Homes built along Ocean Drive often have their unique personalities, but this one has caused a lot of double-takes by passersby. A South Texas Spanish Revival-styled home wasn’t unusual for architect William Doty Van Siclen, but bringing pueblo-influenced design to Corpus Christi was a surefire way to draw attention.
Dubbed Watsonia, the home was built in 1938 by Harry H. Watson and his wife May, who was the daughter of Mathis namesake Thomas Henry Mathis. Mrs. Watson worked with Van Siclen to design her home — perhaps the reason it doesn’t subscribe completely to any one architectural style.
The 55,000 20-pound bricks were made onsite and baked on a fire of Texas ebony and mesquite wood, but its unique exterior is only part of the allure of this home. Mrs. Watson decorated the interior with items from their travels — rocks, minerals, ores, coins and other fascinating items on display. Her studio was her refuge for creating watercolor and oil paintings, a passion she studied for decades. She was noted for her skills as a hostess and shared her home not only with visitors but also on film, as it was featured in a Universal Newsreel distributed widely in 1944.
Mr. Watson lived in the home less than a decade before his death, but Mrs. Watson lived her life there until 1966, enjoying a view of her treasures and the Corpus Christi Bay.
