out of the

popular Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 1900s, when architecture shifted away from the more

elaborate Victorian style. It was the prevailing architectural style in the United States between 1900 and

1930. Craftsman style is often associated with bungalow house forms, and both were inspired by

architect brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. The Greene’s were from

California and practiced together in Pasadena from 1893 to 1914. They began designing simple

Craftsman bungalows around 1903, according to Virginia McAlester, author of A Field Guide to

American Houses: Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture.

The defining features of bungalows include low-pitched gabled roofs, wide eaves (usually with exposed

brackets under the eaves), partial or full-width porches supported by tapered square columns or piers and

prominent but simple decorations.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION



3347 Reeves Street is a two-story frame, Craftsman-style house. The body of the house has a cross-

gabled roof with open eaves and projecting rafter tails. The roof is covered in composition shingles.

There is an interior, brick chimney at the peak of the roof. The asymmetrical front façade is covered in

horizontal asbestos siding. The house sits on a concrete block foundation. There are recessed, projecting

bays on either side of the house.

The house faces Reeves Street. The first floor of the left bay contains a canopied, masonry entry porch

with simple metal supports and railing. The paneled, wooden entry door in the left bay contains three

vertical lights and has a simple wood surround. The door is part of a small, front-gabled addition.

Next to the front door is one 1-over-1 sash window with a simple wood surround, simple ledge molding

above and a pair of decorative shutters. The second and third bays contain a recessed porch supported by

three, square masonry columns that asymmetrically spaced. The columns are clad to give the appearance

of stone. In the second bay, rounded concrete steps lead onto the porch. There is metal railing with a

decorative design between the columns in the third bay. An aluminum awning extends the full width of

the second and third bays.

The first bay contains a single 1-over-1 wooden window with simple wood surround and decorative

shutters. The paneled, wooden entry door contains three vertical lights. The door is off-center in the

façade. On the right side of the porch is a single 1-over-1 sash window with a simple wood surround,

and a pair of decorative shutters.

The first bay of the second floor has an overhanging, half-hipped roof with open eaves and exposed

rafter tails. It is situated underneath the original cross-gabled roof. The plain façade of the left bay is

covered in horizontal siding.

The main body of the front-gabled, second story projects over the front porch. There are two

symmetrically spaced windows with simple wood surrounds on the façade. The windows are currently

boarded, but the attached historic photo (Exhibit B) indicates these are 1-over-1 sash windows.

Remnants of two pairs of decorative shutters are in place. There is a boarded window in the gable. The

historic photos indicates this is a 1-light wooden window. Three Craftsman-stye brackets are

symmetrically spaced under the eaves in the gable. The house’s side-gabled, projecting fourth bay has a

plain façade. A drainpipe is on the corner of the bay.

The interior still retains much of its historic fabric.

RESTORATION HISTORY

The stone cladding on the columns was added at an unknown date. The two east facing upstairs

windows were replaced between 1978 and 1980; the rest of the windows are original.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancestry.com, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 United States Federal Census. Accessed October 2020.



______, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

______, U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards.

______, Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1982.

______, Texas Death Certificates, 1903-1982.

______, Texas Marriage Records and Index, 1837-2015.

Blair, Calvin, “The Story of Houston’s Third Ward and Emancipation Avenue.” Texas Historical

Commission. Accessed July 2019. https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/story-houstons-third-ward-

and-emancipation-avenue

City of Houston Landmark Designation Report for the Hugh Roy Cullen House at 1402 Alabama Street.

Third Ward History. Accessed May 2019.

Findagrave.com, Index. October 2020.

Harris County Appraisal District, Real Property Account Information and Ownership Information for

3347 Reeves Street, Houston, Texas, 77004. Accessed October 2020.

Harris County Tax Appraisal and Building Assessment Records for 3347 Reeves Street, Houston, Texas,

77004. Harris County Archives. Accessed October 2020.

“Historical Reflections on the Third Ward” http://eyeonthirdward.mfah.org/home.asp, Museum of Fine

Arts Houston, Eye on Third Ward exhibit.

Houston Chronicle Historical Archive (1905-2015). Houston Public Library, Houston and Texas

Resources. Accessed October 2020.

______, “Local Courts, Suites Filed for District Courts (Goodie).” September 21, 1935.

______, “Mr. Jerome Dorsey Sr. Obituary.” June 14, 2000.

______, “Mrs. Rita Dorsey Obituary.” June 3. 2016.

Martha Dorsey-Outlaw Personal Archive, Accessed October 2020.

