SpaceAge

The following is listed in the 1969 directory for Spencer Highway at South Shaver: South Shaver 2801 Turner Brown Service Station 2802 Miss R. M. Shannon Res. 2803 A1 Auto Sales 2814 George B. Conces Res. 2816 George B. Conces, Jr. Res. 2826 J. B. Larson Res. Charley's Liquor Store 2830 Sherwoods 2900 Magic Slides Inc. 2910 Little Shaver Steak House Little Shaver Ice 3001 Alvin Prentice Res. 3005 Alto Transmission Shop 3007 Gandys Barber Shop 3009 The Medicine Chest 3019 Bob Morin Motors 3020 David's Hardware Company 3028 Vickis Drive In SPENCER HWY INTS 3101 Currys Service Station 3102 M Presley Sinclair 3200 Zale Jewelry Company 3230 J. C. Penny Co. Inc. 3316 Bill Dane Auto Air 3322 Homa Bronk Res. 3324 The Monterey House 3402 Sierras Apartments Spencer Hwy 2217 Plaza Realty Co.- A. E. Exley 2221 Earl Hall Res 2222 Montgomery Ward Company 2232 J. Weingarten, Inc. 2301 Whataburger Drive In 2406 Dunkin Doughnuts 2408 Toppers Steak House 2417 Apts. 2511 Franklin Jackson Res. 2513 Wiley Ordis Res. 2626 Osborne-Apple Ford 2632 GG Western Shop 2634 The Superette 2636 Frederick Tire Factory 2638 AAA Health Food 2640 Kirby Mattresses

It was the August 2007 Mod of the Month at 4987 Dumfries in Meyerland, by architect William F. Wortham, that suffered the above mentioned desecration. I have not heard about any changes at 3611 North Braeswood.

The Weingarten house is located at 4000 MacGregor Way South The Sakowitz house was located at 3533 MacGregor Way North From the 1966 Cole's Directory: Bernard Sakowitz Robert T. Sakowitz 3533 MacGregor Way North (About this time, I believe the house was demolished and apartments built on the site. According to the movie, This Is Our Home, It Is Not For Sale, the senior Sakowitz couple moved to a high-rise apartment near Tanglewood.) Bernard Weingarten 4000 MacGregor Way South

12939 Memorial Drive Houston, Texas This house is very deserving of a second look. If you can live with the location, there is a lot of potential here. One of the best features of this one are the public schools. They are among the finest available in Houston. The house is a wonderful classically styled mod that appears to have been lovingly maintained in its original condition by the same owner since the late 1950's or before. If you want to see what it was like to live in a mod in the 1950's this is a very rare opportunity. Living areas are located on the West side, private areas on the East and a glazed bridge links the two and serves as the foyer. All rooms are surprisingly large, have abundant closet space and very nicely designed walls of glass. The glass walls of the interior courtyard flow seamlessly uninterrupted from individual room divisions. There is a great potential for development of many garden areas. The most striking thing about the place is it's very thoughtful design and proportioning. There is nothing abnormally awkward about the design which is rare for this price range. The owner has the original plans. Front Entry View from Den looking to foyer and living room Master Bathroom Dining Room and Kitchen 1950s Mod Draperies

More big news: Two representatives from the Formica Company have scheduled an appointment to tour and photograph the house. Slowly but surely, we seem to be getting somewhere with this one!

Yesterday's Mod of the Month had a large turnout and all went very well- one of the best ever! I was surprised the turnout this time of year would be so large but people seem to love this kind of event. People really enjoyed seeing this super house and stayed around in there for a long time. We had the full set of original plans on display along with a newspaper article describing the house and its furnishings complete with photographs from the time of the original owners. A man arrived in a gorgeous 1958 Cadillac Eldorado convertible and parked it front and center in the circular drive. It was the perfect item to complete the ultra-swank scene! I think people thought they were at a country club and were waiting for Frank and Dean to arrive. If everyone there yesterday tells ten others about the place, we will be that much closer to finding a buyer.

