Wylie W. Vale

[BenH]

12502 Taylorcrest - Kayem House - 1955 (HCAD)

http://search.har.com/engine/12502-Taylorcrest-Houston-TX-77024_HAR45954674.htm

[BenH]

Short House - Original owner unknown - Brookshire,TX

This house bears a closer resemblance to Vale's own house than any other I've seen to date. It's from the early 1950's and was recently for sale. There is another like this in Bellville,TX.

This house was built for another member of the Woods family and was recently purchased by an owner that is interested in preserving it.

The house in Bellville that looks very similar is now for sale. It was built for E.W. "Boots" Cristen, one of Vale's clients:

http://search.har.co..._HAR2967184.htm

Edited May 12, 2010 by BenH

[BenH]

The Jordan House in Brookshire is up for sale:

http://search.har.com/engine/2119-Woods-Road-Brookshire-TX-77423_HAR85799493.htm

[ScottP]

Miller house in Katy for sale:

http://search.har.com/engine/1002-East-Ave-Katy-77493-2439_HAR39816154.htm

Edited August 14, 2010 by ScottP

[robertk]

I ran across this thread while doing a search on Wylie Vale a week or so ago, and have some information I would like to contribute. Wylie's wife Alliene and my mother are cousins, so I have been familiar with his architecture and her interior design work my entire life. He designed, and she decorated, my parents' home which they built in Groves, Texas in 1962. I came along shortly thereafter and grew up in the home. My folks lived there until they sold it in 1993 when they retired and moved to Tyler, Texas. Since they had loved the first version of the home, they had Wylie make some changes to the plans, and re-built very nearly the same home in 1993. Both versions of the home, while differing slightly from Wylie's "Contemporary Country Ranch" style, have many of his trademark features, including the formal living room with large stone fireplace (white limestone, in both cases), hardwood floors, vaulted beamed ceilings, and pecky cypress paneling with the wiped/stained/sealed finish.

Before my parents built their first home, Wylie designed a home for my mother's sister and her husband, which they built in Port Arthur, Texas in 1956. In 1968, they were transferred to Illinois, and returned to Beaumont, Texas in 1977, where they re-built the same home, with slight changes from Wylie’s talented drafting board. They retired in 1991, moved to Tyler, Texas, and built the home for a third time in 1992, with almost no changes from the 1977 Beaumont version. Their home more resembled the Ranch style home, and also incorporated pecky cypress paneling (painted) in the living room and sunroom, a brick and stone fireplace that took an entire end wall, with terracotta Mexican tile floors.

As you can tell, our families were very comfortable in Wylie’s homes. Alliene and Wylie’s home at 12431 Taylorcrest was the last home in which they lived in Houston and was an absolutely gorgeous home nestled into the end of the cul-de-sac. The view from the living room was through an entire wall of windows (floor to vaulted ceiling) that overlooked a beautifully landscaped patio and back yard. I am sad to report that the home has recently been demolished and the lot cleared for new construction. I actually discovered this fact while browsing around on a Google Maps satellite view of Houston and I think I actually gasped when I saw the vacant lot. At least for the time being, the street view still shows the home. Their home on Memorial is still intact, and as was mentioned earlier in this thread, has been restored to its original glory. I understand that Alliene and Wylie’s son and daughter-in-law, who live near them in Austin, have visited with the current owners of the home, and report: “We have met these folks and they warmly invited us to see the house, take pictures etc. They really love the house and appreciate every detail of the architecture and materials. They have put a great deal of money into restoring it. We spent many hours with them in the house several years ago and they could not have been nicer.”

Alliene and Wylie are currently 92 and 94, respectively, and live in Austin under nursing care and the loving care of their son and daughter-in-law. They are indeed not only some of the most talented, but also the kindest and most genuinely caring people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

So what do some of these homes look like? I figured you were dying to know! Unfortunately, I do not have digital pictures of my parents’ first home in Groves other than some screen shots that I have captured from Google Maps Street Views. I don’t know if posting them would cause copyright violations, so I will hold off on that for now. However, I visited my parents last weekend and took some pictures of their home in Tyler that I am including below.

Interior photos of the living and dining rooms, which Alliene decorated in 1994 when the house was completed.

Once again, unfortunately, I also do not have any digital pictures of my aunt and uncle’s first two versions of their Wylie Vale homes in Port Arthur and Beaumont aside from the same type of screen captures mentioned above. My aunt and uncle sold their Tyler home two years ago and now live in a retirement center near their son and daughter-in-law in Tulsa, Oklahoma; however, the Tyler home is right around the corner from my parents, and the current owners graciously allowed me to take pictures of the home. I include them below.