______, Certificate of Baptism, St. Peter’s Church, Marie J. Beulah Pete

______, Release and Discharge of Mechanical Lien May 4, 1940

______, Contractor Notes c. 1948

______, Historical Photo of 3347 Reeves

______, Deed to 3347 Reeves

McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses: Revised and Expanded. New York:

Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Houston Public Library online, Texas Digital Sanborn Maps, Accessed

October 2020.

S.H.A.P.E. Community Center Website. “S.H.A.P.E. History.” Accessed December 2020.

https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/story-houstons-third-ward-and-emancipation-avenue

https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/story-houstons-third-ward-and-emancipation-avenue



University of Houston, “Third Ward Initiative.” Accessed July 2019. https://www.uh.edu/third-

ward/third-ward-map/

Wilson, Ezell, “Third Ward, Steeped in Tradition of Self-Reliance and Achievement.” Houston History

Magazine. Accessed June 2019. https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/2011/04/third-ward-steeped-

in-tradition-of-self-reliance-and-achievement/

The information and sources provided by the applicant for this application have been reviewed, verified,

edited and supplemented with additional research and sources by [Planner Name], Planning and

Development Department, City of Houston.

APPROVAL CRITERIA FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION

Sec. 33-224. Criteria for designation

(a) The HAHC, in making recommendations with respect to designation, and the city council, in making

a designation, shall consider one or more of the following criteria, as appropriate for the type of

designation:

S NA S - satisfies D - does not satisfy NA - not applicable

☒ ☐ (1) Whether the building, structure, object, site or area possesses character, interest or value

as a visible reminder of the development, heritage, and cultural and ethnic diversity of the

city, state, or nation;

☐ ☒ (2) Whether the building, structure, object, site or area is the location of a significant local,

state or national event;

☐ ☒ (3) Whether the building, structure, object, site or area is identified with a person who, or

group or event that, contributed significantly to the cultural or historical development of

the city, state, or nation;

☒ ☐ (4) Whether the building or structure or the buildings or structures within the area exemplify

a particular architectural style or building type important to the city;

☒ ☐ (5) Whether the building or structure or the buildings or structures within the area are the

best remaining examples of an architectural style or building type in a neighborhood;

☐ ☒ (6) Whether the building, structure, object or site or the buildings, structures, objects or sites

within the area are identified as the work of a person or group whose work has influenced

the heritage of the city, state, or nation;

☐ ☒ (7) Whether specific evidence exists that unique archaeological resources are present;

☒ ☐ (8) Whether the building, structure, object or site has value as a significant element of

community sentiment or public pride.

https://www.uh.edu/third-ward/third-ward-map/

https://www.uh.edu/third-ward/third-ward-map/

https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/2011/04/third-ward-steeped-in-tradition-of-self-reliance-and-achievement/

https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/2011/04/third-ward-steeped-in-tradition-of-self-reliance-and-achievement/



AND

☐ ☒ (9) If less than 50 years old, or proposed historic district containing a majority of buildings,

structures, or objects that are less than 50 years old, whether the building, structure, object,

site, or area is of extraordinary importance to the city, state or nation for reasons not based

on age (Sec. 33-224(b)).

Sec. 33-229. Criteria for protected landmark designation

S NA S - satisfies D - does not satisfy NA - not applicable

☐ ☒ (1) Meets at least three of the criteria for designation in section 33-224 of this Code;

☐ ☒ (2) Was constructed more than 100 years before application for designation was received by

the director;

☐ ☒ (3) Is listed individually or as a contributing structure in an historic district on the National

Register of Historic Places; or

☐ ☒ (4) Is recognized by the State of Texas as a Recorded State Historical Landmark.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: APPROVAL

HAHC RECOMMENDATION



EXHIBIT A

CURRENT PHOTO

THE PITRE GOODIE HOUSE

3347 REEVES STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77004

PHOTO BY PRESERVATION HOUSTON



EXHIBIT B

HISTORIC PHOTO (LATE 1940S TO EARLY 1950S)



SOURCE: MARSHA DORSEY-OUTLAW PERSONAL ARCHIVE



EXHIBIT C

SITE MAP





EXHIBIT D

SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAP

HOUSTON 1924-FEB. 1951, VOL. 9, 1925- JULY 1950, SHEET 934





EXHIBIT E

MECHANICAL LIEN






EXHIBIT F

CONTRACTOR NOTES C. 1948




Documents

CITY OF HOUSTON...Mrs. Rita Goodie Dorsey (b. October 16, 1924, d. May 27, 2016) Rita Goodie Dorsey was born on October 16, 1924 in Houston to Howard Goodie and Beulah Pitre Goodie