The Formica Company replied that the company has gone through several owners and most of their archives have been lost. The representative did remember that several idea houses were built in various cities based on the plans of the Formica House featured at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York City. Following is a vintage drawing of that house. It seems quite conventional compared to the one in Houston. There could be a lead, however. Notice the small pod to the left of the house. Could that have been the catalyst of pods to come? Don't miss this Mod of the Month. You will be amazed at the extent of workmanship involved to cover almost every surface inside and some outside this house with wonderful plastic laminate. With a bit of maintenance and restoration, this mostly original house could once again be a showcase for futuristic living in Space City. Join us this Sunday, December 16th (2-4pm), at the Mod of the Month! This house was designed by Waller S. Poage for the Stephens family, who were the owners of the region's Formica Company franchise. Naturally, they used lots of Formica in this house (on the counter tops and walls as well), enough that the house has come to be known as the Formica House. Though the house is in need of TLC, many original "spare no expense" modernist details abound in the house, including a sauna, large built-in cabinets, interior and exterior stone walls, cork paneled walls, a mansion sized master bathroom, hot tub, and many beautiful sconces on the walls of the house. Come join us in celebrating this house and help us find a buyer who can save the house from demolition and take it to its former glory! Please drive around the corner of S. Braeswood and S. Rice and park on Braesheather. 5103 S. Braeswood at South Rice- Southwest Corner HAR Listing for more pictures, map, pricing details, etc.

MOD OF THE MONTH Sunday Join us this Sunday, November 25th (2-4pm), at the Mod of the Month! Designed in 1974 by architect Burdette Keeland, the 'ski-slope roof' townhouses are known for their striking modern design. 2909 Virginia is updated yet maintains its original flair. Architectually significant w/ slate patio, 2nd story formal entrance, 18' vaulted ceilings, street-side deck, solid oak floors, granite countertops, built-ins, gallery-quality lighting, fireplace, and rooftop view of the entire Kirby and West Alabama area. No HOA fee. This stunning modern townhouse will bring your art and furniture alive. Houston MOD's new Hugo V. Neuhaus catalog ($20.00) and the Harwood Taylor catalog ($15.00) will be available at this event, so if you haven't bought one yet, plan to do so (makes a great Christmas gift!) We can accept cash or a check for the catalogs. As always, members of the Mod Squad along with a realtor will be present to answer questions. 2909 Virginia Check the HAR listing for more pictures, map, pricing details, etc.

9602 Moonlight Drive Houston, Texas http://shutter07.pictures.aol.com/data/pic...c+I3J-L0300.jpg View from foyer toward living area http://shutter11.pictures.aol.com/data/pic...+4MNxPd0300.jpg View from living area toward foyer, bar and kitchen entrance to the right http://shutter10.pictures.aol.com/data/pic...yNNLICQ0300.jpg Kitchen Master bathroom Butted glass shower seen from the private master bathroom garden

That was the Texas Gas Building at 2472 Bolsover. Lars Bang remembers Alfred Finn as the architect. Stephen Fox called Finn a local yokel once. The building was extremely well built and easily maintained. It should have been worked into the new scheme. It had all the features everyone wants today except the pseudo Mediterranean facade. It had the parking along the front, the sidewalk restaurants and retail on the first floor and offices above. All the floors were beautiful terrazo. I have about 30 photos, including the restrooms, from several years ago. Many architectural firms were located there. Another example of a substantial building with character and integrity replaced with a poorly designed monotonous piece of generic nothingness.

Hopefully we can use the downturn in the housing market to our advantage giving us more time to devise some options. Perhaps some of these ideas could be used: 1. Find several young architects to volunteer to devise a plan for remediation and renovation. They get real experience and their name known. 2. Obtain volunteer help from architecture students from Houston, College Station and Austin. They would be learning from experience and also be meeting future employment contacts. Houston Mod and GHPA members could volunteer also. 3. Apply to be featured on This Old House or another show of that type. Once finished, the house could be put on the market and sold so the present owner could be repaid with interest.

