Karl Kamrath Home At 3448 Locke Ln.

[sevfiv]

Houston Mod has recenly learned that the first modern house Karl Kamrath designed for his family at 3448 Locke Lane (1939) is scheduled to be demolished. The Kamrath House is the earliest example of Unsonian

architecture, which was inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, in Houston. It was published in House Beautiful, Architectural Forum, and Better Homes & Gardens. Kamrath's second house at 8 Tiel Way (1951)

is not endangered at this time.

The house has already been stripped of its architectural woodwork. Neo-tradtionalist architect Jay Baker has been selected to design its replacement.

http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs083/1101243720511/img/49.jpg

here is the permit text for the new residence:

Project No:

07035628

Date:

6/27/2007

USE:

NEW S.F. RESIDENCE W/ATTACHED GARAGE

Owner / Occupant:

KC & RANDA WEINER

Job Address:

3448 LOCKE LN

Tax ID:

0400601590630024

Subdivision:

RIVER OAKS

Valuation:

700000

Buyer:

THE SOUTHHAMPTON GROUP

Address:

2472 BOLSOVER 371 77005

Phone:

7135280264

and the demolition:

Project No:

07048053

Date:

6/15/2007

USE:

DEMO RES/ SEWER DISC.

Owner / Occupant:

KC & RANDA WEINER

Job Address:

3448 LOCKE LN

Tax ID:

0400601590630024

Subdivision:

RIVER OAKS

Valuation:

0

Buyer:

WILLIAM DENNIS

Address:

1748 OAK TREE 77080

Phone:

7134657231

[sdmarc]

The house is already gone, nothing but dirt and a couple of trees on the lot. Houston loses another piece of its history.

[Willowisp]

Sorry, it got torn down faster than I could get the email out! There was no stopping it though.

The house is already gone, nothing but dirt and a couple of trees on the lot. Houston loses another piece of its history.

[sevfiv]

Yep - took a drive by and it was a mud pit.

I'm not familiar with Jay Baker architects, though...

[BenH]

http://www.jaybakerarchitects.com/

[sevfiv]

I wish the site had larger pictures.

[arl2105]

Proposal for Houston Mod:

I have been a member of Houston Mod for a little over a year now - the last major event I attended was the Neuhaus & Taylor exhibition / "Frame House" party, and it was a blast - the guests I brought with me were truly coverted to mod lovers that night. I have since attended the "Mod of the Month" open houses and a handful of RDA lectures, even the Preservation Dallas ranch house tour, but every time I read about another demolition, my heart sinks a little bit more.

Due to the recent forum traffic surrounding notable mod demolitions/proposed or suspected demolitions on this thread, do any members of the Mod Squad have enough clout to approach the owners of these properties and request one last fete in the empty structures before they go down? Would that be sacrilegious??

In the event that demolition cannot be stopped, at least our organization could try to raise awareness and serve its mission by hosting a "memorial" party of sorts in the empty venue, replete with lecture, photography of the interior/exterior, and use these events to stir the preservationist sentiments of newcomers to Houston, architectural philanthropists, and/or those currently outside the mod architecture fold.

Hope this suggestion doesn't sound naive, but Frame Party was such a success, I feel that with a little creativity, there is room for this type of event under the Houston Mod umbrella.

[Willowisp]

I don't want to get into details, but I have once called an owner asking if they were trying to find someone who wouldn't tear the house down, and this was a house that they really wanted to see stand; they said they were really hoping it wouldn't be torn down and I had talked to them before about how much they loved the house and how they had hopped on it when it went up for sale before. It was still sold to someone who is tearing it down. I think most times the owners don't think that someone would be interested in saving it and are not willing to wait long enough to find that special person. As gorgeous as The Gordon House, The Frame House, and The Neuhaus House are, there aren't that many Dana Harpers and Mica Mosbachers out there with the money, vision, and patience to see a project through.

These demolitions are heartbreaking for people like us. Ben Koush recently sent me a list of Contemporary Arts Association Modern Home Tours of the 50's and 60's (I'll put them in a new thread). I'm not sure, but I think maybe half of those houses are gone already...

As for a farewell party, that sounds pretty unlikely considering it's private property and the sellers are trying to get rid of the property and the new owners are trying to get rid of the house on the property... It all happens so fast, even when the realtors "on the good guys side" are watching out for the houses to go on the market. The most we can really do is continue to try to get these types of houses in the press and educate the "average joe" (and I was an average joe when it comes to modernism less than 3 years ago, by the way) and show people how amazing the houses are to live in.

