LEE
AND MARY E. BIVINS HISTORICAL HOME
Home of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce
1000 S. Polk
Amarillo, Texas
I. History
II. Architecture
III. Adaptive Use
IV. The Reception Hall
I. HISTORY
Built by one of the early leaders of Amarillo, the Bivins Home at 1000 S. Polk Street represents many of the elements important in the creation and growth of the city. When Lee Bivins and his brothers moved to Potter County in the last years of the nineteenth century, they were attracted to the region by the opportunities presented in the coming of the railroads in 1887, 1898 and 1902. The Fort Worth and Denver, the Santa Fe, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific gave the new community outlets to major markets throughout the United States, and cattle buyers from both Forth Worth and Chicago competed for the cattle of the region.
The boom, as the population expanded from 1,482 in 1900 to 9,957 in 1910, provided an environment appropriate to the energies of Lee Bivins and his contemporaries. Representative of a new man, defined by Daniel Boorstin as the "Go-Getter," Bivins and his contemporaries saw an opportunity in the wilderness to create economic life where none had existed before. With four ranches, the LIT, LX, Cross Bars and Bonita in the Panhandle, as well as the Alibates Creek Ranch in Midland, the Coldwater Ranch in Hansford and Sherman counties, and two ranches near Roswell, New Mexico, Bivins owned approximately 1,000,000 acres of land and often had 60,000 head of cattle in his herds. The property that he owned also included the largest proven acreage of natural gas in the United States.
In addition to his interest in land and cattle, Bivins also invested in Amarillo. He became active in the affairs of his community, helping to fund local civic projects and playing a leading role in community life. From 1925 until his death in 1929, he was the mayor of Amarillo. During his term of office, he continued to seek ways to improve opportunities in the community, and played a role in the creation of a reservoir, named after him, which would improve the water supply of the rapidly growing city.
II. ARCHITECTURE
Begun in1904 and completed in 1905, the Bivins house was an appropriate seeing for the activities of Lee Bivins and may be seen both as a symbol of his concern for the community and as a representative statement of the character of Amarillo in the early years of the 1900’s.
The structure, built by contractor George Parr, is a two-story and attic brick mansion with limestone trim and a two-story pedimented portico across the front. In its overall composition, the house is a West Texas version of the late Georgian Revival style. The architectural detailing illustrates a more eclectic combination of Edwardian bay windows, leaded glass and rusticated stone trim in addition to the Georgian Revival elements. The roof is hipped with a balistraded deck, large dormer windows, and wide eaves.
The entrance is framed in the two-story pedimented portico with fanlight. The composite columns which support the projecting pediment are in a group of three at either end of the simple entablature, while the remainder of the portico is supported by one composite column at either end.
Massive steps with stone balustrade lead to the first floor entrance. The front door, which is glazed with leaded mullions in the transom, is enframed in a massive stone segmental arch. This is in turn flanked by ornate leaded glass window on either side.
Above the fron door is a gently curved balcony and balustrade which is accessible from the second floor doorway. This entrance is very similar to that of the first floor in scale and detail.
A two-story brick octagonal bay occupies the space under the portico and to the left of the front door. It is striped with a stone band which follows the lines of the window sills and lintels. The windows are large with pane per sash, which is characteristic of the period when the house was built. The space to the right of the entrance is occupied by a large window on each floor, similar in design to the center window of those in the bay.
In planning the interior of her home, Mary E. Bivins, demonstrated an awareness of good taste as practiced at the time, as well as a sense of the appropriate style which would complement her husband’s role as a leader of Amarillo. The interior was a mix of public and private space which provided for the necessary social functions appropriate to the position of Lee Bivins, but also protected the privacy of the family. As the visitor entered, the first space he found was a room described variously as a hall, a reception hall, and a living hall. The reception hall was flanked by the original sitting room to the left and the music room to the right, adjoined by the dining room. In each of these rooms the ceiling and wall murals have been restored and the original art deco chandeliers hung. The portraits of Lee and Mary E. Bivins have been placed in the sitting room. The stairway from the reception hall led to the family bedrooms on the second floor and the ballroom with a dressing rooms on the third floor.
The activities of Lee and Mary E. Bivins as leaders of the community are summed up in the house. Lee Bivins, through his civic and charitable activities, helped lay the foundations for the modern city. Mary E. Bivins, in the home which she created provided a setting for the activities of her husband.
