La Carafe

Significance

Housed in the Kennedy Bakery building constructed in 1860, La Carafe is widely regarded as the oldest bar in Houston and one of the oldest surviving commercial buildings still in active use in the city. The building originally served as a bakery supplying bread to Confederate troops during the Civil War before later becoming a saloon and eventually the atmospheric candlelit bar that occupies the space today. Its narrow two story brick facade, with a small balcony overlooking Market Square, has remained largely unchanged for over a century and a half, making it a rare tangible link to Houston's earliest commercial district. La Carafe's survival amid the wholesale redevelopment of much of downtown Houston makes it an especially cherished landmark among longtime residents and historians alike.

Climate risks tracked

La Carafe's 1860 brick construction, among the oldest unreinforced masonry in the city, is particularly vulnerable to urban and bayou flooding given its location adjacent to Market Square near Buffalo Bayou, a low lying area that flooded significantly during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The building's aging brick walls and original wood interior finishes are highly susceptible to humidity and mold damage, since prolonged moisture exposure common to Houston's climate can degrade century and a half old mortar and timber. Careful, continuous maintenance is essential to prevent structural deterioration in one of the city's oldest surviving commercial buildings.

Use the preservation assistant to talk through retrofit strategies for these specific threats.

Location

Nearby landmarks

• 1913 · Beaux-Arts

  Rice Hotel

• 1926 · Spanish Renaissance Revival

  Julia Ideson Building

• 1927 · Italian Renaissance Revival

  Niels Esperson Building

• 1924 · Commercial / Chicago School

  Sam Houston Hotel