Swamplot Archives by Category: Historic Preservation

Popular Stories in This Category:

Monday, November 2, 2009

Comment of the Day: That Midcentury Mod Funding Problem

November 2, 2009 – 4:58 pm
   

“I can understand if a unique house such as this is torn down when it hasn’t been maintained or updated over the years. But this one clearly has. To say it’s beautiful is an understatement. There just aren’t enough mid century mod enthusiasts in Houston who have $3 million to spare. Maybe someone in LA can have it moved over there.” [Carol, commenting on A Last Look at the Old Schnitzer Home]

4:58 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: Sherwood Forest, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , ,
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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

October 21, 2009 – 4:34 pm
   

“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?]

4:34 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Comments, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Quicklink, Religious Facilities
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Friday, October 16, 2009

Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?

October 16, 2009 – 5:21 pm

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:

Continue Reading This Story >

5:21 pm | 23 Comments | Read more about Demolitions, Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights
Read more about: , , , ,
Thursday, October 1, 2009

Just About Time in Eastwood: Great Moments in Houston Clock Rescue and Storage

October 1, 2009 – 9:36 pm

Eastwood clock-watcher Spencer Howard documents the end of the line for the 1935 Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Company building on Harrisburg. Metro doesn’t have any use for the bulk of the Streamline Moderne building in the way of the new light-rail East End Line. But how about grabbing that right-twice-a-day timepiece the building is wearing? The bulky fashion accessory might go with any of several new get-ups envisioned for Eastwood Park across the street.

METRO began the disassembly of the building last week. After several days of careful planning, joints were sawed into the steel frame, stucco clad facade. By the end of the week, a large crane was delivered to the site to assist with the removal of the facade.

Continue Reading This Story >

9:36 pm | 7 Comments | Read more about Adaptive Reuse, Art, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Eastwood, Parks, Public Art
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, September 10, 2009

GM Wants To Take Away Knapp

September 10, 2009 – 11:58 am

On the list of dealerships General Motors intends to shut down: Knapp Chevrolet, at 815 Houston Ave. just south of Washington. Back in May, GM notified the longtime Downtown dealership of its intent to terminate its franchise agreement as of Halloween 2010.

Since then, the dealership’s owners have been trying to get the decision reversed: President Robert G. Knapp presented his case to a congressional subcommittee in July, after several appeals to the company were rejected. Knapp claims his dealership has been profitable, and that closing the dealership would significantly hobble GM’s local market share. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has gotten involved, introducing a bill in Congress that would make it easier for dealerships to appeal franchise terminations in court. Knapp is also collecting a list of supporters through an online petition to GM. More than 6,200 supporters have added their names to the list so far.

One of those supporters: The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, fans of Knapp’s moderne corner building, completed in 1941, 2 years after the dealership was first established.

Photo of Knapp Chevrolet: Chris Adams

11:58 am | 9 Comments | Read more about Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: Downtown, Neighborhoods: Old Sixth Ward, Neighborhoods: Washington Corridor, Openings and Closings, Retail
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Friday, September 4, 2009

Comment of the Day: Sure, but Would We Get To Demolish That, Too?

September 4, 2009 – 12:54 pm
   

“There are more than just two options (that we relocate the facade and strip it of its artistic integrity, or that we demolish it). For the price of meticulously deconstructing it, storing it indefinitely, and ultimately (maybe) reconstructing it, we could commit contemporary design principles (to modern building materials, as they should be) to designing a completely new artistic expression, one that is neither a half-hearted attempt at some ill-defined goal or that sullies the meaning or memory of Sterling Laundry, but which has a purpose that is an end in itself.” [TheNiche, commenting on Saving Time on the East End Line: Sterling Laundry and Long-Term Storage]

12:54 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Quicklink
Read more about: , , ,
Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Saving Time on the East End Line: Sterling Laundry and Long-Term Storage

September 2, 2009 – 2:48 pm

All that uproar over the impending demolition of a favorite Streamline Moderne structure in Eastwood seems to have had an effect: Houston architect Sol R. Slaughter’s 1935 Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Company building at 4819 Harrisburg will be preserved!

Sort of. Metro has committed to saving the façade.

Well . . . maybe at least the center part of it.