III. ADAPTIVE USE
Mrs. Bivins bequeathed her family home to the City ofAmarillo at the time of her death in 1951. After making structural additions, the City of Amarillo operated the home as the Mary E. Bivins Memorial Library until November 1976.
In 1979, the City of Amarillo acquired the services of M.Howard Ensign and Pat Tunnell, architects, and Wiley Hicks Jr., general contractor, to restore significant architectural and decorative features and to adapt the structure for use as a center for civic organizations. As an extension of the civic and charitable activities of Lee and Mary E. Bivins, the structure became a gracious home for the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, Lone Star Ballet, Amarillo Symphony, and Greater Southwest Music Festival.
Restoration and furnishings represent the contributions of numerous individuals and organizations as a tribute to Amarillo’s past and as a look toward the future.
IV. THE RECEPTION HALL
The Junior League of Amarillo, in honor of 50 years of service to the community and in keeping with the Bivins’ family tradition of community concern and civic pride, has endeavored to preserve a segment of the past through the furnishings of the reception hall of the Lee and Mary E. Bivins’ home.
The walls have natural finish oak paneling in the window pane design from floor to wainscoting. Doors are framed by bracket molding of oak, while the ceiling has cap molding with stenciling on plaster to depict the original ceiling. The original tapestries hang on the walls with leaf molding framing each tapestry. The brick fireplace was built with dental work motif. The brass andirons and fenders are original to the home. Flooring of plain oak is accented by a fret design with an inlay of mahogany. The flooring beneath the original stairway was donated by the Amarillo Historical Preservation Foundation.
Upon entering the front door, to the right on the north wall stands a heavily carved English mahogany open worked back chair that is upholstered in a tapestry of colors similar to those used in the wall tapestries.
The mahogany bent glass cabinet located on the north wall donated by Mrs. Lee T. (Betty Teel) Bivins displays collectibles of the period, including two cloissone vases, circa 1790, and a hand painted French fan, circa nineteenth century. A Florentine gold clock, original to the home, stands atop the cabinet. The nine piece chocolate set was donated by Mrs. Robert (Rosemary Cherry) Patterson. A syrup pitcher, two cranberry glass bottles, a green glass pitcher with gold fleur-de-lis and a velvet evening bag, circa 1926, belonging to Mary E. Bivins were donated by Mrs. Betty Bivins Childers. A Regency chair upholstered in a Napoleon stripe stands beside the cabinet.
The collection includes an Empire style sofa covered in a wheat-colored Belgium linen, mahogany floor lamp with a fluted column, and a Florentine gold beveled mirror.
The inlaid mahogany desk, decorated with rope molding and a leather embossed top, stands in the center of the reception hall. A brass and alabaster floor lamp, donated by the Junior League Provisional Class of 1979-1980, stands next to the desk, as does an open wire waster paper basket which were both typical of the period.
An English mahogany cupboard on chest, circa 1780, which is used to hold Chamber of Commerce literature stands on the west wall.
A double pedestal library table with center drawer and glass pulls in the first room on your right as you enter. On the table sits a modified kerosene brass table lamp with fluted base and two tulip shaped glass blown shades. In the middle room, used by the Chamber as a display area for historical artifacts, there is a settee with the original floral designed needlepoint seat which belonged to Anna Eliza Exum Masterson, an early pioneer of the Panhandle, and was donated by Mrs. J. Ernest (Mary Miles Bivins) Batson.
The two art noveau statues, standing in their original positions on the mantel of the fireplace are original to the home. These were donated by Mrs. Betty Bivins Childers. The round marble table top with ball-and-claw feet and carved shell motif on the apron stands in its original position in front of the fireplace and was donated by Mrs. Bernata Wilson Bivins. The marble table is centered between two arm chairs. The spoon footed chair has double welt finished upholstery in a brick colored stria designed fabric. The fabric was donated by a pioneer family. The other chair has cabriole legs and is upholstered in a brick and gold Venetian and English damask finished with nail heads.
The center of the floor is covered with an oriental design rug donated by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bivins.
The reception hall has been restored and furnished to recapture the character of the Bivins’ family, and through it, the character of Amarillo in its formative years.
The Junior League of
Amarillo gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Patrick H. Butler
III, in research and furnishing plans for the reception hall. Mr.
Butler’s references are on file with the Junior League of Amarillo.
Revised
August, 1991 – Amarillo Chamber of Commerce
Amarillo Chamber of
Commerce
P.O. Box 9480
1000 S. Polk
Amarillo, Texas 79105
806-373-7800
Fax 806-373-3909
E-Mail chamber@amarillo-chamber.org