Celebrating 100 Years of The Texas Medical Center Library: 1915-2015

Air-conditioning is first introduced in a public building in the 1920s. In later decades the technology would revolutionize Houston's quality of life, minimizing the effect of the sub-tropical climate on its residents and prompting a building boom. 

During the 1920s, the city of Houston developed Hermann Park based in part on plans by Arthur Comey and George Kessler on land donated by George H. Hermann in 1922. The Houston Zoological Garden opened on the park grounds two years later. The park complex expanded with the construction of Museum of Natural History and a full-size golf course. Several smaller buildings were also added, as well as several curving roads to provide automobile access through the grounds. Will Hogg donated another large tract for an expansion to the park..

The first full-time librarian of the Houston Academy of Medicine library was Helen Holt, who began working at the Houston Academy of Medicine Library in 1927, soon after the library and Harris County Medical Society moved into the brand new Medical Arts Building. The Medical Arts Building broke ground in 1926, and it was part of the construction boom in Houston during the 1920s. Image below is the groundbreaking ceremony with leaders of the Harris County Medical Society. By August 1927, a few months after Miss Holt started, she was entering new book and journal titles into the accession log.

The Houston Academy of Medicine Library and Harris County Medical Society Meeting Room occupied half of the 16th Floor. The building was demolished around 1986.