When last we visited this home at the western edge of Memorial Bend, built in 1958 from a design by noted Houston architect Lars Bang, the trees were a smidge shorter and the open-plan interior perhaps a bit less tweaked. That was 5 years ago, for a listing that never found a buyer. Last fall, the midcentury-mod-gone-whatever property returned to the market at $565,000 — though within a couple of months the price had fallen to $499,000. (Price histories posted for the property indicate a couple contracts didn’t go through.) Earlier this month, however, the flat-topped specimen overlooking Rummel Creek and the Edith L. Moore Bird Sanctuary popped back up with a big bang of a price increase, to $679,000.
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The current listing includes mere peeks at the property. (And possibly some of the ongoing reno?) A website devoted to the architecture of Memorial Bend includes a photo and description of the home from an earlier era. And some more history: It cites a notable previous owner, talent and modeling agency celeb Page Parkes.
Marble-tile floors, perhaps laid atop the interior’s original flooring, are among the stone embellishments evident around the home. The listing reports there are 2,700 sq. ft. inside, though HCAD pegs the number at 1,960.
Memorial Bend’s streets are named for operas; perhaps that can help explain the drama curtains in the bathrooms:
Some descriptions of the demodernized home describe it as a floor plan of 3 bedrooms cut down to 2. But the current listing supplies dimensions for 3 separate bedrooms. And it reports that plumbing, wiring, and air conditioning have been updated or replaced.
And: somewhere on the 11,831-sq.-ft. lot, there’s a koi pond.
- 423 Electra Dr. [HAR]
- 423 Electra [Memorial Bend Architecture]
- Previously on Swamplot: Would Lars Bang have Recognized This One?, Lars Bang, 1921-2008, Midcentury Modern Hand-Me-Down in Tanglewilde, The House That Time and Architect Forgot
Sacrilege.
Those shower curtains look like mold farms.
Are we sure the photos aren’t from a storage area for mis-matched architectural and decorative items?
The worst part about this house is that my mother-in-law lives down the street!
I love the toilet behind the curtain. I’m hearing the scene from The Wizard of Oz in the background… “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…”
Flat roof = perpetual leaks.
I’m about to pay thousands to get rid of the flat portion of my roof once and for all.
Too flat-roofy for the Tuscan traditionalists. Too screwed up for the modernists. Who will want this mess?
Please, for God’s sake, if you perceive that you have an issue with spelling English words, have somebody…anybody proofread your HAR photo descriptions.
This house is disaster. I’m stumped on how you would price it (for reasons Matt has spelled out above) but $679k seems ridiculous.