History
Houston National Bank - Main St. @ Franklin.
Photographed by Bob Bailey Studios in 1952.
The
Building
The
Ex-Houston National Bank is now the Islamic Da`wah Center. It was
one of four banks that were built on the corners of Main St. and
Franklin in downtown Houston; only three of these buildings are
standing today.
Texas Governor Ross
Sterling built it in 1928. He is son of Benjamin Franklin and Mary Jane
(Bryan). Sterling was born near Anahuac, Texas, in February 1875. He
attended public schools and farmed until 1896. In the next several
years he entered the banking business by purchasing a number of banks
in small towns. He became an oil operator in 1903. In 1910 he bought
two wells, which developed into the Humble Oil and Refining Company.
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Sterling was founder and president of the Humble Oil and Refining
Company, which eventually became the Exxon Mobile. From 1933
to
1946 he was president of the Sterling Oil and Refining Company and was
chairman of the Houston National Bank. Ross Sterling died in 1949.
In 1994, planning has started to turn the building into
an Islamic Center. After years of extensive
renovations the center finally opened for public in 2002 and took the
name of Islamic Da`wah Center. The first prayer was held on the last
Friday of Ramadan, November 29, 2002. This was a remarkable turning
point in the history of Islam in Houston. The Islamic Da`wah
Center
is the first Mosque in downtown. It is also the first center dedicated
for Da`wah in Houston. The opulent three- story facility includes over
40,000 square feet. As you enter the building from the Travis side
entrance, it will lead you to the main prayer hall. From the ground
level, a staircase takes you underground to the basement level, which
has a gathering area, meeting rooms, classrooms, guest suit, offices,
recreational facility, kitchen, and a library of Islamic
literature.
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