The History of 611 Cotton Street

A typical street scene on Cotton Street, early 1900s.

In the early 1920s, Cotton Street in downtown Shreveport was not as it looks today. The street wasn’t far removed from the former waterfront of Silver Lake (‘Lake Street’) and was filled with a variety of homes, from stately mansions to smaller single family to those with rooms for rent. In 1919, 611 Cotton was the residence of one J.J. Kline who made at least part of his living running a boarding house. In 1920, Mr. Kline apparently decided to get out of the rooms-for-let business, and sold the property to the Newsom Battery Company, but it wasn’t until 1927 that the structure that is now known as the Porter Howard Garage was built.

V.M. Mahr was the first owner, spending $125,000 for a 56,000 SF 3-story (and basement) garage building constructed for Roby Motors, which was moving from their smaller location on Milam Street. The building was touted as being the ‘largest building of this kind in this part of the state’ and was ‘spacious, well-lighted and fireproof.’ The ‘palatial’ first floor of the dealership was large enough to house as many as 20 cars and a great selling feature was the concrete driving ramps that allowed attendants to move cars faster than they were able to with freight elevators.

The construction on the building was lightning fast. The building permit was issued by the city in July, and Roby Motors threw open its doors in October of the same year. For 12 years, Roby Motors sold Reo and Franklin cars. Never heard of them? You are not alone. The early 1900s was like the Wild West in the nascent automotive industry. There were no ‘Big Three’ automakers dominating the landscape- it was open, fertile, virgin territory and hundreds of small and local automotive manufacturers were jumping into the fray.

Ransom Eli Olds

Reo was one of the more legitimate ones. The business was created and owned by Ransom E. Olds (Oldsmobile), who already had ‘street cred’ by the time Roby opened. His cars and heavy duty trucks had been on the market since 1905, and his Reo ‘Speedwagon’ truck line was already legendary for its toughness and reliability, and later it would provide the name for a famous rock band. Reo’s innovations, such as hydraulic brakes, were far ahead of their time. By the time Roby Motors opened in 1927, one of Reo’s prime offerings was the beautiful Flying Cloud sedan, a number of which graced the Roby showroom floor.

1929 Reo Flying Cloud.

The Franklin Automobile Company was the brainchild of Herbert H. Franklin. Though his business was never very profitable, his cars had air-cooled engines and were considered responsive in handling and fun to drive, though a bit odd looking because no radiator was needed.

1927 Franklin IIB air-cooled touring car.

The cars were so odd looking that by the 1920s, Franklin redesigned them to have a squared off front grill to ‘fake’ the look of a radiator. Franklin was also the first to use aluminum extensively to lighten their vehicles. By 1928, Franklin was using so much that his company was the largest user of aluminum in the entire world.

The Roby Motors dealership at 611 Cotton stayed open until 1940, when it changed to Roby Furniture. For the next 22 years, it was one of the many furniture stores that populated Cotton Street, Milam Street, and Texas Avenue. After its closing in 1962, the business sold and reopened as Porter-Howard Garage offering complete automotive repair services and parking in one convenient location.

Original Story- January 20, 2022

The historic Porter Howard Garage at 611 Cotton Street has hit the MLS.