Here we go again! Another mystery home, open for your roundup of the usual and the unusual suspects. Just what neighborhood is this home in?
If you have an idea, please make sure you understand all the rules of the game before you play. Got ’em down? Then take a good long look at all these photos:
Readers obsessed with the Katy house designed by Wylie W. Vale that was featured in last week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game will be interested to see these additional views of the 1952 home — in all its original “little bit country, little bit Mod” glory. They were taken by architectural photographer (and yes, game winner) Ben Hill on a quick visit early last year.
In exile now from artist Gloria Becker’s home now for almost 9 months, her sock monkeys are likely getting a tad restless. But still: no sale!
In October, Becker dropped the price on her scrubbed and staged Old Braeswood stuffed-animal planet another $45.5K.
Just what was it that made this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game the most popular ever? Carol tries to explain:
It’s not just the cool mod furniture and decorations, or the funky taxidermy room. Maybe it’s that the house looks like the family was so much fun. Maybe it represents the family we all want to go home to on holidays, when Grandma pulls out the Betty Crocker cookbook and makes the greatest stuffing ever and Grandpa tells his hunting stories for the thousandth time. Maybe this was the real American middle class dream of the 1950s. Cue the violins and the teardrop. I second the call for a field trip. Realtor: Please schedule an open house!
Here were your guesses: Garden Oaks, Garden Oaks near Shepherd, Spring Branch (3 votes), Sharpstown (2 votes), Meyerland (2), off Braeswood near the Braeburn Country Club, Bellaire, Garden Villas (2), Braeswood, Glenbrook Valley (2), Spring Valley, Willowbend, Linkwood (2), Memorial Bend, South Braeswood near Stella Link, Tanglewood, Memorial (3), Hunters Creek, Pasadena (3), Meadowcreek, Allendale, Mount Vernon, Ayrshire, Piney Point, Katy, Braeswood (2), South Houston, East Harris County, Deer Park, Baytown, Memorial Villages (3), Marilyn Estates, “Briargrove, or one of those Briar places,” off Briar Forest inside the Beltway, Willow Meadows, Riverside Terrace, between Spring Valley and Hedwig Village, Lake Jackson (2), Texas City, Mt. Pleasant, Creekside, Tynewood, Westbury, and Park Place.
How far are you willing to travel for that open house?
The winner was BenH, who in accordance with rule 3 “guessed” Katy. He’s visited the house, but deserves credit for reporting about it on HAIF last week (shortly before another reader wrote to Swamplot with the suggestion). He says the photos don’t do it justice.
Many fine and original comments this week! Honorable mentions go to JT, for some never-mind-the-carbon dating (but what if the home truly was ahead of its time?):
The house is definitely in the 1954-1958 era with the pale yellow kitchen tile counters and the MCM signature pink adobe brick being the telltale. Mrs. Matron loved her draperies but, Lord, can anyone open them up? It looks like some prime windows are hidden.
and Jessica, for expressing the spirit of many in the group, before outing herself as one of those crazed, antler-worthy fans:
You might not want to post the address of this place – I fear the homeowner might be fighting hopeful furniture buyers off with a stick! (Or a pair of antlers – plenty of those handy.) I am totally obsessed with this house, and would also like to see what’s inside the kitchen cabinets!
Eager to have a better look at this house yourself? Here’s some more detail:
“There were just a lot of things that made me look at the pictures for a long time,” explains the househunting Houstonian who brought this 3-bedroom, 2-bath house in Willowbrook subdivision (near Willowbend) to our attention. “I just felt I had to share with someone.”
Readers, that’s why Swamplot is here.
Do not be fooled by this home’s quiet and unassuming exterior. A multitude of delights awaits you inside.
And there is plenty to share:
Do you recognize this home? If you do, please check out the rules of this here little weekly contest.
If you don’t, congratulations! You’re ready to play Swamplot’s Neighborhood Guessing Game!
The rest of the photos are a real treat. Study them carefully . . . then make your brilliant guess: Where is this place?
