Houston Modern Architecture Film Festival April 15-22, 2013

Houston Modern Market and Design OnScreen bring 5 different award-winning films to Houston as part of April Modern Month.

Links
See the complete schedule

BORDER MODERN: The Modern Architecture of the Texas-Mexico Border

Lecture Stephen Fox, renowned architectural historian

Wednesday, April 17, 7pm
Architecture Center Houston / AIA Houston
315 Capitol, Suite 120, Houston
Free admission, limited seating

This 1-1/2-hour illustrated talk will examine mid-twentieth-century modern architecture produced on both sides of the Texas-Tamaulipas border, spanning the 225 miles from Laredo-Nuevo Laredo downriver on the Río Grande to Brownsville-Matamoros and the Gulf of Mexico.

It will contrast the reception of modern architecture in the border cities of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas with the ways it was interpreted in the Lower Río Grande Valley of far south Texas to demonstrate how border modernism reflected national trends and national patterns of cultural transmission. This contrasted with the nineteenth century, when a regionally distinct architectural vernacular took form on both sides of the border.

The talk will highlight the careers of such outstanding border architects as John G. York and Alan Y. Taniguchi of Harlingen; Merle A. Simpson of Weslaco; David P. Ashcroft of McAllen; Bowman Swanson Hiester of Harlingen and Brownsville; and Ignacio López Bancalari, Luis MacGregor Krieger, and Sergio Paredes Rangel of Matamoros.

Additionally, it will focus on exemplary modern building projects by architects from outside the region: Richard Neutra of Los Angeles, Wiltshire & Fisher of Dallas, Caudill Rowlett Scott of Bryan and Houston, Kenneth E. Bentsen of Houston; and Mario Pani and Juan Sordo Madaleno of México City.

`Border Modern` will demonstrate the architectural richness--and cultural complexity--of mid-twentieth-century modern architecture along the lower Río Grande.

Houston Mod thanks Houston Modern Market and Architecture Center Houston for help in making this special event possible.

HemisFair ’68 at Risk

Changes are planned for San Antonio’s world’s fair site, HemisFair ‘68, and they have fans of modern architecture concerned. Intended to celebrate the city’s 250-anniversary and a confluence of cultures, HemisFair ’68 was a six-month exposition opened by First Lady Ladybird Johnson in April 1968. Typical of a world’s fair, various states, nations, and corporations built new exhibition halls in the styles of the period, some of which are exceptional examples of modern architecture. Given San Antonio’s established preservation ethic, they also retained and repurposed some of the nineteenth century residential buildings already on the site before the rest of the neighborhood was sacrificed for fair construction. HemisFair ’68 attracted 6.3 million visitors but under-utilization since is now prompting redevelopment plans. A 2011 tour with Houston Mod and Mid-Tex Mod highlighted the current state. Learn more about about plans from DoCoMoMos update.

Links
DoCoMoMo Update

Houston Modern Market is April 19-21, 2013

April is MODern Month in Houston and Texas.

Houston Modern Market Week is the largest cultural celebration of “modern” in Texas. A week full of lectures, films, parties, tours, and of course, the market. Houston Modern Market with their best modern wares

Don’t miss the fun.

Links
Full schedule and tickest available here.

Briargrove Park Mod of the Month Feb. 24, 2013

Houston Mod invites you to join us Sunday, February 24, for Mod of the Month, 2 to 4 PM.

Two vintage contemporary style houses in the Briargrove Park neighborhood will be featured. The houses are presently available for purchase and in need of new preservation-minded owners. Briargrove Park is an attractive wooded neighborhood in west Houston, located near Briar Forest and the Sam Houston toll road, about 4 miles west of the Galleria area.

Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event.

Troy Osborne of 5ifty 5ifty mod, modern design collector and dealer, will be on hand to display some of his recent finds.


