Search Results: immanuel

Demolitions
03/08/10 4:44pm

Immanuel Lutheran: Okay, We Won’t Trash Our Old Church Building

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Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Institutional Buildings, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
1 Comment

The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has sent out an email reporting that the congregation of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voted in a special meeting this past weekend not to demolish its sanctuary building after all.

So what’s going to happen to the unused 1932 brick structure instead? Says the GHPA:

The Gothic Revival building on Cortlandt Street at East 15th Street will be used as flex space to accommodate church functions and Immanuel Lutheran School activities as well as community events.

Sure, it’s likely to make a great space for events. But how could any church function match an all-out building demo for fun?

The GHPA reports the congregation has committed to spending $150,000 on the rehab — about twice the cost of the demolition, which had already been scheduled for May. GHPA credits the 90-days-to-oblivion feature of the city’s otherwise toothless preservation ordinance for the save:

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Demolitions
02/15/10 11:37am

If Wishes Were Museums: Don’t Give Up on That Immanuel Lutheran Church Demolition Just Yet

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Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
2 Comments

That report we passed on last Friday about the congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voting to turn its former sanctuary at the corner of Cortlandt and 15th St. into a museum of Lutheran history turns out to have been false. City Council members Edward Gonzalez and Sue Lovell, who announced the decision in a press release, jumped the gun a bit:

Lovell spokesman Tim Brookover said the councilwoman’s office received a report from a preservationist attending the meeting that there had “been a lot of talk about a Lutheran museum” and presumed the church group approved the plan.

Though informally discussed, such a proposal has not been formally presented to the governing board, [board president Ken Bakenhus] said.

But there was some progress at the meeting: The congregation did vote to reject local artist and engineer Gus Kopriva’s proposal to lease the sanctuary and turn it into an art museum, the Chronicle‘s Allan Turner reports.

Bakenhus told Turner late last year that the board was “’99 percent’ in favor” of spending $60,000 to demolish the 1932 brick building. The church has a signed contract to tear down the structure this summer.

Photo: Heights Blog

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Demolitions
02/12/10 9:47am

Immanuel Lutheran Church Likes a Different Museum Idea

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Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
11 Comments



Update, 2/15: As Miz Brooke Smith notes in a comment below, the report turns out not to be true.

The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights has reversed itself and voted not to tear down its 1932 brick sanctuary building after all, abc13 reports. Instead, they’ve decided to turn it into a museum.

Will it be a Heights art museum, as proposed and promoted by local gallery owner and engineer Gus Kopriva? No. Congregants voted to turn the structure at the corner of 15th and Cortlandt into a museum of Lutheran history.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

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Art
12/22/09 11:26am

Saved by a HAM: The Museum Plan for Immanuel Lutheran Church

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Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
5 Comments

Immanuel Lutheran Church has a signed contract to demolish its original sanctuary structure at the corner of 15th St. and Cortlandt in the Heights this summer. But art gallery owner and structural engineer Gus Kopriva wants to turn the 1932 building into an art museum instead.

Kopriva, who was involved in the recent renovation of the Heights Theater and owns Redbud Gallery on 11th St., is scheduled to present his concept to the church today. It would involve a long-term lease and a new nonprofit organization to raise money for the renovation, writes Allan Turner in the Chronicle:

“It’s been my long-term dream to create a Texas arts mecca,” Kopriva said. The museum, which he would call the Heights Arts Museum (HAM), would also house art archives, he said.

Backing Kopriva’s proposal are the Houston Heights Association and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, both of which have struggled to save the church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

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Demolitions
11/25/09 2:29pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church: Saved for Demolition Next Year

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Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Religious Facilities
1 Comment

Some news from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance:

The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church has voted to delay until spring 2010 the proposed demolition of its Gothic Revival sanctuary on East 15th Street at Cortlandt in the Heights East Historic District.

In late October, the city Archeological and Historic Commission voted to deny the church a “certificate of appropriateness” for the demo, which meant the church would have had to wait a full 90 days anyway — until late January of next year — to tear down its vacant 1932 brick building.

Photo: Heights Blog

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Comments
10/20/09 2:35pm

Comment of the Day: Offerings for Immanuel Lutheran Church

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Demolitions, Houston Heights, Quicklink
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: OFFERINGS FOR IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH “$600,000 to renovate? I’d like to see that breakdown. I’ll offer a donation of my labor, and I’m sure many more would [too] if the church would make a plea for it (plus, maybe the members would too??)…” [Lauren, commenting on Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?]

