[VicMan]

The Mykawa School is now used as the Minnetex Civic Center. My question: Where is it?

I have searched the internet and cannot find an address for the place. Does anyone know where it is?

[marmer]

I can't find an address either, but it's on the north side of Almeda-Genoa Road just west of Mykawa. Just past the big Texaco station. On maps.live.com it looks pretty rough, with the back section missing its roof.

[marmer]

Not so hard to find. Look in the area you know it probably is, in maps.live.com birdseyes. The switch back to map view and start guessing plausible addresses. There is some trial and error, but usually you can narrow it down pretty quickly. Once you have a range of a few hundred, go to hcad.org and search by address range, and it should be clear which result you want. You can look on their map facets to be sure and cross reference with the account number.

Having done all that, we get...


6401 Almeda-Genoa Road, Houston, TX 77048-4553

[Vertigo58]

 VicMan, on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 @ 5:29pm, said:

The Mykawa School is now used as the Minnetex Civic Center. My question: Where is it?

I have searched the internet and cannot find an address for the place. Does anyone know where it is?

More than likely in that part of Houston NO ONE ever talks about. If you drive south on Griggs Road to near 610 you see Mykawa Road the veer left it runs all along that old, old railroad track. Keep going east along Mykawa and it MUST be in that dreary old depressing forgotten nabe. Sorry its the honest truth. No "guilding the lily" this time my old friend. I don't even know what the area is called "Mykawa" ?

In any case it would seem unlikely that a place with that name would be in ay other part of Houston. Feel naughtious thinking about that area. There is a police sub station right there and for good reason. You should see it at night. Oy vey!

[marmer]

 Vertigo58, on Friday, May 9th, 2008 @ 3:07pm, said:

More than likely in that part of Houston NO ONE ever talks about. If you drive south on Griggs Road to near 610 you see Mykawa Road the veer left it runs all along that old, old railroad track. Keep going east along Mykawa and it MUST be in that dreary old depressing forgotten nabe. Sorry its the honest truth. No "guilding the lily" this time my old friend. I don't even know what the area is called "Mykawa" ?

In any case it would seem unlikely that a place with that name would be in ay other part of Houston. Feel naughtious thinking about that area. There is a police sub station right there and for good reason. You should see it at night. Oy vey!

Oh, come on. The history of the Mykawa area and the rice farmer Shinpei Mykawa, who introduced rice farming to the area, is well documented.
Mykawa, Texas

The Mykawa Road area is poor, no doubt, but Mykawa Road is also a good alternate route to Pearland. I've driven it many times, even at night, and never felt particularly uncomfortable or unsafe. I can think of several areas where I would feel less comfortable at night. Oh, and you can't go east along Mykawa because it runs north and south. As I posted earlier, the old school building is just west of the Mykawa Road intersection on the north side of Almeda-Genoa.

[isuredid]

 marmer, on Friday, May 9th, 2008 @ 5:24pm, said:

Oh, come on. The history of the Mykawa area and the rice farmer Shinpei Mykawa, who introduced rice farming to the area, is well documented.
Mykawa, Texas

The Mykawa Road area is poor, no doubt, but Mykawa Road is also a good alternate route to Pearland. I've driven it many times, even at night, and never felt particularly uncomfortable or unsafe. I can think of several areas where I would feel less comfortable at night. Oh, and you can't go east along Mykawa because it runs north and south. As I posted earlier, the old school building is just west of the Mykawa Road intersection on the north side of Almeda-Genoa.

Unless something has changed recently, that building was still abandoned last time I saw it

[tmariar]

Ooh - nice photo. Hope you don't mind, but I added it to a short blog entry on Japanese rice farmers in Houston. (Say the word, and I'll take it down - I just haven't made it out there to take my own photos yet.)

I do hope that most Houstonians are familiar with the early contributions of Japanese-Americans in this area. I guess they are more obvious in some parts of town than others, though.

[isuredid]

 tmariar, on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 @ 9:57am, said:

Ooh - nice photo. Hope you don't mind, but I added it to a short blog entry on Japanese rice farmers in Houston. (Say the word, and I'll take it down - I just haven't made it out there to take my own photos yet.)

I do hope that most Houstonians are familiar with the early contributions of Japanese-Americans in this area. I guess they are more obvious in some parts of town than others, though.

