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Richard King (1884-1974), grandson of rancher Captain Richard King, built this two-story brick Italian Renaissance home in 1928 after losing his previous home during the 1919 hurricane. King was born on his father’s ranch in Agua Dulce and grew up in the ranching and cattle world of south Texas. He earned a degree in agricultural studies at the University of Texas and, in 1907, married Minerva Pierport Heaney (1888-1966), daughter of a well-known Corpus Christi physician. King began a career at the Corpus Christi National Bank and, by 1913, he was appointed to the bank board. In 1924, he was promoted to vice president of the bank and then chairman of the finance committee in 1926 where he helped raise funds for Corpus Christi’s new deep water port. King was also instrumental in bringing the naval air station to Corpus Christi. In 1965, Richard King High School was named in his honor. Minerva King utilized the home as an active site for civic meetings held for a variety of philanthropic groups. She also organized the Civic Music Association and the Order of De Pineda. Constructed on a natural bluff overlooking Corpus Christi Bay, the house was designed by John M. Marriott of San Antonio and built by San Antonio contractor Fidel Chamberlain. Built of double courses of solid brick and a foundation that duplicated the Nixon Building, The King House was built to withstand hurricanes and high winds. The home features a Spanish s-type ceramic tile roof, 10-foot ceilings, crown molding, multiple fireplaces and multi-paneled double hung windows. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2016 |