Some people think Houston has way too many trees. Visitors from the West tell me they get claustrophobia in Houston because they can't see the sky when they are in the neighborhoods. They like open spaces with big sky. Before 4427 Firestone Drive Home buyers in other areas seek out vintage kitchens and will pay extra for original countertops like these. Before 4427 Firestone Drive After..."Custom-Ordered Cabinetry"...Now that's a-shame...Not only is it uninteresting and inappropriate, but it seems like a waste of $5,000.00. Lets buy a neat 1950s style house with a sterile generic kitchen!

This menu shows a similarly posed indian character. You could go to the UH library special collections and check the 50s and 60s UH yearbooks. Bill Williams had a full page ad in the back. I checked the 1952 issue but it only shows the chicken dressed as an indian.

Yes, working politely with the owners is the only way to be successful. Even with the improved preservation ordinances, the city still has no way to force owners into saving anything. We can't take peoples property rights away. We can show them options and that there is concern. So, if you are concerned, you can easily find the owners website and send him a note. That's what I did and his staff very politely acknowledged it along with Jason's call. Let's keep a count of people who contact the owner. So far, we know of 2.

John O'Quinn is obviously not low on funds. We need to contact him and convince him this house is worth saving. From the Columbus Dispatch of August 21, 2007: A billionaire Houston trial lawyer who has collected more than 800 classic cars now owns most of the Rolls-Royce cars that Columbus developer Richard J. Solove put on the auction block. John O'Quinn successfully bid on eight of Solove's 13 Rolls-Royce automobiles that were sold Sunday at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auction in California. Solove's collection, which included two other cars, sold for $14.3 million. He's donating the money, minus auction expenses, to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, as well as Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center. Solove, 82, had predicted that the cars would go for about $15 million. The collection's "Corgi," a 1912 Rolls-Royce SG limousine, sold for the most at $2.97 million. The cars sold within an hour. O'Quinn bought all but one of the Silver Ghost models, which were the only known collection of first-series 40/50hp Ghosts, manufactured from 1907 through 1915. He has been buying vintage cars for a number of years and plans to open a car museum in Houston in 2009. Among noted cars he already owns are a 1903 Ford Model A, a Batmobile, President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 Packard limousine and the 1975 Ford Escort used by Pope John Paul II. O'Quinn has amassed a fortune heading up such cases as Texas' $17.3 billion settlement with the tobacco industry and lawsuits against breast-implant manufacturers. Most recently, he represented Virgie Arthur, the late Anna Nicole Smith's mother, in her battle to obtain custody of Smith's daughter. The lawyer purchased a number of other cars at the Pebble Beach auction, which broke an overall sales record of $60 million this year. O'Quinn could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Photo by Ben H. Moderator: Please move the last comments under the 3448 Locke Lane topic that pertain to this topic to this topic. According to another post on HAIF, the contemporary masterpiece at 9602 Moonlight Drive in Meyerland is to be sold to a new owner who will have it demolished. Stephen Fox, in the American Institute of Architects Houston Architectural Guide states, "This is a quite extraordinary production, a circular steel-framed pavilion, capped with a folded plate roof, which is only part of a much larger contemporary style house." This house is truly a masterpiece of mid twentieth century design. It by far surpasses almost any others. Even when compared to the finest of California, this house would shine. Of all the sites available in Houston, it certainly must be possible to find a lot with a less stunning house to sacrifice. Robert Cohen, the designer and builder of the house, incorporated the most lavish elements and themes of the period. If my memory is correct, you enter through double doors after crossing pads of concrete over a pond water feature. The foyer is walled with floor to ceiling glass panels which lead to the circular steel framed living pavilion. There are triangular windows topping each wall segment created by the folded plate roof structure and also glass at the base of each wall panel. This pavilion is anchored to the ground only at the center of the circle by an elevated platform. The floor beams are thus cantilevered out from this center platform so the pavilion appears to float above the lawn. Two of the wall panels are glass while the others are upholstered in raw silk and used as art gallery space. A custom made sofa, probably twenty feet in length, which corresponded to the curvature of the outside wall, is situated upon a custom rug and forms the primary sitting area. The convergence of the roof plates is the location of a circular skylight with a corresponding floor planter box containing several preserved palm trees. The kitchen area is also located within the pavilion space, behind a partial wall partition. The kitchen is styled similarly to photographs you see of the proposed Moon Base of the same period. Behind the kitchen are large storage areas, a bedroom and garage. The dining room, located next to the pavilion, is near the kitchen. The dining room will remind you of being inside of Jeanie's bottle from the 1960s television show I Dream of Jeanie. The color scheme, like Jeanie's bottle, is pink and purple. One wall features narrow vertical diamond shaped cutouts opening to the foyer and is accented with fur wall covering. Glass sliding doors lead from this area to the patio and pool. Back through the foyer extends a corridor leading to a guest bathroom, an office with several built-ins, and a master bedroom all on the back or pool view side of the corridor. The master bedroom has an aquarium built into the wall and also is complete with some built in furniture pieces, one of which houses the control panel to the sophisticated lighting and sound system for the house. Opposite the master bedroom is another bathroom, guest room and a large bedroom divided by a folding wall for the children. Small, walled and gated gardens are accessible from these rooms. The family room is located at the end of this wing of the house and overlooks the large swimming pool and patio/lawn area. The space is expansive since the lot is almost one-half acre in size. Photo Photo