By the way, I have found that even in New Caanan, CT, the "mod mecca", they have had major problems with McMansions. It's not only Houston. We are actually pretty fortunate to have had so many modern architectural wonders built here.

Jason

[missjanel]

Proposal for Houston Mod:

I have been a member of Houston Mod for a little over a year now - the last major event I attended was the Neuhaus & Taylor exhibition / "Frame House" party, and it was a blast - the guests I brought with me were truly coverted to mod lovers that night. I have since attended the "Mod of the Month" open houses and a handful of RDA lectures, even the Preservation Dallas ranch house tour, but every time I read about another demolition, my heart sinks a little bit more.

Due to the recent forum traffic surrounding notable mod demolitions/proposed or suspected demolitions on this thread, do any members of the Mod Squad have enough clout to approach the owners of these properties and request one last fete in the empty structures before they go down? Would that be sacrilegious??

In the event that demolition cannot be stopped, at least our organization could try to raise awareness and serve its mission by hosting a "memorial" party of sorts in the empty venue, replete with lecture, photography of the interior/exterior, and use these events to stir the preservationist sentiments of newcomers to Houston, architectural philanthropists, and/or those currently outside the mod architecture fold.

Hope this suggestion doesn't sound naive, but Frame Party was such a success, I feel that with a little creativity, there is room for this type of event under the Houston Mod umbrella.

I have been looking for a house for sometime and it's proven to be quite challenging lately (even for a realtor) since there is such a shortage of available homes on the market. I did find one home that I felt was priced low enough and had enough potential to undo all the heinous changes that had been made by the current owner in the last 5 years or so. But negotiations didn't go as well as I had planned and the home is now selling to someone else. (It's a long story, please don't ask as I'm extremely bitter about the whole transaction). What I learned from the process though was that the homeowners association still had the original blueprints on file which was going to make putting the house back together much easier. I'm hopeful that I will find another house in the same neighborhood and have been driving around daily in hopes of finding a FSBO or vacant house that the owner might be interested in selling.

I know this is long but I promise I'm getting to the point.

As if bemoaning the one that got away is not enough I have to witness the never-ending teardown craze of homes that are nearing execution day. While I was driving around today I ran into a builder who is in the process of purchasing one of the nicer homes in the area to demolish and build his own custom home. He admited that at first his interest was in renovating the home but that it has so much mold and is in such disrepair that all that will be salvaged is the exterior rock facing. So I began to wonder what happens to the blueprints when a home gets torn down. I'm pretty sure the HOA just throws them away. What a loss!

I am not a member of Houston Mod so I am not sure what the organization does to preserve the record of homes that will demolished. But these home are going to be torn down whether we like it or not. Is Houston Mod capable of taking ownership of the blueprints and documenting the home before it's demise? I realize that storing blueprints takes up space and none may be available but what about having them scanned and stored digitally? As I mentioned I am not a member so this may be something that the organization is already doing?

[BenH]

Jason and I were talking about what the next Houston Mod book is going to be and something like this came up. I suggested that it would be a good idea, though it would require alot of luck and some extensive research, to do a book on the top 20 or 25 houses in Houston that have been demolished. Houses included could be Bolton & Barnstone's Winterbotham house and DeMoustier houses (UH's library has extensive photos and drawings for these), Edward Durell Stone's Kempner house, Wylie W. Vale's Hull house, MacKie & Kamrath's Mitchell house, etc.

What do y'all think?

[strickn]

Jason and I were talking about what the next Houston Mod book is going to be and something like this came up. I suggested that it would be a good idea, though it would require alot of luck and some extensive research, to do a book on the top 20 or 25 houses in Houston that have been demolished. Houses included could be Bolton & Barnstone's Winterbotham house and DeMoustier houses (UH's library has extensive photos and drawings for these), Edward Durell Stone's Kempner house, Wylie W. Vale's Hull house, MacKie & Kamrath's Mitchell house, etc.

What do y'all think?

Fantastic and just the sort of thing to spur deep appreciation and cause people to take time to reconsider treating places cavalierly.

[strickn]

Fantastic and just the sort of thing to spur deep appreciation and cause people to take time to reconsider treating places cavalierly.

If you'll help me know how to go about it, I'd love to be part of the researching and writing team. Full disclosure: I have one semester left of college in the North and don't know whether that will be fall or spring.