I, along with the rest of the family, deeply appreciate the interest that has been shown in Wylie’s life work through this thread. It is indeed good to know that there are still folks who appreciate fine architecture from this era!

-Robert K

Edited November 4, 2010 by robertk

[BenH]

RobertK informed me this morning that Alliene Vale, Wylie's wife of 71 years, passed away yesterday.

[sevfiv]

Sad to hear - notice published today in the Statesman:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=146785073

VALE, Alliene Guinn, 92, interior designer, of Austin died Sunday. Survived by husband Wylie. Services pending with Weed-Corley-Fish, Lamar location.

[BenH]

Full obituary:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?n=alliene-crittenden-guinn-vale&pid=146811293

[BenH]

Nowery Smith House coming down today:

http://swamplot.com/daily-demolition-report-lost-navigation/2011-04-20/

[BenH]

Wylie's eldest son, Wylie Jr., passed away a few days ago while on vacation in Hawaii. Obituary from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/science/wylie-vale-jr-groundbreaking-endocrinologist-dies-at-70.html

[strickn]

Vale's First Baptist Church sanctuary in Lake Jackson turned 50 last year and is intact. Easy to visit.

[marmer]

Vale's First Baptist Church sanctuary in Lake Jackson turned 50 last year and is intact. Easy to visit.

Really? That's Wylie Vale? It's kind of overshadowed by the newer 70's addition. I'll go look again. (I've been way too busy to get down there the past couple of months.) I've been there several times when I was younger for weddings and gigs but not since I started paying attention to architecture. Edited May 9, 2012 by marmer

[BenH]

New Finds. No photo documentation yet:

Kiefner & Werlin with Wylie W. Vale:

Spring Branch Business Center (Demolished or altered beyond identification) - Corner of Brogden & Old Katy Rd.

Wylie Vale:

First Baptist Church of La Marque, education building and sanctuary - Late 50's soft Scandinavian contemporary church.

First Baptist Church of Freeport - early/mid 60's. Traditional sanctuary.

Eagle Lake High School (which I believe may be gone. It was probably a bland concrete thing.)

Schreiner Institute Student Center - Kerrville,TX - early 1960's.

Robert Janes house in El Paso,TX - 1501 Idlwoode, El Paso,TX

Brookshire Bank - Corner of 5th and Cooper Streets. Still there, and was published in the Houston Chronicle or Post back in the day. Dates from the 1950's.

Mexia High School - Mexia Daily News, Nov. 22, 1965. This edition of the paper also noted that Santa Claus was due to arrive the following Saturday.

[BenH]

3023 Ella Lee:

http://realestate.marthaturner.com/Sites/MTP/dispSearchSold.cfm?mlnum=35234847#_self

[BenH]

Wylie passed away early this morning. He was 96. I'll post his obituary when it becomes available. 

 

[BenH]

Wylie passed away this morning at the age of 96. Will post his obituary, along with a number of new finds and corrections, soon. 

 

[mkultra25]

Obituary from Thursday's Houston Chronicle:

 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=wylie-vale&pid=162631926

 

 

Wylie Walker Vale, Sr. passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 24, 2013 at the age of 96. He was born in Marceline, Missouri on July 22, 1916, to parents Ada Belle and George Walker Vale. After spending most of his youth in St. Louis, Wylie and his family moved to Houston, Texas when he was in the 10th grade and he graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1934. He entered The Rice Institute (now Rice University) in the fall of 1934 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree in June 1939. On the 29th of that month, he married Alliene Crittenden Guinn, a Houston beauty and fellow Rice graduate who had been his sweetheart since his sophomore year in high school and who remained the apple of his eye throughout the 71 years of their remarkable marriage.

Wylie began his architectural career working in the offices of leading Houston architects of the day. In 1941, Alliene and Wylie moved into a new home Wylie designed on Bunker Hill Road and welcomed their first child, Wylie Walker Vale, Jr. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Wylie enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was sent to officer training at the U.S. Naval Reserve's Midshipmen's School at the University of Notre Dame, graduating 10th in his class of 400 and emerging as an Ensign in May 1943. After finishing at the top of his class in Torpedo School, he was assigned to be the new Torpedo Officer of the destroyer U.S.S. Farragut. While stationed on the Farragut, Wylie saw action in numerous South Pacific battles, including Tarawa, Kwajalein and Eniwetok. The Farragut was often deployed in the defensive screens protecting vital aircraft carriers and battleships and in support of amphibious landing operations. Wylie told riveting stories describing the overwhelming experience of being on a small vessel guarding the U.S.S. Missouri when the battleship's gigantic 16-inch guns unleashed barrages over their heads to soften up enemy defenses on nearby beaches. Although these wartime battles took a toll on his hearing in his later years, Wylie was always proud of his service on one of the so-called "expendable" destroyers that defended some of the Navy's most important ships. In 1944, Wylie was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) and was transferred to the light cruiser U.S.S. Trenton, where he saw action until the end of the war in Alaska's Aleutian Islands and in offensive operations against Japanese positions and shipping in the Kuril Islands of northern Japan.

