October 2022 Mod of the Month

Houston Mod invites you to join us this Saturday, October 29, 2022
for a Mod of the Month open house event from 1 – 3 PM.

Please help find new preservation minded owners for these outstanding vintage modern houses located in Memorial, about 10 and 14 miles west of downtown Houston.

Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event.

62 Briar Hollow, Houston, TX 77027
 HAR Link   |   Google Map

The Carter House of 1960, by Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson, is one of Houston’s most prominent modern houses and is in need of a new preservation-minded owner.  This is Houston Mod’s first opportunity to tour the house since 2004 when it was the location of a party held in conjunction with the lecture given by Los Angeles architect Leo Marmol.  The flat roofed, steel framed design, is formal and symmetrical with a mostly closed street elevation contrasting with a mostly glass rear elevation opening to a landscaped swimming pool terrace.  The street was originally home to several other fine vintage modern houses. Only three remain.

The architecture firm had several partner arrangements yet mainly consisted of F. Talbott Wilson (1912-1988), Seth I. Morris (1914-2006), Bluford Walter Crain, Jr. (1914-1995) and Ralph Anderson (1923-1990). All were graduates of the Rice School of Architecture except for Crain who was a University of Texas School of Architecture graduate. Their major commissions shaped Houston plus much of the state and include work all or in part on such major buildings as the Astrodome, First City National Bank, the Houston Public Library Downtown, One and Two Shell Plaza, Pennzoil Place, the Wortham Theater, Glassell School of Art (demolished), Williams Tower, the Houston Post building, KPRC and KHOU TV offices (both demolished), the Frank Erwin Center (set for demolition), Harris County Family Law Center (endangered), and numerous others. Houston Mod is planning a tour which will focus on many of their designs unknown to most Houstonians.

303 Isolde Drive, Houston, TX 77024 (Drive-by only)
HAR Link | Google Map

This highly endangered yet captivating mod located in a remote area of Memorial Bend was designed by architect David Brooks and is similar to his own house which was featured as Mod of the Month on August 14, 2022. The house was custom designed and built for the professional photographer and TV producer Murray Getz and family. It contained a dark room as well as most of its original details until it was flooded by Hurricane Harvey and the dam release. Perhaps a potential buyer can devise a plan to save it in a respectful manner.  Please visit the Memorial Bend Website, now hosted by Houston Mod, for a detailed description of the house.

If you have information about this house or other vintage mod designs, please share it with Houston Mod so it can be included in the Modern in Houston archive.