BenH Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The Lasher house on Timberwilde has provoked much interest in the life, career and work of Galveston-based architect Thomas M. Price. This past weekend, I took a trip to Galveston for a family vaction. My father, brother and I spent most of our first day traveling an extensive route throughout the island that covered nearly all of Price's recorded residental buildings, all of which are still standing and appear to be in excellent shape. I'd like to preface this post with special thanks to Gary (who, I learned this weekend, knew Price) and Austin Hill, for putting up with the aforementioned day of driving. I would also like to thank Stephen Fox for the biographical information about Price. Consider his soon-to-be published biography/obituary of Price (which I'm paraphrasing here) and the Galveston Architectural Guide by Ellen Beasley and Stephen Fox to be my primary sources. Thomas M. Price was born in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1916. He attended the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, studying under the iconic architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. If Price were to be compared with any single architect in Houston, it would have to be either Howard Barnstone or Harwood Taylor. Price was active in Galveston from the 1950's to the late 1970's, after which he retired to Fredericksburg, Texas, where he designed the Nimitz Museum. He also designed many motels and hotels, notably the Flagship Hotel (with Neuhaus & Taylor), the Beachcomber, and Seahorse motels. He also designed the Galveston Artillery Club (which I was unable to discreetly photograph), and various banks throughout the state. Below I have included Price's outstanding homes. I do not have a complete list of his residential work, only what is featured in the Galveston Architecture Guide. There were many other buildings on our route that day, which I may include at a later date. Thomas M. Price died in 1998. Mehos House (1958) Yen House (1959) Stirling House (1956) Caravageli House (1954) Next door to this house is a classic Bailey Swenson house, something right out of Riverside Terrace, but better maintained. Kelso Camp on Offat's Bayou (1963) Unfortunately, Price's largest project, the Sealy & Smith professional building was recently demolished. Other distinguished modern architects in Galveston include Raymond R. Rapp Sr., Raymond Rapp Jr., (whose house I was able to briefly tour), and Louis Oliver. The Lasher house of Houston appears to be Price's largest residential project, though he did one house in Port Lavaca that I haven't seen. The Lasher house was recently rennovated by Ray Bailey architects, who were retained by the current owner Stanford J. Alexander of Weingarten Investments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatSleepMOD Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Thank you for this post. I love all the info and the pics. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 You're right, Ben. All appear to be in great shape. Amazing. Did he design anything in Houston?Thanks, as always, for your interesting an informative posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenH Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 You're right, Ben. All appear to be in great shape. Amazing. Did he design anything in Houston?Thanks, as always, for your interesting an informative posts.Yes, Thomas Price designed the Lasher house in Houston. You can view it on Houston Mod's website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenH Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thought I'd update:On the day after Thanksgiving 2008, my girlfriend and I went down to Galveston to have a look around and see what was left. It appears that most of Price's work has survived unscathed. I didn't get around to everything, but as far as I can tell, only the Sterling house sustained heavy damage. The exteriors are in tact, but the interior looks to have been completely destroyed. The Yen house was hit pretty hard, but the owners were already well under way with rebuilding. Other than that, everything else seems fine. Even the Kelso camp survived (which came as a shock). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thought I'd update:On the day after Thanksgiving 2008, my girlfriend and I went down to Galveston to have a look around and see what was left. It appears that most of Price's work has survived unscathed. I didn't get around to everything, but as far as I can tell, only the Sterling house sustained heavy damage. The exteriors are in tact, but the interior looks to have been completely destroyed. The Yen house was hit pretty hard, but the owners were already well under way with rebuilding. Other than that, everything else seems fine. Even the Kelso camp survived (which came as a shock).The Kelso house is constructed out of concrete. W.A. Kelso was a prominent concrete supplier in Galveston county at that time. He built the place partly to promote the use of the building materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenH Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 I never posted this one, and I don't know how it faired through Ike, but it was one of the more impressive of Price's Galveston residences. Good news: The Lasher house on Timberwilde has been repaired, to the point that you can't tell there was any damage. This is the Houston residence with the porte-coche that was so badly damaged. Also, Houston Mod president Russell Howard has found a presentation drawing for a proposed, but unbuilt residence by Price. It was to have been at the corner of Shady River Road and Briar Dr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 The Artillery Club, 3102 Avenue O, is available for anyone who wants to post screenshots - http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1 and the adjacent view rotations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenH Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 The Artillery Club, 3102 Avenue O, is available for anyone who wants to post screenshots - http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1 and the adjacent view rotationsI tried to get a few shots of that, but there was a function going on the day I took all these, and security was out in the street. Price also did the Sealy & Smith Professional Building (demolished) and a few others that I can't remember at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 The new Cite magazine has an article on the Jack Tar Motor Inn in Galveston that had an addition by Price.I tried to get a few shots of that, but there was a function going on the day I took all these, and security was out in the street. Price also did the Sealy & Smith Professional Building (demolished) and a few others that I can't remember at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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