10051 Wickersham Lane, Houston, Texas 77042
Briargrove Park, Section One

The Space Age lives on happily in this contemporary style home built in 1963 by Paul J. McConnell, one of Houston`s most respected builders. Only occupied by the original owner who lavished the house with extreme care, you will not find hardly even a scratch on the almost all original interior. A swanky wide foyer with brick planters and terrazzo floor opens to the cathedral living and dining space with north views of the shaded front yard through a wall of soaring plate glass. The den is anchored by an unusually handsome brick fireplace wall and views the south lawn through another wall of plate glass. The kitchen has a Flair oven by Frigidaire with the marvelous glass swing-up door. The breakfast room and master bedroom can access the large covered patio through sliding glass doors. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large utility room, and an attached two car garage.

Visit with Houston MODern Market dealer Troy Osborne at this location.


10006 Burgoyne Road, Houston, Texas, 77042
Briargrove Park, Section One

Architect Jay Carroll designed this clean-lined contemporary style house for the 1961 Parade of Homes where over 200,000 people toured the latest concepts of home design. The house was built by Maggie Plumb, one of Houston`s first woman homebuilders. To make her houses stand out from the crowd, Plumb rethought everything from a woman`s and family`s point of view. This house incorporates many unique ideas such as a central courtyard, living and dining rooms facing the rear patio and the den and kitchen in front. Most unusual, the three children`s bedrooms open to a central playroom with direct access to the back yard. Acclaimed Houston artist Margaret W. Dreyer originally decorated the house. The original concepts remain intact even though the house has been updated.


Upcoming Events

April is MODern Month in Texas!- a month long celebration of modernism in Texas. Events are being scheduled for every week including Houston MODern Market April 15 - 22. Visit HoustonMODernMarket.com for more information.

Support future Mod events by becoming a member of Houston Mod. Houston Mod is planning several members-only and members get-in-free events. If you need to check your membership status, please e-mail info@houstonmod.org

We hope to see you Sunday at Mod of the Month!

Links
5ifty 5ifty Mod Troy Osborne

Mod of the Month Jan 27, 2013 Spring Branch, 2-4PM

Houston Mod invites you to join us this Sunday, January 27, for Mod of the Month from 2 PM to 4 PM.

Two vintage modern/contemporary style houses in the Spring Branch area will be featured. The houses are presently available for purchase and in need of new preservation-minded owners. Spring Branch is a beautiful mostly wooded area in west Houston, north of IH-10/Katy Freeway, only a few miles outside loop 610. This is a free event.

House 1: 50 Rollingwood Drive Houston, Texas 77080
Rollingwood Addition

HAR LINK http://search.har.com/engine/50-Rollingwood-Dr-Houston-TX-77080_HAR36494179.htm

City meets country at this flat-roofed mid-century modern house located on an unusually large site only a few miles outside the loop. The rooms are well proportioned and materials deluxe. A handsome grid of windows is a focal point of the living area anchored by a massive brick fireplace wall. The kitchen is almost all original and features a brick accent wall and wood beams. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

House 2: 9764 Westview Drive, Houston, Texas 77055
Spring Branch Woods, Section 2

HAR LINK http://search.har.com/engine/doSearch.cfm?QUICKSEARCH=9764 westview&FOR_SALE=1

Many vintage design elements remain intact in this contemporary ranch style house. Note the stylish front door and wall of tall windows in the living room. The den has a wood burning fireplace and tall sloped ceiling. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car attached garage. This house will be drive-by only on Sunday.

Upcoming Events

April 2013 is MODern Month in Texas!- a month long celebration of modernism in Texas. Events are being scheduled for every week including Houston MODern Market April 17 - 22. Visit HoustonMODernMarket.com for more information.

Support future Mod events by becoming a member of Houston Mod. Houston Mod is planning several members-only and members get-in-free events. If you need to check your membership status, please e-mail info@houstonmod.org

We hope to see you Sunday at Mod of the Month!

Houston Mod Goes to Austin - Join Members for a Tour Event January 5

Join Houston Mod members for a road trip on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

We`re planning a fun day of events celebrating modernism in Austin.

We will visit the exhibit I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America currently on view at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin.

Following will be tours of architectural highlights of the UT campus and nearby residential areas with noted architectural historian Stephen Fox as our guide.

