Hermon Lloyd (1909-1989), a 1931 Rice graduate, teamed up with Harvin Moore, another undergraduate in the Rice architecture program, to design party decorations and sets. The two worked well together, and in 1934, they formed the firm of Moore & Lloyd. They were first located in the Citizen’s State Bank Building downtown. Several years later, they designed a building at 2006 West Alabama which became the first architectural office in Houston with central air conditioning. According to Harvin Moore’s son Barry Moore, “Moore and Lloyd were soon very popular and very busy. The reputation of the firm rested largely on their works in River Oaks.”

The firm’s work continually increased during the 1930s. The commercial work was often for the same clients as their residential designs. The residences were usually traditional in style and the commercial buildings were more “Moderne.” Barry Moore attributes this to the fact that clients wished to appear “progressive in business and traditional in family values.” During their partnership, Moore and Lloyd designed many commercial, civic and military buildings, including over 84 homes in River Oaks. The catalogue of Moore and Lloyd works put together by Michael Wilson for the Houston Public Library is extensive.

By the end of the 1930’s, Moore and Lloyd began to move in different directions and, by the entry of the U.S. into World War II, the firm had dissolved. Hermon Lloyd sought out more commercial contracts and established the firms Lloyd and Morgan and then Lloyd, Morgan and Jones. He died in 1989.

[Excerpted from the City of Houston Landmark Designation Report for the Murray-Bertrand House]