Yes, Laura Patterson and her daughter is Rachel Patterson. MICHAEL RAYMOND LIBERTO MICHAEL RAYMOND LIBERTO, age 49 beloved husband, father, and friend, tragically died September 19, 1999 in an automobile accident. He is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Juliet Liberto. He is survived by his wife, Beverly, three wonderful daughters, Jessica, Nicole, and Theresa Liberto, niece, Rachel Patterson, brother, Anthony Liberto, and two sisters, Laura Patterson and Katherine Liberto. In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made to River Oaks Baptist Academy of Porter, Texas. Services to be held at Rosewood North Cemetery in New Caney, Texas. Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Friday, September 24, 1999 at 10:00 a.m.

Is this her? 1. LIBERTO, LAURA C (Age 51) HOUSTON, TX GALVESTON, TX EULESS, TX Possible Relatives: LIBERTO, MARY E 2. LIBERTO, LAURA CROW (Age 51) Associated names: LIBERTO, LAURA B HOUSTON, TX Possible Relatives: LIBERTO, GINA A LIBERTO, JOAN AUDRA (Age 24)

I do not find any information of him being a registered architect in Texas. Do the plans have an architects and or engineers seal? The only Lewis S. Maguire in the United States is shown to be age 83 and lives in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His wife is listed as Dorothy E. Maguire, age 81, also of Martins Ferry. The address 4211 Leeland is not listed in the 1966 Houston Cole's Directory. The closest address is 4209 Leeland and it was occupied by J. W. Holland and Wayne Holland, Engineers with Ernest Knox. Good luck and let us know your research results.

The Town and Country location is still in operation and very popular. The Buffalo Speedway location was sold so that HEB can build a new store there. The new HEB center will extend to Bissonnet Avenue. Has anyone ever noticed the large covered swimming pool behind the existing shopping center on that corner? It may have been a spa.

Thank goodness the Sago was near the fence and got spared. It is one of the best I have seen. Stolitx's house in Glenbrook is a deluxe version of this layout concept.

The dean of the University of Houston College of Architecture once owned this house. Perhaps he knows who designed it. Dick Gottlieb, a local celebrity and politician, lived at 5159 Darnell.

Look what I found in my mother's ice-box! Unfortunately, the candy is gone... Do they still use boxes like this at the Beaumont location?

A book titled HISTORIC HOUSTON STREETS- The Stories Behind the Names may be helpful with this type question. It is by Marks Hinton, 2004. Email to purchase: archivaltexas@aol.com Link You can view all the streets that begin with the letter A at the link above.