Houston's 1926 Spanish Renaissance Revival central library, where staff and visitors continue to report violin music and the click of a dog's nails attributed to longtime handyman Jacob Cramer and his German shepherd Petey.
550 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77002
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free admission. The Julia Ideson Building is part of the Houston Public Library system and houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center; researcher access is free and self-guided tours of public areas are available during regular library hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Sidewalk and interior tile floors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · Designed by Ralph Adams Cram in Spanish Renaissance Revival style · Houston's central public library 1926-1976 · Renamed in 1951 for Julia Bedford Ideson, Houston's first professional librarian · Now houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center
The Julia Ideson Building opened in 1926 at 550 McKinney Street as the new central building of the Houston Public Library. The Spanish Renaissance Revival design — featuring tile roofs, intricate ironwork, and richly ornamented reading galleries — was the work of nationally prominent Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram. The building represented one of the most architecturally ambitious civic projects of 1920s Houston.
Julia Bedford Ideson, the city's first professional librarian, was largely responsible for advocating the construction of the new building. After her death in 1945, the library was renamed in her honor in 1951.
The building served as Houston's central library from 1926 to 1976, when central operations moved to the adjacent Jesse H. Jones Building. The Ideson now houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center — the city's principal archive of Texas-history manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, and local-government records — and continues to host public exhibitions and events. A 2011 restoration repaired the original interiors and added a research wing.
The library was the workplace of Jacob Frank Cramer, the long-serving gardener, security guard, and handyman who lived in a basement apartment with his German shepherd, Petey. Cramer was discovered dead in his apartment by library staff in 1936, at age 79; Petey was never located.
Sources
The Julia Ideson legend is one of Houston's best-documented gentle hauntings because the underlying biographical facts are unusually well-anchored. Jacob Frank Cramer was the library's longtime gardener, security guard, and handyman; he lived in a basement apartment in the building with his German shepherd, Petey, and was known to play his violin in the third-floor reading galleries after hours. Library tradition holds that he grew one of the magnificent bur oak trees flanking the main entrance from an acorn when the original tree died.
In 1936, library staff arrived one morning to find the building still locked. An employee discovered Cramer's body in his basement apartment. Petey, the dog, was missing and was never found.
Not long afterward, patrons and staff began reporting the faint sound of violin music — most often identified as Strauss's The Blue Danube — drifting from the third-floor gallery, along with the rhythmic tick, tick, tick of a dog's claws on the tile floors. According to Texas Standard reporting and the Harris County Public Library's own 'Houston Haunts' blog, the reports have continued from the late 1930s through the present, becoming one of the most-cited paranormal traditions in Houston. Additional reports include floating orbs and books and sheet music found scattered on the floor.
Library staff treat the lore with affection rather than fear: the library blog acknowledges the haunting and the Houston Metropolitan Research Center retains source materials documenting Cramer's life.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk the Spanish Renaissance Revival interior — including the third-floor reading galleries where Jacob Cramer is said to have played his violin — during regular library hours. Free admission. The building houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center and rotating exhibitions.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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