Your votes are in! And the winners weren’t: Eastwood (with 3 guesses), Woodland Heights, the Heights (2 guesses), Winlow Place, West University, Midtown, south Midtown, between Midtown and the Third Ward, around Elgin and 288, Montrose (3 guesses), Temple Terrace, “close to University of St. Thomas and the Menil,” Tanglewood, Southmore area, Riverside Terrace, Audubon Place (3 guesses), Sixth Ward near Houston Ave., the near Northside (2 guesses), Binz, Eastside, Avondale, Timbergrove, San Felipe/Briar Hollow, Mandell Place, Lawndale, or Lindale Park.
The correct answer was . . . the Westmoreland Historic District. Congratulations to reader tcpIV, who figured it out!
Four honorable mentions this week! The first goes to MariaO, who didn’t seem to make any mistakes . . . until she climbed too high:
Feels like a Montrose duplex to me, built in the 1930s but (mostly) renovated in the early 80s. I remember my grandma having that mediallion tile pattern from the second bathroom in her kitchen around that era.
Could be the north end of Montrose close to Allen Parkway — I’ll go out on a limb and say Temple Terrace.
The next goes to Cathy, who wasn’t too far away either:
1920’s or 30’s: tall ceilings and plenty of pre-AC windows. The kitchen could be an add-on — no original windows — but the door to the pantry makes you think it is in the original location. And I’d guess that the 2nd bathroom is new, or was new in the 70’s.
How many neighborhoods did Houston have in the 30’s? I’ll guess Avondale.
Also JT:
This has the earmarks of a home built around 1928-1935. Lots of remodelling evident from the 1970s kitchen to the garish Spanishesque floor tile in bath number two. The front door looks to be less than ten years old.
Judging from the size of the rooms and footprint, this seems too large for the standard 50′ lot in much of the Heights.
My guess is Mandell Place in Montrose.
Oh, and karen too:
I agree with JT about the timeframe for this house. It’s not quite bungalow style, and the interior fireplace puts it later in the 20th century….high ceilings, too. And it’s built on a pretty high crawl space foundation – see how the fence looks low from the windows! But the narrow moldings say late ’20s or early ’30s to me. Later ’30s had much smaller rooms.
I think it’s weird that the butler’s pantry has a space heater while the kitchen has forced air. What’s that about?
The last time anyone spent any serious money on this house was in the 80s or early 90s when they put in new kitchen cabinets. So this is likely in a neighborhood that’s seen some tear down pressure in the last decade or so, making many of the above guesses reasonable. On the other hand, the place is in good shape, telling me that the sellers aren’t sure if it’s a teardown or a remodel. Perhaps the previous owners simply lived on a budget and couldn’t afford the excesses of the ’90s and ’00s.
There was more than met the eye with this one:
All politics is local, no? So . . . where are you casting your ballot?
For today’s general election, you’ll probably want to vote where this site tells you to — if you haven’t already. But for today’s guessing game on Swamplot, the neighborhood is entirely up to you! Just make sure you’ve read the rules before you play.
And you might want to study these photos carefully:
This dramatically hung mobile above the entry and stairwell of the house for sale at 503 Fargo St. in Montrose certainly captures your attention!
But that’s not why reader Kelley Owen alerted Swamplot to the listing. She noticed some artwork hung much lower on the wall in the Master Bedroom . . . and calls it “possibly NSFW.”
This sure was a tough one again this week, wasn’t it?
First, your guesses: 4 for Kingwood, 2 each for The Woodlands, Clear Lake, Willowbrook, and Champion Forest. Plus: Memorial, Memorial near Dairy Ashford, off Briar Forest inside Beltway 8, Hudson, Fondren, Fondren Southwest, Briar Forest around Kirkwood, Briar Hills, between Wilcrest and Kirkwood north of Memorial, “Memorial and Gessner towards Westheimer,” “Gessner between Memorial and Briar Forest,” Jersey Village, Hammersmith, west of the Galleria between Woodway and Westheimer, Dairy Ashford, Atascocita, Humble, Spring, Jones Rd., FM 1960, Eldridge, Copperfield, Sugar Land, Sugar Land south of 59 and east of Williams Trace, Missouri City, Friendswood, Bear Creek, Quail Valley, Olde Oaks, Green Tee Terrace in Pearland, Lakeside Place, and Brook Forest.
That’s a lot of guesses! Many of them were close, veering toward the west side of town.
But not far enough west. Maybe if more of you Neighborhood Guessing Game lurkers had actually entered a guess, someone might have happened upon the right name. C’mon in next time, there’s room for you! More than enough Houston subdivisions to go around!
