The River Crest Addition saw much of its development in the 1920s. One of the finest houses in the district was that built for Edwin E. and Martha Jennings Bewley. Mr. Bewley was vice president and manager of the Bewley Mills and Elevator Co., a firm founded by his father, as well as Chairman of the Board of both the Fort Worth N ational Bank and the Texas Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Bewley enlisted the services of John Staub, a prominent architect know for his house designs for Houston’s fashionable society. The house remained in the Bewley family until1972. Staub’s design is a dignified yet understated composition of English medieval vernacular elements. The extremely large, two-story house features several cross gables asymmetrically arranged which give the house an informal air. Veneered in red brick with stone details, the major cross gable on the east elevation is accented with diaper-patterned brick. Dark shingle tile sheathes the irregular roof which steps down to the east to cover a loggia and angles west to cover servants’ quarters. The Bewley House remains unaltered but for the addition of window awnings. The dwelling appears to qualify for the National Register.
