During the 1890s, the city of Waco was in a period of financial growth, and citizens were in need of a place to be entertained. Waco was home to several theaters and opera houses; however, local businessmen desired a large auditorium that would bring prominent stage productions, conventions, and money to the citizens of Waco. Respectable citizens called for a place to bring culture, as well as crowds and their wallets, to the young Brazos city.

After failed attempts to raise money for an auditorium in 1893 and 1894, due to the construction of the Texas Cotton Palace, a movement to build an auditorium began in 1899. A group of local businessmen, known as the Karnival Klub, strived to promote the interests of the city and presented plans for the Waco Auditorium. The Waco Auditorium Company was formed, and citizens of Waco donated money and bought stock in order to support the construction.

Plans for the building developed quickly. Built at the intersection of North Sixth Street and Columbus Avenue the Waco Auditorium held a prime location, sitting on top of a hill, and near the city’s businesses and hotels. On Thanksgiving Day, 1899, the greatly anticipated Waco Auditorium was dedicated. A heavily promoted opening included guests such as Governor Hogg and William Jennings Bryan to see the evening’s acts.

The building was originally built to seat about three thousand people, but by 1901, renovations cut capacity by half due to the lack of sold-out performances. The interior of the building was lush and elegant—dark red velvet covered seats, walls finished with terra cotta, crowned by a canary ceiling. Attending productions at the Waco Auditorium during its early seasons was a social and cultural event and was a place to socialize and to be seen by others. Visitors arrived by coach and wore their finest jewelry, and beautifully dressed women filled the mezzanine boxes.

The Waco Auditorium’s early seasons brought sophistication and refinement to Waco. Theatrical companies traveled to Waco in large numbers because of the large and modern facility, as well as Waco’s convenient location between Austin and Dallas. Acts included Shakespeare plays, opera, symphony orchestras, lectures, dances, musicals, minstrel shows, vaudeville, and magicians. By 1915, silent movies with orchestral accompaniment became a popular attraction. Prices of tickets ranged from ten cents to four dollars, depending on seating, time of the act, and caliber of performer.

By 1915, the Waco Auditorium had undergone many changes in management. Several previous theatrical seasons were slow, and ticket prices were reduced as a result. That year the auditorium’s longest manager, Gussie Oscar, took over the task of scheduling acts. Oscar traveled to New York City every summer to view and select performers. She organized more performances than any other manager at the Waco Auditorium and brought in big-name artists such as Fred and Adele Astaire.

With the decline of traveling acts during World War I, Oscar began booking controversial acts such as wrestling matches and chorus girls with flapper attire. Oscar also booked large amounts of vaudeville acts and movies to fit the needs of Camp MacArthur soldiers. Because of the level of popularity of movies such as The Birth of a Nation, Oscar violated Waco’s Sunday Closing Law resulting in her arrest. Oscar pleaded for a settlement and promised to never schedule shows on Sundays again, however, she was arrested once more in her career for the same offense. Oscar continued to run a strict business, though, and fired employees who showed up to work late or out of uniform.

The auditorium’s business began to decline during the 1920s for several reasons. New movie houses competed for consumer dollars and theater audiences declined. Camp MacArthur also closed its doors after the war, meaning soldiers were no longer a large source of revenue. The physical shape of the auditorium suffered due to the lack of funds from ticket sales to refurbish it, and it became difficult to schedule performances. The Waco Auditorium was sold in 1928, and torn down in 1929.

Because of the venue, Wacoans were introduced to Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, the Marx Brothers, and many others. The Waco Auditorium entertained citizens with over 2,400 performances for thirty years, and brought sophistication and culture to the city.

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Waco enjoyed an unprecedented level of economic prosperity when cotton was king in the early twentieth century. During this period, Waco’s prominent families commissioned residences that would speak to their affluence and elevated station. The Migel House at 1425 Columbus Avenue stands as an impressive architectural reminder of those boom years and the private citizens who sought to create a legacy for themselves through brick and mortar.

When investor Nelson Smith relocated to Waco from nearby Belton, Texas, he commissioned legendary Waco architect Milton W. Scott to build his family home on Columbus Avenue. Completed in 1910, the mansion served as the Smith residence for only a few years before it was sold to Louey Migel. A prominent Wacoan in his own right, Migel was part owner of the Goldstein-Migel department store which was a fixture in Waco retail for many years. The Migel family owned the house until 1969. In the years following, the house functioned as off-campus housing for Baylor University until the Freeman House paid $200,000 to use the residence as the women’s dormitory for its drug rehabilitation program. The Migel House is now privately owned.

The Migel House is a beautiful example of Beaux Arts revival style. Its Doric columns and the urns flanking the front walkway are reminiscent of a Greek temple, while the terra-cotta tiles and scalloped roof recall the architecture of a Spanish mission. The brickwork featuring festoons and cartouches makes this two-story structure one of the most uniquely adorned historic houses in Waco. The exterior of the house has remained largely the same for more than a century.

