Wortham House Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2015-014

Staff Only

This collection does not currently have a finding aid available online. For assistance, please contact Special Collections by emailing mmmanning@uh.edu.

Dates

1986-1999

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is not yet processed. Contact the curator to request access.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

1 linear feet

Additional Description

Historical Information

Originally owned by the Sterling Family, The Wortham House was completed in 1927. Frank P. Sterling commissioned architect Alfred C. Finn to design and build a home in the Broadacres Subdivision. In 1948, the widow of Frank P. Sterling, Isla Carroll Sterling Turner, and their daughter, Carroll Sterling Winston Masterson, gifted the house to the Museum of Fine Arts, Hosuton. The museum could not decide what should be done with the house, and in 1950 the house was sold to Gus and Lyndall Finley Wortham.

Upon the death of Gus Wortham, the house became part of the Wortham Foundation. In 1980, Lyndall Wortham and the Wortham Foundation gifted the house to the University of Houston System. Currently The Wortham House is the home of the University of Houston President and Chancellor and hosts a variety of public and private events.