Specwriter

You are correct Naviguessor as previous AIA Houston architecture guides will attest. The architecture firm was MacKie & Kamrath the same firm that designed Temple Emanu-El on Sunset Blvd. near Rice University. As you see both are highly influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

C2Ag93, I believe you are on to something with the last two digits of the zip code. See this site: https://www.oldstuffonly.com/zip_code_date.asp . By the way, the current postal (zip) code for St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church is 77025 so it is plausible that your parents were referring to the Towers Motor Hotel which was nearby.

I think this unit has an outdoor grille on its balcony. Nice but also risky(?) I would expect there is a fire suppression system too in case something gets out of hand. It would be integrated into the vent hood as in commercial kitchens. The metal blade ceiling fan also hints this is an outdoor space but that is not a certainty. My outdoor ceiling fans have metal blades. The heat and humidity here would ruin anything else.

I'm pleased to see the building that once housed Adkins Antiques so nicely restored. The landscaping is great too.

The cap is very nice but maple syrup . . . yummm! Enjoy, ekdrm.

It takes a good eye to differentiate a '64 from a '65 Beetle, mollusk. I do recognize a few running changes like the increasing size of the tail lights over time. I'm glad you mentioned the Galaxie. I noticed it but was already far enough off-topic. Ah, the OHC 6; if only more people had been enlightened in the day.

Tumbleweed, I'm pretty sure the light colored 4-door behind the 2-door is a 1965 Tempest (Pontiac's intermediate comparable to a Chevrolet Chevelle). When I zoom in on the image I can see a name badge low on the rear fender. It's not distinct but it looks more like "Tempest" than "LeMans" which was the up-level trim on that particular car just as the Chevrolet Malibu was a trim upgrade of the Chevelle. My 4th grade teacher (who was a tennis player and had an uncanny resemblance to Chris Evert) had a blue 1965 Tempest. The back fence neighbor had a 1966 full-size Pontiac wagon and the mother of my 3rd grade crush drove a 1965 Catalina 4-door sedan. My father was a Pontiac guy (would be still if Pontiac was still around). He had five of them between 1957 and 1986. I remember shopping with Dad along Milam back in the day. His 1964 Catalina 2-door hardtop with the Ventura trim option was lost in a garage fire in early 1968. Of course he was looking at Pontiacs but the cousin of a good friend of his, a salesman at Bland-Willis Cadillac, hooked him up with a 1967 Cadillac that some River Oaks dowager had turned in on an almost identical 1968 model(!?) Ah, the mysterious lives of the wealthy. The Caddy was a heck of a road trip car. It swilled gasoline like Capt. Morgan drank rum but covering 600+ miles a day was a no-sweat proposition. When Dad goes on a road trip he really goes.

Otto, I think auto-correct (auto-incorrect in my experience) has pulled a trick on you. Is this not the Gerald D. Hines Waterfall Park? It is a great image. Thanks for posting.

I'm guessing knowing that a person, maybe two, was murdered there. More likely it could be the asinine questions some people would inevitably ask the current owner about events that happened +/- 35 years before. It may also be the number of gawkers who slowed down or stopped to stare at the house - were they just curious or casing the place?

and a Domino's just beyond the Taco Bell.

This is an abomination. I only learned about it this morning from an e-mail sent to Preservation Houston membership. I guess it was a "middle of the night" type of thing even though it occurred in broad daylight since I saw nothing previously from Preservation Houston. It also seemed like the demolition permit "flew under the RADAR" since the structure was located in Pasadena instead of Houston. I am heart-sick about this. If someone wanted to develop the land around the mansion why not keep the building as a reception space/fitness center/other amenity? If the new development is perceived to be multi-family, or even mixed-use, this would have been something to consider. One has to wonder why the anti-demolition covenant as part of the 1991 sale (per the Preservation Houston e-mail I received) had an expiration date. That seems ridiculous. I guess historic status is meaningless in some places. I'm not a superstitious person but I have to think there will be a curse attached to any future development of this site due to this heinous action which preceded it.

Years ago when I worked "up the street" on Waugh I would enjoy a Guinness Stout or two on a Friday afternoon at the Black Lab. Ah, the good ol' days.

and they don't even have phones in them.

Is this the building that had the fire yesterday (October 17th)?

"SoDo isn't any more artificial than EaDo." I agree, august948. SoDo is neither more or less so than Eado. 😊