Modsters from across the state will meet for this event. Drive yourself (or carpool with a fellow mod-enthusiast). Join a no-host lunch (optional) with the group prior to the tour.

Current members can participate by contacting Houston Mod for reservations and details by January 3, 2013.

Links
More Information

Tour 4 Mod Open Houses Sunday, Dec 16, Glenbrook Valley Area, 2-4 PM

Four vintage contemporary/ranch style houses in the Glenbrook Valley area will be open for touring. The houses are presently available for purchase and in need of new preservation minded owners. They are all located close to Houston`s Hobby Airport, about 3 miles outside loop 610 in SE Houston. Three are in the Glenbrook Valley Historic District

Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event.

Don Browne, modern design collector, researcher, and dealer will be on hand to display some of his recent finds.

This event is sponsored by Houston MODern Market. Click to learn more about April`s event and how to get involved.

Support future Mod events by becoming a member of Houston Mod. Houston Mod is planning several members-only and members get-in-free events. If you need to check your membership status, please e-mail info@houstonmod.org

Houston Mod board members will be available during Mod-of-the-Month to discuss how Houston Mod is advocating for the recent past on the local, state and national level, and discuss partnering with groups like Preservation Texas and DoCoMoMo US.

Houston Mod publications make wonderful gifts and will be available during the open house including: Building Modern Houston by Anna Mod, Houston Mod co-founder and advisor.
http://www.houstonmod.org/publications.asp

Links
Details

MOD of the Month, September 23 - Foreclosure Needs a New Preservation Minded Owner

Houston Mod invites you to join us Sunday, September 23rd, for Mod of the Month, 2 - 4 PM at 2042 Forest Oaks Drive, 77017.

A vintage flat-roofed modern house in the Meadowcreek Village neighborhood will be open. The house is a foreclosure presently available for purchase and looking for a new preservation minded owner.

Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event. Vintage modern dealer The Mod Pod will show some of their latest finds.

This mid-century modern house is situated on a large heavily wooded lot along a ravine, near a park and elementary school, just minutes outside the loop. It has all the sought after mod features such as terrazzo floors, flat roof, and walls of glass- all still in good original condition. The exterior composition consists of an interesting arrangement of brick panels and voids. It is a foreclosure so some repairs are needed but the price seems low for such a rare find. The living spaces are open concept and include a living-room and den plus there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Meadowcreek Village is one of Houston`s best undiscovered neighborhoods.

Tour October 6: Coastal Forest Modern - Register Now

Join Houston Mod for a guided tour of the modern architecture of Lake Jackson and Freeport as part of the DoCoMoMo US 2012 National Tour Day on October 6. Experience the unique history of a mid-twentieth century planned community in the coastal forest.

See and visit buildings by Alden Dow, MacKie & Kamrath, Allen R. Williams, Phillip C. Willard and other architects with noted architectural historian Stephen Fox and local historian Martin Merritt.

During the full day of activities, we’ll tour over a half-dozen private homes and buildings and learn the unique history of the area.

Links
Click for details and tickets

October 3: Building Modern Houston - Lecture & Book Signing

Houston Mod invites you to a lecture and book signing

Building Modern Houston with author Anna Mod Wednesday, 3 October 2012, Doors open at 6 PM Lecture at 7PM

Reception to follow

ArCH Center Houston 315 Capitol Street @ Bagby 713-520-0155 Paid parking at Hobby Center garage

Aug 19 Mod of the Month- Tour Two Mod Houses in Braeburn Valley in Need of New Preservation-Minded Owners

Houston Mod invites you to join us this Sunday, August 19, 2012, for Mod of the Month from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Two vintage modern houses in the Braeburn Valley neighborhood will be open for touring. The houses are presently available for purchase and looking for new preservation minded owners. They are located close to Houston Baptist University and Memorial-Hermann Hospital in SW Houston.

Special thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event.