Okay really, just the top part, above the door. The part with the clock.

Hey, at least it’s not going to go away!

. . . ?

Uh, well . . . architectural antique fan Spencer Howard, who helped sound the alarm about Metro’s demolition plans for the building a few weeks ago, writes in with the latest:

Deconstruction will begin in two weeks, at which point the façade will be placed in storage (yet to be located) until the permanent home is designed (yet to be funded).

But the face-saving fun doesn’t stop there. After a short but brilliant week of investigations, brainstorming, and Photoshop work, Metro has produced a series of proposals for the rescued stretch of stucco that’s likely to be studied and appreciated by historic preservation experts, redevelopment advocates, and postmodern philosophers for some time to come.

Monday’s presentation at the offices of the Greater East End Management District was simply titled “4819 Harrisburg,” but that’s just Metro being modest. Maybe when this thing is resurrected for academic conferences it can be called something like “Representations of Time: Practical Opportunities in Deconstruction and Preservation.”

Continue Reading This Story >

2:48 pm | 18 Comments | Read more about Adaptive Reuse, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Eastwood, Parks, Public Art, Transportation
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, August 21, 2009

An Old Sixth Ward House To Take Home with You

August 21, 2009 – 5:03 pm

A reader sends in this photo from the corner of Union and Henderson Sts. in the Old Sixth Ward, one block off Washington Ave. And comments:

Anyone in the market for a FREE house? This caught my eye on my way home [yesterday] and made me laugh out loud. I knew it was a rough sellers market but wow - FREE?

Sorry about the ghost images in the picture - I got so excited about a FREE house that I forgot to roll down the car window before snapping the shot!

The home dates to 1890, and was sold in October of last year. This past April, the city historical commission denied the owner’s request for a “certificate of appropriateness” to tear it down.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

5:03 pm | 26 Comments | Read more about Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Home for Sale, Homes for Sale, Houston History, Neighborhoods: Old Sixth Ward
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Thursday, August 20, 2009

Art Deco Slaughter on Harrisburg: Is Metro Taking To the Cleaners?

August 20, 2009 – 10:46 am

This timely building at 4819 Harrisburg in Eastwood, built in 1935 for the Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Co., showed up in yesterday’s Daily Demolition Report. The architect was Sol R. Slaughter, who also designed a home on the bayou in Idylwood the same year.

The building faces Metro’s new East End Corridor light-rail line. Rice University project manager Spencer Howard writes in with a few details, but isn’t exactly sure what’s going on:

The building was renovated as an artist live/work/gallery just a few years ago.

METRO pledged to save the facade of the building with the clock on it, across from Eastwood Park. They preferred to have someone else buy it and move it, but if that didn’t happen, they were going to move it back on the property and reattach it behind the new setback. Yesterday they sent out the demolition list for next Monday and it was on it. The neighborhood has alerted their gov’t reps.

Another view:

Continue Reading This Story >

10:46 am | 11 Comments | Read more about Adaptive Reuse, Art, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Neighborhoods: Eastwood, Public Art, Transportation
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , ,
Monday, August 17, 2009

Alabama Bookstop Theater: The Balcony Is Closed for This Performance

August 17, 2009 – 11:07 am

You were maybe planning to stop by the Bookstop in the old Alabama Theater on Shepherd for one last browse before the store closes on September 15th? Do a little clearance-sale shopping, grab a coffee up on the balcony and look out over that live-on-stage magazine stand?

It may be a little too late for that now. On the Houston Press Twitter feed this weekend, Katharine Shilcutt reported that the upper levels of the store are already cleared and closed . . . for good.

Photo: Houston Press

11:07 am | 6 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: Upper Kirby, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, August 13, 2009

Satellite Dish: Museum of Natural Science Leaves Mall, Takes Prison

August 13, 2009 – 1:51 pm

Opening October 3rd in Sugar Land: A branch of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, smack dab in the center of the former prison farm now known as Telfair. The museum is a rehab of the old Central State Farm Prison building, but it has a better-sounding new address: 13019 University Blvd., at the corner of New Territory Blvd.