No problem using the photo. Here's a photo of the plaque on the front of the building:

[NenaE]

 marmer, on Friday, May 9th, 2008 @ 5:24pm, said:

Oh, come on. The history of the Mykawa area and the rice farmer Shinpei Mykawa, who introduced rice farming to the area, is well documented.
Mykawa, Texas

The Mykawa Road area is poor, no doubt, but Mykawa Road is also a good alternate route to Pearland. I've driven it many times, even at night, and never felt particularly uncomfortable or unsafe. I can think of several areas where I would feel less comfortable at night. Oh, and you can't go east along Mykawa because it runs north and south. As I posted earlier, the old school building is just west of the Mykawa Road intersection on the north side of Almeda-Genoa.

FYI - The article I read says the original spelling of his name was Shinpei Maekawa. They changed it with the dedication (renaming) of the Erin railway station. 2-Minute Histories of Houston, B. Chapman, Houston Business Journal, publ.1996,p.76
PS - I realize this may be in one of the nice links provided above.

This post has been edited by NenaE: Friday, June 6, 2008 at 12:40 PM

[capt. kirk]

 VicMan, on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 5:29 PM, said:

The Mykawa School is now used as the Minnetex Civic Center. My question: Where is it?

I have searched the internet and cannot find an address for the place. Does anyone know where it is?

IF ITS THE ONE IM THINKING OF........GO SOUTH ON MYKAWA, TURN RIGHT AT ALMEDA GENOA...........THERE WAS AN OLD SCHOOL BLDG AT THE CORNER.............LAST TIME I WAS THAT WAY THERE WAS SOMEONE LIVING IN IT BUT ITS BEEN ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO

[capt. kirk]

 Vertigo58, on Friday, May 9, 2008 at 3:07 PM, said:

More than likely in that part of Houston NO ONE ever talks about. If you drive south on Griggs Road to near 610 you see Mykawa Road the veer left it runs all along that old, old railroad track. Keep going east along Mykawa and it MUST be in that dreary old depressing forgotten nabe. Sorry its the honest truth. No "guilding the lily" this time my old friend. I don't even know what the area is called "Mykawa" ?

In any case it would seem unlikely that a place with that name would be in ay other part of Houston. Feel naughtious thinking about that area. There is a police sub station right there and for good reason. You should see it at night. Oy vey!

IF YOU GO SOUTH ON MYKAWA FROM GRIGGS YOU WILL PASS BELLFORT AND A FEW OTHER STREETS AND GO UNDER BELTWAY 8, I THINK, PASSED THE OLD PEE FARM FOR PRISONERS, PASS THE CEMETARY AND BROOKSIDE VILLAGE AND END UP IN PEARLAND.
HAVE A NICE TRIP...........IT USED TO BE A GOOD AREA

[sevfiv]

I finally had a chance to stop by - I didn't know that HISD owned it and has refused to maintain or sell it. Such a shame. Here are a couple articles that mention the school:
http://www.chron.com...id=2002_3579122
http://www.chron.com...id=2003_3643235

The pressed tin ceilings don't look too bad off in the front (newer) section but there are some farther back that are exposed and rusty. There is a huge tire dump on the grounds, too.
Does anyone know what the small broken up thing is behind everything? (last picture)














more: http://arch-ive.org/.../mykawa-school/

[Specwriter]

 sevfiv, on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 12:04 AM, said:

I finally had a chance to stop by - I didn't know that HISD owned it and has refused to maintain or sell it. Such a shame. Here are a couple articles that mention the school:
http://www.chron.com...id=2002_3579122
http://www.chron.com...id=2003_3643235

Does anyone know what the small broken up thing is behind everything? (last picture)














more: http://arch-ive.org/.../mykawa-school/

Based on the size and rear-of-the-property location, I'm guessing that the structure in the last picture might have been a pump house for a water well. Many buildings had their own water wells back then. My grandmother had a house in Spring Valley that was built in the early 50's and it had its own well for at least fifteen years. Of course, it was later connected to the municipal supply.

I'm also going to guess that the Minnetex Civic Club has not met in the building in a long time. That sign ought to be preserved as a fine example of the graphic communication of the era. It goes without saying (except I'm saying it here) that the building should also be preserved. The big question is, "preserved for what purpose and with what money." I can't imagine the school district spending money on even stabiliizing the building. There is quite a bit of land around the building. Can anyone determine the acreage?

By the way, the architect, Louis A. Glover, was also one of the architects, along with William Ward Watkin and the Cram and Ferguson firm, of the Julia Ideson Library (1926). http://www.houstonar...on_Building.php

Oops! I should have read the articles first. The land around the school building is 6.5 acres. That's a nice size.

This post has been edited by Specwriter: Monday, December 21, 2009 at 11:52 AM