7818 Nairn Street, Houston, Texas 77074, Braeburn Valley, Section 2
HAR LINK

This mid-century modern house was designed in 1956 by the talented and prolific architect Lucian Hood, Jr.. It overlooks the manicured expanses of the Braeburn golf course in Braeburn Valley. The exterior is a composition of ledge stone, brick and redwood along with expansive walls of glass. The present owner has maintained and restored the house including removing layers of paint from the redwood siding, exposing it`s natural grain. Inside, spaces flow freely with views of the shaded private back yard on one side and country club grounds on the other. The dining room has a 16` wide ledge-stone wall separating it from the living room. The guest bathroom is completely original and features vintage pink plumbing fixtures and elevated cabinets.

Special Mod-of-the-Month April 29

Houston Mod invites you to join us this Sunday, April 29, for a very special Mod of the Month 2 PM - 4 PM at 108 Timberwilde Lane, Houston, Texas 77024

April is MODern Month in Texas. Fitting for such a special occasion, Houston MOD has arranged access to one of the state`s most fantastic endangered modern houses. The house is located in Houston on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Hunters Creek Village. It was designed by Richard S. Colley in 1964 for James and Dorothy Greer. Greer is a developer and business leader from Houston.

= Richard S. Colley (1910-1983) was a nationally acclaimed architect who had offices in Corpus Christi, Texas. Educated at Texas A & M College of Architecture, he designed mostly in an organic style of architecture. In Corpus Christi, he designed a complex civic buildings, many of which have sadly been demolished. Colley`s greatest work is said to be the Texas Instruments building in Dallas he designed with Otha Neil `O`Neil` Ford. The building was listed in the Handbook of American Architecture in 1961 as one of 14 examples of great American structures.

The Greer house, said to be one of Colley`s finest, covers over 12,500 SF, all at ground level. Architectural historian Stephen Fox says Colley`s aptitude for detailing materials and his precision at linear composition are displayed in the dun-colored brick wall surfaces and the thin projecting roof slab. The pyramid that rises above the center of the house shields an internal courtyard.

April 16: Stone on Stone - Lecture & Book Signing - New Edward Durell Stone Book

Houston Mod and the Architecture Center Houston Present architect Hicks Stone, son of Edward Durell Stone, and author of the new book Edward Durell Stone: A Son’s Untold Story of a Legendary Architect (Rizzoli). with a free lecture and slide presentation on April 16th at 6PM.

Edward Durell Stone was one of the more controversial figures of 20th-century architecture. He was both celebrated and scorned, leading a life that was simultaneously triumphant and embittered. In his presentation, Hicks Stone will address a body of work that has been largely neglected, if not outright misunderstood.

The elder Stone is best known for his designs for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The younger Stone details his father`s immense legacy with dramatic lesser-known works and his close relationships with other noted architects including Frank Lloyd Wright.

April 16th, 6PM Architecture Center Houston 315 Capitol, Ste 120. Free admission.

Links
Please pre-order books for book signing

Houston Chronicle`s Lisa Gray: How Houston is getting its Groovy back

Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix brag about their collections of fashionable midcentury modern buildings: goofy Googie coffee shops, sleek International Style high-rises, revived ranch-house neighborhoods and groovy office buildings. But as renewed love for the genre spreads in Houston, and buildings from that era receive the TLC and recognition they deserve, it`s becoming clear that our stock of mid-century modern architecture rivals and, in many cases, beats that of other cities.

Links
Read the complete article at Chron.com

Texas Premiere: MODERN TIDE: Mid-Century Architecture on Long Island

Plan to attend the Texas premiere of a modern architecture documentary at 7:00 PM on Thursday, February 23 at the River Oaks Theater.
MODERN TIDE: Mid-Century Architecture on Long Island is a new film by Director Jake Gorst. One-night only screening sponsored by Houston Modern Market and Design On Screen.
Evening will include a talk with Director Sam Wainright Douglas about his upcoming Houston film Lone Star Mod: Mid-century Houston Architecture Tickets $25 benefiting Houston Mod and the production of Lone Star Mod: Midcentury Houston Architecture. The film will showcase Houston`s modernist architecture, profile several premier Houston modernist architects, and explore the effects of Houston`s controversial lack of zoning on the preservation of these midcentury landmarks.