So: no winner. But an honorable mention goes to JT for this evocative description:
Going to date this house from 1977 to 1982 as the formica butcher block counters and
brick fireplace with the clerestory style ceiling are giveaways. The master bath looks original as it has a late 70’s “oversize greenhouse window and more interior brick. Gut reaction is Champion Forest/Olde Oaks area of Northwest Houston because of the layout, traditonal furnishings and oddball juxtaposition of a moonbridge, early american railings and soft contemporary open floor plan and window styles.
So where is it?
Step inside this lovely home and look around. Where are you?
Time to guess! If you’re just joining us, poke your nose into the rules for a bit before you start playing the game.
When you’re ready, look carefully at the rest of the photos below. Just where do you think this place might be?
The winner of this week’s contest . . . didn’t even bother with a guess!
The rest of you guessed Westbury, “off Rayford,” the Woodlands, Memorial, Memorial Drive, Hilshire Village (twice), Braeswood, Old Braeswood, Braes Heights, Piney Point, Meyerland, Riverside Terrace (twice), Glenbrook Valley, West University, Bellaire, Afton Oaks, Spring Branch (three times), Tanglewood (three times), Memorial Bend, Spring Valley, T.C. Jester just outside the Loop, Richmond inside the Loop west of Weslayan, or off Woodway near Sage.
Nobody actually guessed River Oaks, but Richard mentioned it:
. . . I also like this house and totally agree that it took some $$$ to create the hallucinogenic patterned nightmare. Without the kitchen it actually looks like a Howard Barnstone house or even the house that Philip Johnson designed for Dominique de Menil in River Oaks.
So he is the winner!
An honorable mention goes to paneling expert Robert, who obviously knows his woods:
The paneling in the den is a pecky cypress commonly referred to as “wormwood.†Expensive in it’s day, too expensive for Westbury. The house appears to large with too many custom features like that to be a basic tract house. The pattern festival was popular back in the 70’s and cost a lot to create that abomination in decorating.
In what part of River Oaks has this home been hiding?
Here we go with this week’s Where the Heck Is It? challenge. The home pictured was suggested by a reader. Do you have any clue where it might be?
Before you answer that, be sure you’re familiar with the rules of Swamplot’s weekly Neighborhood Guessing Game. Then get your neighborhood maps ready . . . and study these revealing photos:
We have a winner!
But first, your guesses for this week’s contest: River Oaks and Southampton each attracted 3 of you. There were 2 votes each for Tanglewood, Memorial and the Museum District. The rest: Spring Branch, West University, “along Kirby and west,” near the Ashby Highrise, Southgate, Castle Court, Boulevard Oaks, Montrose “between Richmond and Alabama, maybe between Hazard and Dunlavy,” Garden Oaks, Riverside Terrace, the First Ward, Old Braeswood, Bellaire, Rivercrest, Lynn Park, . . . and Heaven.
John (the first one, not the second) knew what to look for, and nailed it:
The built-in bookcases and day-bed thingy look exactly like those in my Ayrshire ranch house, and since this one fairly old and two stories, I’m going with Old Braeswood.
Congratulations!
A very strong honorable mention goes to movocelot, who figured out the house’s age and came extremely close to deducing the precise geometry of its recent expansion:
This house is old enough & well-situated enough to have been remodeled – seriously – twice. I see various windows, elec outlets and cabinetry.
Guess the newish family room pushed out from the kitchen has the newish master bath on top, for a new ridge at a 90 to the main house. (The original roof has the lavender office under it. Circa 1930.)
(Actually, it’s the Kitchen that has the Master Bath on top of it — saves on plumbing costs!)
Commenter karen, who was already familiar with the house, gets a special mention for trying to stir things up . . . with this wonderfully misleading entry:
Oh, this is totally southhampton! 1940’s construction, and beautifully updated. No professor in southgate could afford to do that. and it can’t be river oaks or old braeswood because the lot’s just not big enough. there are neighbors all but peeking in the windows!
Ready for the real tell-all?
The home featured in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game is now open for speculation. Come on in!
If this is your first game visit, be sure to check out the short rulebook before you start — there can be twists! Then wipe your feet, carefully study the photos below, and make your guess!
