This picturesque manorial-style country house, with steel casement windows and a compressed timbered bay cantilevered above the front entrance, was built for Wharton wholesale grocer Leon Abovitz. As president of Congregation Shearith Israel, Abovitz commissioned Houston architect Gabert, and his eventual partner W. Jackson Wisdom, to design the congregation's contemporary-style synagogue (1955–1956) at 1821 Old Lane City Road.