Links
Purchase tickets online

Howard Barnstone: The Paradoxes of Modern Practice, a lecture by Stephen Fox

Join Houston Mod for Howard Barnstone: The Paradoxes of Modern Practice, a lecture by Stephen Fox on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30 PM. At Architecture Center Houston, 315 Capitol, Suite 120 Houston, TX 77002 Sponsored by Architecture Center Houston and Houston Modern Market Howard Barnstone was Houston`s most publicized modern architect of the 1950s and `60s. A prolific designer, professor of architecture at the University of Houston, and author of two seminal books, The Galveston That Was (1966) and The Architecture of John F. Staub: Houston and the South (1979), Barnstone was at various times in partnership with Preston M. Bolton and Eugene Aubry. Barnstone`s productive career, his influence on several generations of students at the University of Houston, and his impact on Houston`s cultural scene make him one of the most compelling figures in the history of twentieth-century architecture in Houston. Free to the public.

Join Design Onscreen and Houston Mod Thursday, November 3rd at the Frame / Harper house

Meet the director and producer working on a documentary about Houston`s mid-century modern architecture and it`s preservation. November 3, 2011

Join Design Onscreen and Houston Mod Thurs, Nov 3 at the Frame/Harper house

When: Thursday, November 3, 6-8pm

Where:Frame/Harper house 403 Westminster Drive Houston, TX 77024

Host Committee Houston Mod Design Onscreen Frank Douglas, FAIA Stephen Fox William F. Stern, FAIA

Questions? Please email info@designonscreen.org

This may be your last opportunity to see the Frame house as its likely to soon be sold to a new owner.

Links
More Information

Reflections on Modernism - House Tour, October 8

Houston Mod announces a special house tour on Saturday, October 8, 2011 from 1PM to 5PM honoring three significant modern architects whose work had a significant impact on Houston’s postwar development. The houses on the tour pay tribute to these modern masters and reflect the different perspectives in which they worked.

Included in the tour will be private residences by Anderson Todd, a longtime Rice University professor and former Dean whose works have captured critical acclaim for their minimalist expression; John Zemanek, who has educated generations of Houston architects while Professor at the University of Houston; and Karl Kamrath, who worked in an organic modern style reflective of his interest in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The tour will provide participants with the rare opportunity to see the interiors and exteriors of these architecturally-significant private homes and to explore the rich and diverse architectural legacy of mid-century Houston

Photos courtesy Paul Hester.

Links
Learn more

Modsters from across Texas are invited to convene in San Antonio on August 6th for a full day of touring and interaction.

Modsters from across Texas are invited to convene in San Antonio on August 6th for a full day of touring and interaction. Members from Mid Tex Mod, North Texas Mod and Houston Mod have been invited to attend. All three organizations are linked through DoCoMoMo US which is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization, a union of regional chapters that share its members’ knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Modern Movement, promote public interest in it through lectures and walking tours, and organize advocacy efforts to protect endangered sites and buildings. DoCoMoMo is an acronym for the Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement. The event will begin at 11:00 AM with a guided tour of the George Nelson exhibit currently on view at the McNay Art Museum. Nelson was a noted architect, writer, designer, and teacher whose ideas yielded numerous classics such as the family room in American interior design and furniture. This is the first comprehensive retrospective of Nelson’s work. Following lunch will be walking tours of the mid-century modern structures at the Trinity University campus and HemisFair `68 grounds plus neighborhood tours all with noted architectural historian Stephen Fox as our guide. Drive yourself (or carpool with a fellow mod-enthusiast), pay your own admission fee at McNay ($5.00) and for lunch at La Gloria/the Culinary Institute of America. Schedule and more details to follow. There is still time to join in. Please RSVP to info@houstonmod.org to check your membership status and to let us know the number in your party. We hope to see you in San Antonio!

