Willowisp

Hey all, We went on a driving tour of memorial yesterday. Sad state of affairs out there! 328 Buckingham is now gone, and 843 Friar Tuck is probably right behind. Had a good time though other than that... Here's 843 Friar Tuck - real bad shape. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/clockwatchers/DSC00464.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/clockwatchers/DSC00465.jpg By Ben Koush from the 2005 RDA tour (it was on the peripheral drive by only tour) 328 Buckingham Drive Liese House Lloyd & Morgan 1954 By the 1950s Lloyd & Morgan was known mostly for their commercial buildings. However, they continued to design a small number of houses for select clients. The gracious design of the Liese House was one of Hermon Lloyd

HCAD has the year built date as 1983 on 407 Westminster. Jason

I don't know this area too well, but it seems like it should have so much upside. It's in a great location, just miles from Meyerland and Bellaire. We just need people like you to move here by the hundreds (instead of out to the country/commuter hell!) Not to get too spiritual, but I pray daily that Westbury/Willowbend/Post Oak Manor will continue to turn around and attract good hard working people who take pride in their property. Best of luck to you! Take pictures! Jason

I googled him and found this library in Stafford. http://www.fortbend.lib.tx.us/branches/mg.html I also found Wylie W. Vale the Doctor. Maybe his son? Rice University: Wylie W. Vale, Jr. '63 Medicine (Endocrinology) Now at The Salk Institute (an interesting place for an architect's son to teach!) Wylie W. Vale Adjunct Professor of Medicine; Helen McLoraine Professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Head, Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology The Salk Institute Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine I emailed him. I'll let you know what happens next... Jason

Houston Mod and the National Trust for Historic Preservation: The 1948 Dominique and John de Menil home located at 3363 San Felipe Road in River Oaks was designed by award-winning architect Phillip Johnson.

News from the Glass House! Preview tours begin in April 2007. A Gala Picnic on June 23, 2007 will inaugurate the Glass House's full capacity operation. www.philipjohnsonglasshouse.org

Pine Hollow! There's another street that ranks among the coolest mod streets in Houston. Bolton's house was really cool! It had high ceilings and lots of glass with side courtyards and a forest that led down to the bayou. And it had saltillo tile! But it was larger tiles than our house, maybe 12 inch tiles. I didn't meet him, but I met his neighbors that were also on the RDA tour and they were very friendly. There is a house on Pine Hollow by William Jenkins, but I haven't been inside. Just gotta go knock on the door I guess. Jason

It's interesting/good that other realtors are noticing the mid-century market enough to say this in their house ads. The Taylor designed house that won a Good Brick Award was on the RDA Tour last year. It's on Westminster. It is described in Ben Koush's book on Harwood Taylor. I don't know if Ben knows about this Dashwood house, if it is indeed by Taylor. The 3rd modern house that won a good brick award was The Hugo V. Neuhaus House on Lazy Lane. A Kamrath church is also being given the 50 year award. Jason

I forgot what topic Jersey01 was asking about the Maher house in, but I found an article on it with a floorplan and some nice b/w pictures. It's in the book 25 Years of Record Houses. I was going to show it to you if you came to the party. I looked it up and you can get it used online at Amazon for less than $10. It also has a Preston Bolton Townhouse featured. I only have computer access right now at work, but I will be back online soon at home, so I'll scan it in and post it later this month. Jason

Aren't there a bunch of houses listed in the Fox guide on River Bend? I believe they are mentioned but without pictures. You may be right about owners not consenting to a picture. However, I asked Stephen Fox why he chose our house and he said he really liked it and thought it was special. He actually never went inside. I found it odd, because 10911 down the street obviously got a lot more attention in the 50s and would be more likely deemed the more important house. It is mentioned in the guide with no picture, possibly because back in the late 90's the house went through some hard times. For the mod enthusiasts, of course the guide is not complete. It's not able to have every cool or even important house in it, that would be impossible. But it would be great to continue the work that was done and if you are a photographer as well, all the more! What we will need is someone persuasive who will be able to get that permission. Another line of interest of mine would be the Parade of Homes in Meyerland with the Burdette Keeland, Harwood Taylor, and William Jenkins houses. Jason

Yes, I didn't want to write it out... Actually, Ben Koush wrote a pretty extensive guide for his thesis. I don't know how many copies of it are out there and I don't have one, but I saw it at his house and it was thick like the Stephen Fox Houston Architectural Guide. What I would love to see compiled would have as many as feasable chapters/bios on the most important architects with lots of pictures of their houses, inside and out, along with short blurbs on as many houses as possible. I'd see it as a compilation with many writers taking on their favorite architect. I could do the Jenkins article for example and ask Michael B to do the one for Floyd and Memorial Bend, Ben K to contribute chapters on Donald Barthelme and Harwood Taylor, which of course might repeat a lot from his catalogues, Stephen Fox on Barnstone which is in the book, Ephemeral City, RPS on Glenbrook Valley, Spaceage on Houston's Landscape Architects, etc... Basically, everyone could contribute a little bit of their favorite passion. I would really love to be able to reprint old articles on some houses from the chronicle and Better Homes and Gardens and things like that, but I have no idea on how realistic that would be... I'd love to see a coffee table book along with an online version of the book. Houston Mod is working on documenting houses online right now. This is a quite feasable project for 2008, so if you are interested just brainstorm on it for now and think about what you might like to contribute.

I have seen it driving through the neighborhood and wondered why it wasn't in "the guide". It just goes to show that someone could write a pretty extensive book about the interesting mods in Houston...

