November 11, 2009 – 11:56 am
Archbishop Daniel DiNardo details the demo list: “The St. Therese of Lisieux mission building on the Bolivar Peninsula already has been demolished. The new plan adds Our Mother of Mercy church, also on the peninsula, to the list to be torn down. Members of Our Mother of Mercy’s congregation, who have opposed the archdiocese’s plans through litigation, said via e-mail Monday that the church’s fate was still to be decided. They said there would be a mediation session on the issue Friday. Ancillary buildings, but not the main church structures, will be removed at both the Holy Rosary and Sacred Heart campuses. The lot and buildings at Reina de La Paz are slated to be sold. The buildings that comprise the St. Peter the Apostle site are all to be either destroyed or sold. Historic stained glass windows, sacred statues, artwork and other items of architectural or symbolic interest will be preserved, Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vasquez said. ‘The church intends to keep them. We won’t throw them away or sell them, and will reuse them locally if possible.’” [Galveston County Daily News]
Read more about: 77550, 77551, 77554, Churches, Demolitions, Galveston, Religious Facilities, Religious Structures
September 10, 2009 – 12:23 pm
“The pool was designed in the shape of our scotch terrier head. We moved in shortly after my father,Sam Maceo died. My brother, Sam, my sister Sedgie, my mother and I moved to New Orleans in 1954, when my mother remarried. The house looks great. The wall coverings have changed, but much is still the same. Years ago my mother told me that the building cost in 1951 was aprox. $500,000. I don’t know if that is accurate, but what woud that be in today’s dollars?” [Edward Maceo Plitt, commenting on The Balinese Room After-Party Pad: A Little Palm Springs in Galveston]
Read more about: 77551, Cedar Lawn, Galveston, Modern Design
August 14, 2009 – 7:03 pm
Note: Story updated again below.
Cribbing from Ellen Beasley and Stephen Fox’s Galveston Architecture Guidebook, Modern architecture fan Ben Hill writes in to tell us that “one of the most important houses in this part of Texas,” was recently put up for sale:
This is the only house in the greater Houston area designed by E. Stewart Williams of Palm Springs, CA. Williams designed Sinatra’s house there, and this house was built for Sam Maceo, owner of the Balinese Room in Galveston.
The home fits into two curvy streets at the center of Cedar Lawn. Its uh, “nightclub” pedigree is maintained by a circular drive with a low-slung porte-cochere in front and the swanky pool in back. And in between?
Continue Reading This Story >
Read more about: 77551, Cedar Lawn, Galveston, Homes for Sale, Modern Design
December 18, 2008 – 9:03 am
Galveston Planning Commissioner Chula Ross Sanchez, surveying damaged properties on the island 3 months after after Hurricane Ike: “The General Land Office (GLO) has drawn a new line in the sand four-and-half feet above sea level. People can stabilize their properties on the beach but we cannot issue new construction certificates in that zone. The line is normally based on vegetation but the storm wiped that out and the new line is based on mean sea levels. Drawing that line, many houses have ended up on public property.” [OffCite]
Read more about: 77550, 77551, 77554, Development Restrictions, Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Hurricane Ike
October 17, 2008 – 12:31 pm
FEMA-approved colors liven up this property-damage-assessment map for 24,000 structures in Galveston.
The red areas are “unsafe; leaning; structurally unsound; completely destroyed; collapsed or structure missing.”
Yellow means “general interior flooding; wind damage; or significantly damaged, but repairable.”
And green means go! “No damage or only minor damage; or missing siding; shingles; handrails; breakaway walls.”
The gray areas? “Flood zone.”
More colorful maps of other Hurricane-Ike-hit areas of the city are available on the City of Galveston website.
Read more about: 77550, 77551, 77554, Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Galveston, Hurricane Ike
