Here’s the third of 4 houses designed by not-so-famous Houston architect Allen R. Williams in the 1940s and fifties, dubbed “Century Built” homes. If the name was intended to indicate how long the concrete-block homes were all supposed to last, the record isn’t so stellar: The one off Campbell Rd. was torn down some time ago. But the others are doing fine: One in Idylwood was snatched up by an architect a few years ago, and another in Country Club Place has served as a showcase for the renovation work of its current owner, architect Ben Koush.
But this unrenovated Century Built home at 851 W. 43rd St., in the middle of Garden Oaks, didn’t last so long, either: Real estate agent Robert Searcy tells Swamplot he had it locked up in a contract very quickly earlier this week, after he made a few phone calls. Not to a builder — the sellers didn’t want the place to be torn down — but reportedly to a serial renovator interested in Midcentury modern design.
Two signs posted last week on a half-block west of Ella at 1250 Du Barry Ln. that appear to serve notice of a 350-ft. tower coming to the site — and include reference to a permit number — are some kind of trick, Charlotte Aguilar assures us. 
Oak Forest’s Mytiburger, which shut down 2 weeks ago, is expected to reopen tomorrow under new ownership. Shawn Salyers, the owner of a local Baskin Robbins franchise 9 blocks away, noted the lines out the door at the tiny burger joint at 2211 W. 43rd St. after owner Kathy Reynolds-Smith announced her intention to close up shop. 