Beautiful panelling! But I would crash my car every morning and night! Jason

I went to the open house the other day. Though he has done some things that I wouldn't have done, taste-wise, it seems like it was really well done - like that band that rocks in a style you don't like. They do what they do well. But that original tile in the entry is gone and slated over. The living room panelling is painted. Moulding is added in places... We'll see what happens. I'll let you know if a sold sign pops up. Jason

http://search.har.com/engine/indexdetail.c...mp;backButton=Y I walked by this house with my new dog yesterday. It looks like it's been redone too much, but I think it's worth a look for anyone who wants to get into Willowbend/Willow Meadows. It also goes to show that $319K is not out of the question over here. The one down my street has dropped to $299K, by the way... Jason

Yes, for example, my sister owns a beautiful craftsman/bungalow style house in Portland, OR. When she bought it, the house was/is mostly original looking, save some new windows and the kitchen which has black granite countertops, and she LOVES her "2000s style" kitchen. I love that she loves it. Some people don't want to stay as close as possible to the look of whatever era. And for most houses, I don't give a lot of thought to it. But for houses that have a chance of staying close to the original intention/desire of an "important" architect (whatever that might mean is very subjective!) then I think it is great to advise staying close to those intentions. So thank goodness for owners like that one who bought the Neutra and may there be many more of them. I was told that work was done on the foundation, by the way. I don't really see a problem with the square footage or the smaller than usual backyard. It's not really missing bedroom size. It's just missing out on a formal living/dining room. For a family of 4 or less it shouldn't be too small of a house. I have met the owner and he is nice. I have no idea if he knows "the buzz" on the house... He said he wanted to have it open right away but his realtor went on vacation for Thanksgiving. Jason

FYI - IT'S 10901 WILLOWISP, not 10910. If 10910 (flat roof Jenkins designed) goes on sale one of you has to buy it! The sign just went up in the yard today. I have never ventured over to meet them. One of my neighbors said they were planning on flipping it. I actually saw about 6 cars there the other night so I assumed it was a housewarming party and maybe they were going to keep it instead of sell it. I really do hope someone who loves what they've done with the house will buy it asap. It already sat there onsale 6 months in the past year. Many "mod lovers" had the chance to jump on it then and "keep it in the 50s", but for whatever reason it never sold. Timing is everything. If we had not already bought our house, I think that smaller house would have been almost perfect for us. But then maybe we wouldn't have had the same adventure we've had! The house next door to them was redone 2 years ago and sold for about $250K. It's a little bigger and the other house had a total rewire. I don't know what they did electrically with this house, and I don't know if they reworked the foundation or not. I did see the new roof go on though. Jason

It could be a prime "atomic ranch" in the right hands. You're right. There's a lot of work to be done. But just knowing that William Floyd said it was his favorite design in Memorial Bend should mean a lot, as should being amongst so many mods (and their mod owners) in the same neighborhood. A lot of the time I've noticed with properties that have been remodeled that a big step is going with high class flooring. That goes a long way toward beautifying an interior. This house seems very savable! Jason

I finally saw this picture in my iphoto archive. I knew I had a picture of it. 3. 3403 N. Parkwood Dr - Willard & Hood (Lars Bang?) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/clockwatchers/DSC02115.jpg

In another topic, Gnu guessed my story about the house in Friendswood. Maybe Gnu could fill in the rest of the story. At the last Houston Mod Board meeting, Ben Koush showed the rest of us some great pictures of Hugo V. Neuhaus designed buildings, including an incredible house in Friendswood. Russell reminded us that when he and I sent a mailing out describing Houston Mod to all the Modern Houses in Stephen Fox's book that he couldn't find that house and suspected that it had been torn down. So after the meeting I did some research and found the owner's phone number and the next day gave them a call and discovered that they had indeed had the house taken down after living in it for a year and a half. They had their reasons, but it was pretty obvious that they bought it planning to take it down. What's interesting is that I was told that they sold the house to the company who took it apart. Maybe it has been rebuilt somewhere else? Here's a pic. I'll send more when I have time. It's heavily influenced by the Farnsworth House. Anyone want to cry with me? Jason

Thinking some more about this house... This is the 3rd close to Beltway 8 and Memorial House we've seen this month. It makes you wonder what the fate of these houses is as the original owners pass on or get too old to take care of themselves. It seems like many will be destined to be torn down. They are too noisy, will take a lot of money to restore them and too old or "funny looking" for the average homebuyer. It's getting depressing! Speaking of depressing, I have a sad story to tell you all about a modern house in Friendswood, but I am going to wait until I have a picture of it to tell it. Jason

I was thinking of the Harwood Taylor house from Ben Koush's book too! That house is incredible! Why are they always in difficult locations (like mine)?! I could write a very long essay on noise issues. As many of you know it is my little pet problem, since I back up to S. Post Oak. It's just something we tolerate because the house is amazing. Contrary to what everyone told me, I have not gotten used to it and I have not become deaf to it, but I just live with it because the house is great. You take the good with the bad. It is very convenient to get right onto the freeway, and it is wonderful to be able to own a home so close to the city and so close to very expensive areas like Bellaire and Braeswood. You also come to realize that there are lots of places around Houston where there are major noise issues. Now, everywhere I go I am looking at soundwalls and the other people who live on/near busy streets and freeways. Jason

You have just convinced me to never set foot in there again. I worked at Wal-Mart, so I feel exactly the same way - embarrassed - about our crappy Wal-Mart. I will never set foot in that store again either. Don't know if their managers or regional managers will ever read this, but that's all for me... I do like the Randall's, but only for "infill" like you said. Buffalo Speedway Kroger usually doesn't have much of a line, they have excellent selection, friendly associates, and reasonable prices. Jason

I still haven't met the neighbors, but they look to be remuddling the house, beginning with putting "home depot" slate squares on the front of the house. I think they are going to try to flip it, but I'm not sure. It's not looking good from my angle, but I will withold judgement for now.