After World War II ended, Wylie returned to Houston to establish his architectural practice in earnest. Wylie was one of the organizers of Piney Point Village and he and Alliene lived in three homes of his design during their sixty years in the Memorial area. In 1955, they welcomed their second son, Shannon Timothy Vale, into their warm, spacious home on Memorial Drive, which is now considered a classic of mid-century Texas residential architecture and has been lovingly restored by the home's current owners. By then, Wylie was leading his own firm (Wylie W. Vale & Associates) and had become one of the most prominent architects in Texas, designing stunning homes for many of the state's legendary oilmen and captains of industry. Wylie worked in a variety of residential styles, but he was perhaps best known for a unique aesthetic approach he called "Contemporary Country," which blended the influences of Frank Lloyd Wright with the Southwest's indigenous ranch house form and featured native materials and a high degree of craftsmanship and detail. His residential work was featured in Architectural Digest, Fortune Magazine and many other publications. Over the course of his career, he designed over 400 homes, many of which survive and are highly prized today, and he had a significant impact upon the look and flavor of several of Houston's most gracious neighborhoods, particularly River Oaks, Memorial and Tanglewood. Alliene became a highly respected interior designer in her own right during the 1950s, and for the next three decades the couple's unique collaborative method produced sensational yet highly livable homes for their clients. Wylie also designed more than 100 schools for over 30 school districts throughout the state, almost 50 churches, and many other major commercial, collegiate, and institutional projects around the country. In the 1960s, Wylie, George Rustay and Foy Martin formed Rustay, Martin & Vale, which at the time was one of the largest architectural firms in Texas and was responsible for notable projects such as the St. Luke's Children's Hospital tower and courthouses in Bay City and Richmond, Texas. Wylie designed his last house when he was 86 years old - a gorgeous Hill Country masterpiece in Hunt, Texas.

Aside from being a masterful architect, Wylie was a gifted writer. He won the grand prize and a trip to Niagara Falls in a national essay contest when he was 12 years old. As a freshman at Rice, he won the prestigious Lady Geddes Prize for the best essay by a freshman or sophomore, and was thrilled when his youngest grandson Matthew Vale won that same prize more than 75 years later. He published a book in 1988 regarding his studies of Biblical passages concerning the heart, and diligently and eloquently wrote in his journal almost every day until the last two months of his life.

Alliene and Wylie's lives changed profoundly when they committed their lives to Jesus Christ in 1960. Wylie's architectural skills benefitted numerous Christian and charitable organizations over the ensuing decades, and he contributed his leadership abilities to the boards of several organizations, including the Star of Hope Mission, Campus Crusade for Christ, Teen Challenge, and Christ for the Nations. He also faithfully supported Alliene's ministry as a respected Bible teacher and counselor, even as both of them continued to pursue busy professional careers.

In 2001, Alliene and Wylie moved to Austin to be closer to Shannon and his family, and they lived independently in their beautiful home in the Rollingwood neighborhood until moving into an assisted living residence in 2009.

Wylie was thoroughly devoted to his family and took great pride in the accomplishments of each of his sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. He is survived by his son Shannon Vale and daughter-in-law Jane of Austin; daughter-in-law Betty Vale of La Jolla, California; grandchildren Elizabeth Gandhi and husband Prashant, Susannah Howieson and husband Devlin, Joshua Vale and Matthew Vale; and one great-grandchild, Celeste Gandhi. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, his brothers Eugene and Francis, and his sister Dorothy. He is also preceded by his beloved wife Alliene and his extraordinary son Wylie, Jr., and he bore their passing in November 2010 and January 2012, respectively, with characteristic dignity and fortitude.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 PM on Saturday, February 2nd at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, with a reception following at the church. Interment will occur in a private ceremony for the family. In lieu of flowers, for those so desiring, contributions may be made to The Wylie Vale Fund for the Rice School of Architecture, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston TX 77251.