Meanwhile, far to the north, HMNS’s Woodlands Xploration Station in the Woodlands Mall is shutting down on September 7th. The Woodlands Children’s Museum next door to it will close a little less than a month later. Going into those vacated spaces: Forever 21.

Photo of new Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land: HMNS

1:51 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Adaptive Reuse, Historic Preservation, Institutional Buildings, Malls, Neighborhoods: Sugar Land, Neighborhoods: Telfair, Neighborhoods: The Woodlands
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Thursday, August 6, 2009

Alabama Bookstop Stop Date: September 15th

August 6, 2009 – 2:36 pm

That summer clearance sale that’s been going on at the Bookstop in the Alabama Theater Shopping Center on South Shepherd is uh, final. The store will be closing for good on September 15th. The new Barnes & Noble in the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray will be opening the next day (a bit sooner than was announced earlier), but no unsold books from the Bookstop location will be making the trip north.

So what happens to the Alabama Theater after then?

Continue Reading This Story >

2:36 pm | 24 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , ,
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Comment of the Day: On the Corner of West Main and Roseland

May 19, 2009 – 3:29 pm
   

“903 W. Main is a lovely Prairie style home in First Montrose Commons. The owner of it and the neighboring home 909 W. Main, an even grander Craftsman, will demolish both homes for replacement with eight townhouses (likely four story, given the density). But he’s saving the trees, so apparently the civic association is ok with the plans! First Montrose Commons is currently working on an application to become a city historic district. And these two homes contribute to that historic fabric.” [no history remains, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Rambam]

3:29 pm | 15 Comments | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods: First Montrose Commons, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Townhomes
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Comment of the Day: Historic Preservation, Dallas Style

May 12, 2009 – 5:52 pm
   

“. . . Conservation Districts have existed in the city of Dallas since 1988. These districts exist primarily in East Dallas and Oak Cliff.(which are areas primarily developed before 1940) They concentrate on protecting such things as architecture styles, densities of the area, heights of structures, and setback guidelines. The process to become a conservation district typically takes 12 – 18 months from the initial authorizing of a study until the adoption by the city council. These districts are similar to and often compared with historic districts. While exhibiting comparable characteristics, the two are quite different. Historic Districts look to preserve the original structure exactly as when it was first built. They also attempt to preserve original materials, colors, styles, and other elements of the original structure. Conservation districts wish to maintain certain standards of an area. . . .” [JT, commenting on The Woods Back Off: Freeland Bungalow Free To Be Sold Again]

5:52 pm | 5 Comments | Read more about Comments, Development Restrictions, Historic Preservation, Quicklink, Renovations
Read more about: , , ,
Monday, May 11, 2009

The Woods Back Off: Freeland Bungalow Free To Be Sold Again

May 11, 2009 – 7:07 pm

And it’s . . . off! The building designer who had planned to demolish a 1920 bungalow in the newly designated Freeland Historic District and build two 4-story townhomes in its place has now backed out of the deal completely. In a letter to neighborhood residents, Jack Preston Wood and his wife, Samantha Wood, say they’ve canceled their purchase contract for 536 Granberry, in the soppy southern reaches of the Heights.

What made them change their minds? Maybe . . . the gentle encouragement of their would-be neighbors?

We received mean spirited mail, emails, blogs, and visits to our business website all because we were planning on tearing down a house in very poor condition and replacing it with a new compatible home.

The Woods say that after the city historical commission rejected their demolition and construction plans in mid-March, they abandoned the double-townhouse idea and decided instead to replace the bungalow with a new 2800-sq.-ft. 1-1/2-story bungalow. But the neighbors kept at it:

Even though we had sent a response that we were not going to build our original plans and we were working on new plans the neighborhood still held a protest and plastered Freeland with signs. As we watched the news clip on the protest we began to realize that any new home, no matter how compatible, would not be accepted because the Freeland mantra was to remain an “intact” neighborhood. . . .

About three weeks into the six weeks, we realized that we had become the “Poster Child” to deter and slowdown development in the area.

Lots more fun in the full text of the Woods’ letter, reprinted — along with a neighbor’s response — below:

Continue Reading This Story >

7:07 pm | 44 Comments | Read more about Demolitions, Freeland Historic District, Historic Preservation, Home Design, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , ,