Houston History

Houston History, Landscape, Quicklink

5 Comments

WHERE THE GRASS IS ALWAYS NEATER “I used to walk to school everyday and I used to pass by the home of the richest man in the area and he had a square block that was magnificently trimmed at all times and in the back of my mind subconsciously I considered a lawn like that as ‘success.’ So when I bought me a big house here in Houston the weeds were growing all around my trees and everything and i couldn’t get anybody to do it. Finally I found somebody that’d do it and he reached down into the grass and he got bit by a snake and I spent the rest of my day trying to save his life rather than get my yard done.” — dance instructor George Ballas, inventor of the Weed Eater, who passed away over the weekend at age 85. Ballas came up with the idea for his transformative product after watching spinning bristles clean his Cadillac at a car wash near Houston International (now Hobby) Airport. Until he sold the company to Emerson Electric, the company’s worldwide headquarters stood at 10515 Harwin. The company got a major boost from commercials shown during David Frost’s interviews with former president Richard Nixon in 1977. [Business Makers; obituary] Photo of Ballas’s West Houston lawn: Corky and Shirley Ballas

Gardening, Houston History, Landscape

04/22/11 5:25pm

Houston’s Space Shuttle Tribute — in Pieces

Johnson Space Center, Proposed Developments, Quicklink

8 Comments

HOUSTON’S SPACE SHUTTLE TRIBUTE — IN PIECES Sure, Houston won’t be the rest home of choice for any of the space shuttles that retired intact, but what about the ones that blew up? Mayor Parker says she now supports a plan being promoted by several family members of Columbia and Challenger astronauts to store recovered remnants of the exploded Columbia orbiter in a large warehouse connected to Space Center Houston. More than 80,000 separate pieces of debris recovered from the 2003 disaster are currently stored in a 16th floor office in the Vehicle Assembly Building of Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Parker tells the Chronicle‘s Mike Morris she thinks an exhibit of burnt and broken shuttle parts here could “create a fitting memorial to those astronauts. Not a tourist attraction, but to really recognize the commitment that Houston and Houstonians have made and the sacrifices they’ve made for space. That is an opportunity.” [Houston Politics; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Columbia debris: CollectSpace

77058, Attractions, Houston History, Johnson Space Center, Mayor Parker, Museums, Proposed Developments

02/07/11 1:45pm

Miracle at 34th St. and 290: The London Opera Debut of Houston’s Pleasures Cabaret

Houston Landmarks, Mangum Manor, Nightlife

4 Comments

The synopsis of the new opera based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith is under embargo until performances at the Royal Opera House begin on February 17th. But judging from the released video trailer (below), it’s likely the production will also feature the London stage debut of the former Gigi’s Cabaret on the 290 feeder road just across 34th St. from the Northbrook Shopping Center in Houston (or more probably its interior), where in 1991 the former Walmart and Red Lobster employee had the extremely good fortune of meeting the greatest sugar daddy of them all, billionaire J. Howard Marshall II. Both Smith and Gigi’s later underwent renovations and name changes: Smith from her original Vickie Lynn Hogan; Gigi’s more recently to Pleasures. But how realistic will the portrayals be? Will set designer Miriam Buether’s version get the Houston strip club’s stage and runway areas right?

77092, Anna Nicole Smith, Houston History, Houston Landmarks, Mangum Manor, Nightlife

Demolitions

01/17/11 3:19pm

The Prudential Tower’s Grand Entrance, Before Its Not-so-Grand Exit

Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Houston History, Texas Medical Center

1 Comment

Responding to Swamplot’s request last week for photos of the former Prudential Life Insurance Tower the University of Texas’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is getting ready to demolish, architect Karen Lantz sends in a few photos she took while on a mod-gawking expedition in September 2003. Last week the medical institution began knocking down the porte-cochere at the building’s Holcombe St. entrance — to allow workers to remove one of the few items being preserved from the building: a mural in the building’s lobby painted by Peter Hurd in 1952. Lantz, who’s a bit of a demolition expert herself (her piece-by-piece dismantling of a home in Ranch Estates was awarded Swamplot’s Best Teardown Award in 2009), includes a few views of the grand entrance to Houston’s first-ever corporate campus:

77030, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Houston History, Texas Medical Center

Demolitions

01/14/11 12:59pm

Report: M.D. Anderson Begins Demolishing Med Center Icon

Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Houston History, Texas Medical Center

11 Comments

Update, 5:14 p.m.: Today’s demo is just of an exterior canopy. But the entire building will likely be demolished next month.

The Rice Design Alliance is reporting that M.D. Anderson has begun tearing down the former Prudential Life Insurance building at 1100 Holcombe St. in the Med Center. Since 1975, it has served as the “Houston Main Building” for the medical institution’s campus. The 18-story limestone tower was constructed as the centerpiece of Houston’s first suburban office park in 1952, from a design by Kenneth Franzheim. For almost 10 years, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has been floating plans to knock it down and replace it with a new medical facility. Got any pics of the action, or images of the building’s notable interior to share? Send them in! We’ll publish updates as we get them.

Prudential/Houston Main Building [arch-ive.org]
Preservationists oppose plan to demolish historic building [Houston Business Journal]

Photo: Candace Garcia

77030, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Houston History, Texas Medical Center

Baytown

12/08/10 4:28pm

Front Row View of the Oil Boom, from Baytown’s Oldest

Buying and Selling, Houston History

7 Comments

There had to have been a pretty good view of the developing oil business from the back windows of this home. It was built in 1843 on the eastern bank of Goose Creek in what’s now Baytown, and probably enjoyed those first quiet 60 years before anyone suspected there’d be any oil back there. A little after 1916, though, it must have smelled pretty nasty, backing up to the state’s first offshore oil field.

It went on the market as an estate sale in August: first at $89,000, then lower after a $10K price cut in November. Someone put a contract on it late last week.

77520, Baytown, Buying and Selling, Goose Creek, Houston History, oil-fields

12/06/10 3:06pm

But It Was Worth It

Quicklink

1 Comment

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT “‘…the most miserable place in the world. . . .’ ‘Early reports from Houston said that when people came out on any given morning you could find as many as four bodies lying dead in the streets, victims of the previous night’s mayhem.’ You’d be forgiven if you thought this was the Houston of today. But actually this is Houston in the 1830s.” — Chronicle blogger J.R. Gonzales, discussing Houston: A Nation’s Capitol, Houston Arts & Media’s new feature-length documentary about the early development of this city. [Bayou City History] Trailer: Houston Arts & Media

Crime, Houston History, Movies

Comments

12/02/10 2:29pm

Comment of the Day: Laying the Foundations for Future Generations

Historic Preservation, Houston History, Quicklink

No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS “Humanityâ€™s job is to cover over everything and rebuild every 100 years. Thatâ€™s why we have archeologists.” [Bill Shirley, commenting on Comment of the Day: Must Have Lost Something in There Somewhere]

Comments, Historic Preservation, Houston History

Comments

12/01/10 1:47pm

Comment of the Day: Must Have Lost Something in There Somewhere

Historic Preservation, Houston History, Old Sixth Ward, Quicklink

2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: MUST HAVE LOST SOMETHING IN THERE SOMEWHERE “Itâ€™s depressing to see that little house in the Bing aerial view, ready to be swallowed by a sea of parking lots, overpasses and beat-up Crown Victorias. All its neighbors are gone, the once residential area turned into a decaying urban Houston at its worst. I guess Iâ€™m nostalgic for a past I never lived in and wasnâ€™t really all that great without todayâ€™s comforts, but oh well. Why didnâ€™t the city ever just tear it down to build a more cohesive tarmac? When/who was the last inhabitant?” [Rodrigo, commenting on Ready To Be Hauled Away: Under the Freeway, in the Back of the Parking Lot]

77007, Comments, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Old-Sixth-Ward