The driveway is covered by a brick porte cochere. A carriage house, built at the same time as the Migel House, sits in the back corner of the property and echoes the Beaux-Arts style.

The interior of the house has much of its original moulding, pocket doors, hand-painted canvas wallpaper, and stained glass windows. The full basement of this more than 10,000- square-foot home features a wooden bowling lane. Notably, the house survived the great tornado of 1953 that ripped through downtown Waco.

The Migel House remains a testament to a golden age of Waco architecture and the affluence that made such residences possible.  

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McCulloch House is a historic house museum owned by Historic Waco Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to maintain and preserve the history of Waco. This organization owns three historic house museums in Waco in addition to the McCulloch House: Earle-Napier-Kinnard House, Fort House, and East Terrace House.

Josiah Caldwell, a Waco physician, built what would become McCulloch House for his wife, Maria Caldwell, and their five children in 1866. Originally, the structure was a two-bedroom house with a detached kitchen. 

In 1871, local merchant Champe Carter McCulloch and wife Emma bought the house and began renovations. They worked on the house for eleven years, first building another wing, and eventually expanding the house into a two-story building. The Greek Revival addition was completed in 1872. In enlarging the house, the workers made use of local pink brick.

Mr. McCulloch was a prominent Wacoan, a local merchant who made frequent trips to New York to buy merchandise for local vendors. He also served as mayor of the city for eleven years. The McCullochs raised seven children in the house, but also ensured that the house remained part of the Waco social scene, hosting many dances and parties. It became a part of a series of houses throughout Central Texas that allowed people to travel and experience different cities such as Dallas and Houston. People went on “pilgrimages” to these different houses in order to participate in the dances and parties, getting an idea of what life in those cities might be like. McCulloch House made a significant impact on the city of Waco through the effect these pilgrimages had upon the city’s social life and population.

The 1953 tornado destroyed a large portion of McCulloch House which later had to be completely reconstructed. Some of this damage can still be seen today, such as the portion of stairs that remains slanted. Members of the McCulloch family continued to live in the house until 1971, at which point the heirs donated it to Historic Waco Foundation. McCulloch House has a lively history that is continuously being enhanced by the people who maintain it.

For tours of the McCulloch House, or for more information about Historic Waco Foundation, visit www.historicwaco.org.

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Old Waco High School is the oldest of several extant buildings to have housed Waco High School. Initially the school met in two small buildings in downtown Waco during the 1880s, and for many years was the only public school west of the Brazos. The high school was built in 1910, and sits in downtown Waco on Columbus Avenue in close proximity to the courthouse and the ALICO building.

The school quickly became notable in the community. In 1915, all 110 seniors passed their classes and graduated. At their graduation ceremony, the keynote speaker invited them to draw upon the efficiency, industry, and preparedness they had been taught at Waco High, for these “were the qualities by which they would eventually triumph” in life. The athletic program was also successful early on. In 1922, the Waco High Tigers defeated the Abilene Eagles, becoming the Texas State Football Champions.

The racial makeup of Waco High began to change in the 1960s when the Waco Independent School District began implementing racial integration. Prior to integration, African American students attended Jefferson Moore High School. The school board mandated incremental integration beginning with teachers and then students, but only achieved the minimum requirements to meet federal standards.

In 1971, a new structure was built to house Waco High School on North Nineteenth Street. Citizens of Waco offered many suggestions for ways to repurpose Old Waco High. For instance, many wanted the building to be used for special education and neighborhood recreation programs. Some thought it best to simply sell it to the highest bidder. Over the next twenty years, Old Waco High was used to house an alternative school, a special education department, a museum called the Metropolitan Learning Center, and a pregnancy resource center. In 1990, the building was closed to the public and sat empty.

The school board put the building up for sale in 1995. However, the cost of removing asbestos and lead-based paint from the building, nearly ten million dollars, led to buyer after buyer losing interest over the next decade. In 2004, dismayed citizens who did not want to see the historic building destroyed attempted to raise the necessary funds to renovate the building but were unable to find a lead donor to assist in the process.

In 2006, a private developer came along with a proposal to renovate Old Waco High. Rehab Builders proposed to develop the building into loft-style apartments which would be offered to low-income families. In 2008, the sale of Old Waco High was completed after the developer agreed to preserve the historic integrity of the building. Today, each unit of the Historic Lofts of Waco High is different depending on where it exists in the floor plan. For instance, some units contain chalkboards; others might have a basketball goal or game clock.

Old Waco High became deeply woven into city fabric through its dedication to the education of youth in Waco. The school educated generation after generation of Wacoans, creating a legacy that many fought to preserve after the school’s closure. Today, Old Waco High remains an important part of the community through its provision of quality housing to low-income citizens.  

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