Houston Chronicle on Frank Lloyd Wright`s Thaxton House

Lately, architecture fans have enjoyed the rare chance to ogle the only house in Houston designed by Frank Lloyd Wright — yes, the Frank Lloyd Wright, the world`s most famous 20th-century architect.

Since Thaxton House went on the market in November, realtors have opened the astonishing, long-private place to the media and groups such as Houston Mod in hopes of, as they say delicately, `finding the right buyer` - someone willing and able to drop $3.29 million to live in a landmark.

It`s a house well worth ogling, fascinating to anyone who`s even a little familiar with Wright: with Fallingwater, or the Guggenheim Museum, or even any of the novels inspired by the willful, stubborn genius. The Thaxton House, tucked away in Bunker Hill Village, may not be Wright`s most groundbreaking work, or his most beautiful. But it`s among the most Wright-ian of works in another way.

Links
View the full article

10914 Willowisp Dr. Houston: Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 2 - 4pm

The May, 2011 Mod of the Month event on May 15 features a custom home designed for Sally Barnes and her family by one of Houston`s leading modern residential architects of the 1950s, William R. Jenkins. The house is special on its own, with terrazzo flooring, walls of glass looking out to a swimming pool, and 1950s touches throughout the house, but the fact that all five houses in the Willowisp Cul de Sac were designed by Jenkins makes it unique among Houston neighborhoods. 10914 Willowisp Dr. will be open Sunday, May 15 from 2 - 4pm.

Links
HAR LINK

Sustainability & Preservation: The Perfect Match - Lecture May 10

“Sustainability & Preservation: The Perfect Match” Lecture by Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP
May 10, 2011, 6:30pm Jones Hall, University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas
Presented by U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – Texas Gulf Coast Chapter Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA), AIA Houston & Houston Mod. With additional support from The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)-Texas Chapter & Preservation Texas
This lecture is being held to promote National Preservation Month, and to raise awareness of the important link between preservation and sustainability.
The May 10th lecture will be held at 6:30 PM, at the University of St. Thomas, in Jones Hall, designed by Philip Johnson.
Admission is free and open to the public. Please arrive early to ensure a seat. No guaranteed seating is available. Jones Hall at St. Thomas University is located at the corner of Sul Ross Street and Yokum Blvd. Visitor parking is available in the Moran Center Parking Garage, located at West Alabama and Graustark, for a fee of $2.00.
A reception sponsored by Houston Mod will follow the program

Lecture: Preservation of Modern Architecture. By Theodore H.M. Prudon, PhD, FAIA

2011 is the second year for MODern month in Houston, and the inaugural year for MODern Month in Texas.

Organizations in three cities have partnered to host lectures in Houston, Austin and Dallas on April 11-13. Each lecture is hosted by a local Texas chapter or friend organization of DOCOMOMO US, which include Houston Mod, the first friend organization of DOCOMOMO US. These lectures are being held to support the statewide effort.

The lecture will be by Theodore H.M. Prudon, PhD, FAIA and is entitled Preservation of Modern Architecture.

Theodore Prudon, PhD, FAIA, is a leading expert on the preservation of modern architecture, Principal with Prudon & Partners Architects, author of Preservation of Modern Architecture and professor at Columbia University`s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Department. Professor Prudon`s lecture will discuss the preservation of modern architecture, the need to advocate for our significant Texas modern heritage, and discuss the vital role modern preservation groups are making on the international, national, and local levels.

Professor Prudon is the president of DOCOMOMO US. DOCOMOMO is an acronym for the DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement. Founded in 1988 in the Netherlands, DOCOMOMO International has national chapters or working parties in 54 countries and over 2,000 individual members. DOCOMOMO has become an important presence in the conservation of modern architecture worldwide, working in partnership with other international organizations, national governments, and national, regional, and local associations.

The lecture is FREE and open to the public.