[Willowisp]

I am not a member of Houston Mod so I am not sure what the organization does to preserve the record of homes that will demolished. But these home are going to be torn down whether we like it or not. Is Houston Mod capable of taking ownership of the blueprints and documenting the home before it's demise? I realize that storing blueprints takes up space and none may be available but what about having them scanned and stored digitally? As I mentioned I am not a member so this may be something that the organization is already doing?

Some of the homes in question are well known and have been published and some are not that well known. Another issue is that Houston is so big that it's hard to keep up with it all. We have realtor friends and other architecture lovers that keep their finger on the real estate pulse, and that helps a lot, but it won't keep the buildings alive. More often than not, the homes are gone before we know it. I think developers drive the neighborhoods looking for houses and make offers to owners. It wouldn't surprise me if they search HCAD looking for people who have owned the houses for a long time, figure the people are older and knock on the doors.

Like you said about one house, sometimes a house is in really bad shape and not financially feasable to save. Other times, the land is so valuable that it is difficult to find someone willing to pay for the land and then pay for the restoration of a house just for the love of it. And it's not like the original owners are "looking" for someone to save their house most of the time. In fact, owners may be resigned to the fact that it will get torn down.

There are exceptions to this, and there is hope out there. The Stude House by Hugo Neuhaus on Tiel Way for example is a small house on a very expensive lot, and the owner is keeping it. The Frame House, Carter House, and the Neuhaus House are other examples, and I was surprised when I heard it, but even the Menil House was in danger of being torn down shortly after Dominique de Menil's death.

This year, 2 Board members at Houston Mod helped facilitate the archives of the architect and brilliant draftsman, Lucian Hood, to be donated to UH. We would love to continue this kind of work. As for blueprints, I'm still new to all this, but I don't know how often mid-century houses still have the blueprints or when anyone knows where they are 50+ years later. We have 2 full copies of my house and half of a 3rd and consider ourselves very fortunate to have them. Actually, having the plans makes me feel a little closer to our architect somehow.

We are always taking new memberships, and will also be looking for some new Board members soon, so PM me if you are interested in getting more involved. I think a lot of the people who join in discussions here would make for involved Board members.

Jason

[strickn]

This year, 2 Board members at Houston Mod helped facilitate the archives of the architect and brilliant draftsman, Lucian Hood, to be donated to UH. We would love to continue this kind of work. As for blueprints, I'm still new to all this, but I don't know how often mid-century houses still have the blueprints or when anyone knows where they are 50+ years later.

What missjanel said was, "What I learned from the process though was that the homeowners association still had the original blueprints on file ... So I began to wonder what happens to the blueprints when a home gets torn down -- I'm pretty sure the HOA just throws them away."

Edited August 13, 2007 by strickn

[Willowisp]

I talked to a long time Houston Mod Board member last night who said the more organized HOAs are a "brick wall" when it comes to getting blueprints or house plans from them, and that in particular ROPO (River Oaks Property Owners) Association is a no go. He has tried to get plans for different research projects and never had any compiance. I guess they just ignore you if you call and leave a message. Still, I doubt that they would throw away blueprints by well known Houston architects, but I could be wrong.

I know that Houston Mod would be honored to house historical blueprints if they were offered, or to facilitate donations of archives to University libraries, and we are always trying to make our name known as the organization to go to for modern preservation efforts in Houston. Though only 5 years old, Houston Mod has been able to accomplish a lot for a dedicated but small group of people who all have jobs and lives separate from "saving Houston from eating itself". I think the main way we could/should go about getting blueprints and plans is through the owners themselves if we can. That takes a major effort because at this point, most people aren't coming to us, we're going to them.

Future events/plans/exhibits/books will be discussed at our next meeting and I will bring the "Modern Houston Lost" idea to light as well as some other ideas that have been discussed on HAIF. There are lots of amazing houses that have been torn down (tragically).

By the way, I did see a Cite Magazine article on "Lost Houston" this summer. I don't remember the issue, and the newest building included was a Miesian bank from about 1961 I think (possibly Harwood Taylor?) Also, the Barthelme book includes buildings that have all been lost now, and the Harwood Taylor and Neuhaus books include several lost houses. Certainly all of these houses deserve to be documented whether in book form or on the Houston Mod website.

Jason

What missjanel said was, "What I learned from the process though was that the homeowners association still had the original blueprints on file ... So I began to wonder what happens to the blueprints when a home gets torn down -- I'm pretty sure the HOA just throws them away."