The family would like to offer our deepest gratitude to Maria Pulido, who with her husband Arnold and their children made such a contribution to both Alliene and Wylie's comfort and happiness over the past 11 years. We would also like to thank the members of the staff at The Summit at Westlake and at Texas Home Health Hospice for their compassionate support during Wylie's final weeks, as well as the assisted living staff of The Querencia.

Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com
Arrangements by
Weed-Corley-Fish
Funeral Home,
3125 N Lamar Blvd,
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 452-8811

 

 

[BenH]

Recent finds:

Dr. Carlos Slaughter house - 3 Cleveland Court, Sugarland,TX. Have drawings for this one. 

 

 

S.C. Adams House - 11400 Memorial Drive. Built 1952. Guessing the roof and paint aren't original. 

 

 

312 W Friar Tuck - Houston,TX. Not sure of the original client. Very well maintained and elegant house. 

 

There are probably going to be a lot more discoveries in the coming weeks. I'm also digitizing Wylie's address list to make it easier to search. Nine pages left...

 

 

[BenH]

Time for some editing. The following are probably NOT Wylie's designs. I didn't have much to go on when identifying them. 

 

 

 

This was the closest thing I could find to a Vale design in Sandalwood at the time, but the actual house is at the southeast corner of Knipp Rd and Sandalwood. It's a nice, but heavily remodeled ranch house. 

 

I don't think this house is one of Wylie's, but it is kind of cool. 

[Happy Historian]

Eagle Lake High School would now be part of the Rice Consolidated School District and they have no high school in Eagle Lake. I would probably guess that the building has been repurposed to another school type if it still exists. Their present high school is in Altair.

Not a very dynamic area anymore as they are just waiting to be absorbed into the Houston Metro Blob that's eating it's way across the west. Rice production is way down since many of the established farming families aged to indifference after 40 years of the youth's exodus to the big city. Besides in Alvin, Katy, and Sugar Land they long ago decided it was easier to plant suburban sprawl over the most fertile farm lands in the state than actually farm. Other than some oil & gas production the major industry has been in the many gravel pits. For three generations my family was part of the Parker Brothers group that developed that resource. The overwhelming majority of aggregate that went into the concrete that built Houston/Galveston and southeast Texas since the 1930s came from that area. And there are still massive deposits there to continue with.

[toadfroggy]

Check this listing:  http://search.har.com/engine/5650-Meadow-Lake-Lane-Houston-TX-77056_HAR75670659.htm

 

[BenH]

Nice find. I recognize the name Busby from the address list. Cool house. 

 

[etheriemma]

This home by Wylie Vale, located at 5650 Meadow Lake Ln. in Houston, is scheduled to be demolished very soon.  The home was built in 1953 and was  2,347 Sq Ft, with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

 

[BenH]

This is one of Wylie's. It's had some...alterations. 

http://search.har.com/engine/11400-Memorial-Dr-Houston-TX-77024_HAR78499074.htm

[Holtnow]

Regrettably, Mr. Vales work at 11400 Memorial was razed this past Monday (9/22/2014).  Late last year, I attempted to buy this home with the intent to restore and sympathetically update it for use as my family home.  At the last minute, we lost out to a builder.  I don’t begrudge the sellers, owners of 47 years, as they saw the home as unsalvageable and were just trying to maximize their return.  This is a case of one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

[BenH]

To be honest, I'm not sure that was one of Wylie's houses. The listing agent said that it was done by Otto Woestmeyer, but it REALLY looked like one of Wylie's underneath the metal roof and blackish siding. Maybe Otto designed additions or something to that effect. 

Let us know how your search goes. 

[marmer]

Not to digress, but Otto Woestemeyer, who was a Rice guy,  designed this little cutie in about 1937.   Also, a spectacularly boring brick rectangle storefront a couple of blocks away for the local gas company.

 

http://arch-ive.org/archive/freeport-drug-store/

[BenH]

Methodist Church Parsonage - Rusk, TX. 1947-48. Very early project by Wylie:

Has since been demolished, but the grammar school building still stands. Edwin Guinn was RobertK's grandfather, I believe. 

[BenH]

Wessendorf House in Richmond was recently on the market:

http://www.har.com/700-hillcrest-dr/sale_59573129

 

[Rbb77423]

The Richard Woods house in brookshire is for sale. Much of the original detail is intact. 

 

link to the listing:

http://www.har.com/714-gresham-rd/sale_75284029#

Edited May 17, 2016 by Rbb77423