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Development Regulations
05/27/10 4:36pm

Big Changes for Houston’s Preservation Ordinance? Mayor Parker Wants a Temporary Ban on Those 90-Day Exemptions

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Historic Districts, Historic Preservation
28 Comments

Some major changes to the implementation of Houston’s long-ridiculed historic preservation ordinance may be coming very soon, if a proposal supported by Mayor Annise Parker passes a city council vote that could occur as early as next Wednesday, Swamplot has learned. Under the current ordinance (for all designated historic districts except for the Old Sixth Ward, now a designated “protected” historic district), owners of historic-district properties whose plans for demolition, new construction, or remodeling have been rejected by the city’s Archaeological and Historical Commission have been able to proceed with their plans anyway — simply by waiting 90 days.

But in an email to Swamplot, a spokesperson indicates the Mayor wants the commission to “temporarily discontinue” the issuing of such 90-day waivers for the remainder of this calendar year — or until amendments to the preservation ordinance are hashed out and approved by city council (whichever comes first). Under some revisions to the ordinance likely to be considered in that 7-month period, 90-day waivers could be eliminated entirely.

Swamplot was alerted to the potential changes by a builder, who became alarmed that “anyone, property owner or builder, who does not already have a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition or new construction as of next Wednesday will not be able to get one until next year.” The changes the Mayor is proposing aren’t quite that drastic, however. Parker communications director Janice Evans indicates that the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission will still issue “certificates of appropriateness” while any moratorium on 90-day waivers is in place; anyone whose request for a certificate has been rejected will be able to appeal the decision to the Planning Commission.

What permanent changes to the preservation ordinance are being considered? A committee led by council member Sue Lovell — including fellow council member Ed Gonzalez as well as representatives of the historical and planning commissions — has been charged with reviewing it. All changes, notes Evans, “will be considered by the HAHC, the planning commission and City Council, providing numerous opportunities for dialogue and public input.” In the meantime, the mayor “supports the temporary discontinuance because it will allow for a pause in activity while discussions regarding increased protections occur with various stakeholders,” Evans tells Swamplot.

Want more details about the mayor’s proposal? Here’s the text of our Q-and-A with her communications director:

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Historic Preservation
01/07/10 1:05pm

This Is Not a Demolished Church

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Houston Heights, Religious Facilities
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The 3D documentation artists who’ve been scanning the facade of Immanuel Lutheran Church’s unwanted sanctuary building at 1448 Cortland St. in the Heights issue an important caution to those appreciating their craft:

Once archived, the data file’s full-scale scan and related imagery becomes a resource for preservationists, conservators, architects, engineers, site managers, or others needing access for a variety of purposes, from maintenance to insurance to historical reference, explained the team from Smart GeoMetrics, a division of Smart MultiMedia. The venture’s principals are Richard Lasater and Doug Smith of the Rice Village area. . . .

Lasater said — with emphasis — that digital documentation is an archival tool, “not a replacement’ for a building.”

Image: Smart GeoMetrics

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Comments
10/21/09 4:34pm

Comment of the Day: There’s Black Gold in Them Thar Church!

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Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Quicklink, Religious Facilities
3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE’S BLACK GOLD IN THEM THAR CHURCH! “I was involved 7 years ago to save the old church but it was a battle then. The people of Immanuel don’t know what they have. They want to demo the church so they can move on to phase three . . . of their master plan. Problem is they don’t have enough money to finish phase two much less start phase three. One of the reasons, I was told by a trustee, that they are demoing the bldg. now is that a couple of their old members died and left them some money . . . He went on to say that one of the [deceased] left them some oil well money not much he said but just enough to maybe pay the light bill each month. They have an oil well over there right now and don’t even know it. Yea it will take money and effort but I guarentee every girl in the Heights would love to get married in that old beautiful church. . . . The church is not rotten as some say. that thing is solid, some remodel work and that Bldg. could be a gold mine for the church. If they do tear it down it will be a shame.” [Mike Batterson, commenting on Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?]

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Demolitions
10/16/09 5:21pm

Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?

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Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights
23 Comments

A number of readers have written in to report that Immanuel Lutheran Church has filed an application with the city to demolish its former sanctuary building on the corner of 15th St. and Cortlandt in the Heights. Since the 1932 brick building is in one of the Heights historic districts, demo applicants are required to request a certificate of appropriateness from the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission. The application will be voted on at the next HAHC meeting on October 22nd, but a denial from the HAHC won’t mean much: After waiting 90 days, the church can go ahead with the demo anyway.

Heights preservation ordnance Janice Evans-Davis, who’s sending out emails and posting on local bulletin boards about the property, toured it this morning:

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