Welcome to Corpus Christi’s Heritage Park, where twelve of the city’s oldest and most storied homes reside. The oldest of these historic homes dates all the way back to 1851. Many of these beauties are registered as Texas Historical Landmarks and all have been restored as close to their original states as possible to preserve their appearance and history for future generations.
Originally located at 715 North Chaparral Street in Corpus Christi, the Julius Lichtenstein House was eventually moved to make way for the building of the Ritz Theatre. The house now rests at 1617 North Chaparral Street in Heritage Park. This one-story home is modestly scaled but embellished with beautifully elaborate woodwork around the porches. Upon first glance, one might even classify the home as a “gingerbread” style house.
The most striking feature of the home is its large elliptical porch accentuated with widely-spaced Tuscan-style columns. The drawing room juts out to the right of the porch, extending in a bay of three panels rising to meet in a peaked roof like a turret, giving the home a stately appearance.
The home’s elegant front door features an oval window flanked by classical swags and beads to make for an extravagant entrance. The interior of the home has been altered, expanded and eventually divided into separate apartments by previous tenants.
The ownership of the Julius Lichtenstein House dates all the way back to Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney, the founder of Kinney’s Trading Post, in 1938. S. Julius Lichtenstein and Carrie Weil, married in 1902, made their home on North Chaparral Street in what would later be known as the Ben Anderson home. Their next home was of their own creation and built in 1905 on 715 North Chaparral Street.
S. Julius Lichtenstein’s parents Moritz and Selina, born in Prussia and Switzerland respectively, came to Corpus Christi in 1874. Not long after their arrival in town, Mr. Lichtenstein founded the dry goods store, M. Lichtenstein and Sons, which was a prominent business in Corpus Christi for over 130 years.
They say you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been, but this historic home has been in Corpus Christi for over 100 years and we hope it stays put forever. To learn more about this and the rest of the Heritage Park homes, stop into the Visitor Information Center for a self-guided walking tour to see them up close and personal.