April 11, 2011 - Houston. 6:30pm - Brown Auditorium, MFAH: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Presented by Houston Mod, The Design Council at the MFAH, AIA Houston.
With additional support from Preservation Texas, Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA), Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)-Texas Chapter, Rice Design Alliance (RDA)

Links
Download printable invitation

Mad about Mod Tour: Glenbrook Valley - Modern & Historic

Join Houston Mod for a celebration of mid-century modern architecture on October 9th. We will feature tours of the interiors and exteriors of six homes in Glenbrook Valley, plus a driving tour of notable nearby architecture in SE Houston. Glenbrook Valley has met the criteria to become the first post-war historic district in Houston and Texas. Celebrate the modern movement by attending the tour and becoming a member of Houston Mod, Houston’s modern architecture and design preservation advocacy group. Tickets for the tour are $15.00 per person, $10.00 for Houston Mod members. Join Houston Mod and get one free tour ticket for $35.00 individual membership, two tickets with $50 family membership. A list of all tour sites (6 houses confirmed, other sites to be added) will be distributed on your final admission ticket. Your ticket includes admission to a SPECIAL RECEPTION at the last tour stop where you will have the opportunity to mingle with special guests including original architects, local historians and neighborhood leaders.

Links
Click here to register

Endangered Modern Tour: Central Presbyterian Church Campus - Saturday, August 14, 2pm

Endangered Modern Tour: Central Presbyterian Church Campus Central Presbyterian Church on Richmond is one of the finest examples of mid-century modern church architecture in Houston. (Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, 1960-1962) Faced with declining membership and a facility too large, the congregation has moved from the property. The site presently is being marketed for redevelopment. We have arranged a special tour of the site including the main sanctuary, jewel-box chapel and the parish hall. See the outstanding interiors including two large glass murals, custom-designed artwork and a variety of unique details. We`ll meet at the colonnade along the parking lot at on Saturday, August 14 at 2 PM to start the tour. The interior tour will end by 3 PM. 3788 Richmond, Houston, TX

Parks & Recreation Department Renovates Historic Gragg Building

According to Houston Chronicle reporter Mike Snyder, renovations are nearing completion on the historic Gragg building.

`The low-slung building, made from a distinctive green stone known as green-cast quartzite, was commissioned in 1956 as the headquarters for a Houston-based construction firm, Farnsworth & Company. Employees of that company would later develop such well-known contemporary firms as Spaw Glass and Williams Brothers.

Farnsworth hired MacKie & Kamrath, a local architectural firm, to design the building. The designers were influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and incorporated certain elements that Wright took from Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Aztecs and Maya, said Anna Mod, a preservation consultant who prepared applications for the building`s historic designations.

“When I saw the building in Houston, that`s the first thing I thought of,” Mod recalled. “Frank Lloyd Wright had borrowed the same vocabulary.”

Stephen Fox, a Rice University architectural historian, said MacKie & Kamrath incorporated some of the same elements into other corporate headquarters built in the 1950s, including the Schlumberger building on the Gulf Freeway (1953) and what is now the Exxon-Mobil research center on Buffalo Speedway (1954). These buildings represented part of Houston`s first wave of suburbanization after World War II, Fox said.

In 1961, oil drilling magnate Oscar Lee Gragg and members of his family bought the building as an investment but never occupied it. A year later, Gragg leased the building to a 4-year-old federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which used it as offices for the Mercury program and the Mercury 7 astronauts — the daring fliers immortalized in Tom Wolfe`s The Right Stuff — until 1964. The city purchased the building in 1976, and the Gragg family donated surrounding property for a park. The renovation project presented a challenge in modernizing the building — it wasn`t wired for computers, for example, and “we had cables everywhere,” Turner said — without compromising its historic qualities. Accomplishing that required close consultation with the agencies that grant historic designation, Turner said.`

Links
Complete Houston Chronicle Article

Visit the Houston Mod Discussion Board

Keep up to date on all the latest news and opinions on the Houston Mod message board. All kinds of modern topics can be discussed here.

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Discussion Board

Join us on the Houston Mod MESSAGE BOARD!

Keep up to date on all the latest news and opinions on the Houston Mod message board. All kinds of modern topics can be discussed here.

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HAIF HOUSTON MOD MESSAGE BOARD