Buildings for Sale

12/01/10 12:56pm

Auction of Old House in Police Station Parking Lot Held Over by Lack of Popular Demand

Historic Preservation, Houston History, Old Sixth Ward

9 Comments

How about another go of it? The auction of the 1872-vintage former home of Gottlieb Eisele, now a vacant and dilapidated former HPD office surrounded by parking lots and the Gulf Freeway, ended last night with no bids. But today it’s back on the block, with a brand-new item number and a new closing-gavel time of 8 pm tonight. For a minimum bid of $1,000, the opportunity to partially demolish, jack up, repair, move, restore, and then register this property can be yours.

77007, Auctions, Buildings for Sale, Buying and Selling, Historic Preservation, Housemoving, Houston History, Old-Sixth-Ward

Historic Preservation

11/30/10 4:50pm

Ready To Be Hauled Away: Under the Freeway, in the Back of the ParkingÂ Lot

Homes for Sale, Houston History, Old Sixth Ward

12 Comments

Why isn’t there an address given in the auction listing for the “1872 Bungalow Cottage” near the former police headquarters at 61 Riesner the city is trying to get rid of? Because the streets it used to be on have all faded away. The home is tucked almost under the Gulf Freeway at the eastern edge of the surrounding city parking lot. Museum of Houston director (and GHPA staffer) Jim Parsons tells Swamplot the home is all that’s left of an old residential area at what used to be the eastern tip of the Sixth Ward. According to Parsons, the original address was 34 South, and later 22 Artesian Place. Now it isn’t visible from any street.

The final deadline for bids is 8 pm tonight.

77007, Auctions, Historic Preservation, Homes for Sale, Housemoving, Houston History, Old-Sixth-Ward

Attractions

11/01/10 4:31pm

Comment of the Day: Of Course, Restoring the Actual AstroWorld Would Be a Little More Involved

Comments, Houston History, Quicklink

No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: OF COURSE, RESTORING THE ACTUAL ASTROWORLD WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE INVOLVED “I went to see this Saturday night. Itâ€™s in fairly ragged shape, but with a little skill and time it could easily be restored. I think the skills that an avid model railroader possesses would be adequate to restore this. Many of the familiar Astroworld rides are depicted, although no rollercoasters (except for the Alpine Sleigh Ride, which just barely qualifies). All the big roller coasters came later. Among the excellent features in the 1:144 scale model were Judge Hofheinzâ€™s personal on-site office as well as his personal train station!” [Robert Boyd, commenting on For Sale: Early Model AstroWorld]

AstroWorld, Attractions, Comments, Houston History

Attractions

10/29/10 5:59pm

For Sale: Early Model AstroWorld

Houston History, Quicklink

4 Comments

FOR SALE: EARLY MODEL ASTROWORLD Sure, AstroWorld shut down 5 years ago tomorrow — and the site still lies vacant. But Ed Henderson, builder of the original model of the amusement park (shown at left with his creation 43 years ago), is looking for a buyer who’ll preserve and restore it. The recently recovered 8-ft.-by-10-ft. construction goes on display for 6 weeks beginning this Saturday night at Bill Davenport’s Optical Project gallery on 11th St. near the Heights. The model was originally displayed in September 1967 at Foley’s Department Store Downtown. “After the park’s opening, the model resided in [Judge Roy] Hofheinz’s private model room on the Astrodome’s 9th level. When Astroworld was being dismantled in 2006, the model was found in a warehouse, sawn into six irregular pieces and covered in dirt.” Davenport, who’s already spent a while cleaning up the model, tells Swamplot he can’t decide if the $3,000 asking price is “expensive for a big project in need of restoration or unbelievably cheap as a unique piece of Houston history, or both.” [Optical Project; previously on Swamplot] Photos: Bill Davenport

77009, AstroWorld, Galleries, Houston History, Norhill

10/14/10 1:37pm

From Super Service to Service, and Other Big Changes Along Washington Ave