[missjanel]

This HOA actually lets you check them out with a $100 deposit. If you don't bring them back they cash your check. If you bring them back they give your check back to you. I still have the plans for the house we were trying to buy. I torture myself with them regularly. If the house is being bought by someone wanting to tear it down then I will ask the HOA to keep the plans. Who knows maybe someday we will build a new house on the old plans. It was designed by Charles Sawyer. I believe before he became an architect.

As for the other house I will check to see if the plans are available and who the architect was. It's sad to see it torn down as it's such a unique home. The living room was round and the builder told me the oven opens in a gull wing fashion. Here is a pic from a couple of years ago before the mold took over.

I'm usually poor at posting pics so forgive me if it doesn't show up.

[strickn]

You do a dozen of these parties (well, at least seven or eight) and you have the most poignant and current possible material for the next Houston Mod book.

Proposal for Houston Mod:

I have been a member of Houston Mod for a little over a year now - the last major event I attended was the Neuhaus & Taylor exhibition / "Frame House" party, and it was a blast - the guests I brought with me were truly coverted to mod lovers that night. I have since attended the "Mod of the Month" open houses and a handful of RDA lectures, even the Preservation Dallas ranch house tour, but every time I read about another demolition, my heart sinks a little bit more.

Due to the recent forum traffic surrounding notable mod demolitions/proposed or suspected demolitions on this thread, do any members of the Mod Squad have enough clout to approach the owners of these properties and request one last fete in the empty structures before they go down? Would that be sacrilegious??

In the event that demolition cannot be stopped, at least our organization could try to raise awareness and serve its mission by hosting a "memorial" party of sorts in the empty venue, replete with lecture, photography of the interior/exterior, and use these events to stir the preservationist sentiments of newcomers to Houston, architectural philanthropists, and/or those currently outside the mod architecture fold.

Hope this suggestion doesn't sound naive, but Frame Party was such a success, I feel that with a little creativity, there is room for this type of event under the Houston Mod umbrella.

[marmer]

This HOA actually lets you check them out with a $100 deposit. If you don't bring them back they cash your check. If you bring them back they give your check back to you. I still have the plans for the house we were trying to buy. I torture myself with them regularly. If the house is being bought by someone wanting to tear it down then I will ask the HOA to keep the plans. Who knows maybe someday we will build a new house on the old plans. It was designed by Charles Sawyer. I believe before he became an architect.

As for the other house I will check to see if the plans are available and who the architect was. It's sad to see it torn down as it's such a unique home. The living room was round and the builder told me the oven opens in a gull wing fashion. Here is a pic from a couple of years ago before the mold took over.

I'm usually poor at posting pics so forgive me if it doesn't show up.

That's the Cohen house on Moonlight, for anyone who comes late to this thread. It had its own thread in Houston Mod.

[domus48]

Speaking of "parties"...

Houston Mod 2009 Architectural Exhibit

July 9 - August 28 / Architecture Center Houston

Houston Mod presents its 4th architectural exhibition entitled Endangered Modern: The Real Story.

The exhibit will open with a public reception on July 9, 2009 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. It will be held at the galleries of the Houston AIA / Architecture Center Houston, 315 Capital #120 and will run through August 28, 2009.

The exhibit aims to create a greater understanding of the threats to architecturally significant structures that ultimately lead to their destruction and loss.

Nearly a dozen significant modern architectural landmarks that face potential demolition or destruction are detailed with both historic information and current photographs.

Structures highlighted in the exhibit include:

Harris County Domed Stadium

The Prudential Building

First Pasadena State Bank Tower

University of Houston Student Life Plaza

Alabama Theater

Penguin Arms Apartments

Memorial Bend neighborhood modern houses

Riverside Terrace neighborhood modern houses

Richmond Office Corridor (2900-3400 Richmond)

The exhibition will make use of architectural drawings, new and historic photographs, models, historic objects, and renderings. A complimentary brochure will provide additional photos and context.

The exhibition is a collaborative project led by Houston Mod board member Monica Savino and includes the participation of the Houston Mod board and other notable local preservationists and architects.

About Houston Mod

Houston Mod is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to promoting knowledge and appreciation of modern architecture and design in the Houston area. Houston Mod advocates the preservation of this cultural legacy and seeks support from its members and the general public in achieving this goal. Houston Mod's programs include exchange of information, documentation of cultural resources, lectures, publications, exhibitions, tours, and preservation advocacy. More about Houston Mod can be found on the group's web site at www.HoustonMod.org