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Home At 9602 Moonlight Dr.


Willowisp

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That's not the house in Meyerland by Cohen is it?

If you want to systematically make copies of the modern house plans with the $100 deposit system, then that would be a great idea. The place Houston Mod uses for printing may offer a discount, though I know because I don't deal with that directly.

How many moderns do you think we're talking about? PM me if you want to make a project borrowing the plans.

JasonThis 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.

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That's not the house in Meyerland by Cohen is it?
Yes, it was the home of Robert Cohen. And it is under contract and will be demolished by the new owner who is building himself a home.All I wanted was for someone to take pics and secure the blueprints for the future enjoyment of modern enthusiasts. I understand that people have day jobs and don't have a ton of free time for such endeavours. I wouldn't have so much time to house stalk either if I wasn't looking for a home to purchase myself. Once it closes I am still going to try and see inside with a breathing filter just to enjoy. I will try to take some pics then. Edited by missjanel
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Yes, it was the home of Robert Cohen. And it is under contract and will be demolished by the new owner who is building himself a home.All I wanted was for someone to take pics and secure the blueprints for the future enjoyment of modern enthusiasts. I understand that people have day jobs and don't have a ton of free time for such endeavours. I wouldn't have so much time to house stalk either if I wasn't looking for a home to purchase myself. Once it closes I am still going to try and see inside with a breathing filter just to enjoy. I will try to take some pics then.
Here's a nice pic of the exterior.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomanderson/381929338/

icon8.gif ! (re: the demolition)

which street is it on?

Edited by sevfiv
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icon8.gif ! (re: the demolition)

which street is it on?

I doubt there is a permit for demolition yet since the transaction has not yet closed and won't until about the middle of next month. But when I asked for the blueprints today the HOA already knew that it was being bought for development of a new home.

FWIW the HOA said that they don't go out of their way to throw away the blueprints when new homes occupy the lot. They said that the blueprints "may" get parsed from time to time but that most are probably still in the HOA files. Anyone can check them out for the nominal deposit I mentioned previously.

But to answer your question it's on Moonlight.

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Terrible news. I've had an ominous feeling about this house for 2 years now.

I have the feeling Meyerland is about to get mowed down and it seems like there's not that much anyone can do to stop it.

thanks - that's the one at the corner of braesheather

i'll add it to the front of the (long) photo queue

neat boomerang-esque pool, too

moonlight_cohen.jpg

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Photo by Ben H.

Moderator: Please move the last comments under the 3448 Locke Lane topic that pertain to this topic to this topic.

According to another post on HAIF, the contemporary masterpiece at 9602 Moonlight Drive in Meyerland is to be sold to a new owner who will have it demolished. Stephen Fox, in the American Institute of Architects Houston Architectural Guide states, "This is a quite extraordinary production, a circular steel-framed pavilion, capped with a folded plate roof, which is only part of a much larger contemporary style house."

This house is truly a masterpiece of mid twentieth century design. It by far surpasses almost any others. Even when compared to the finest of California, this house would shine. Of all the sites available in Houston, it certainly must be possible to find a lot with a less stunning house to sacrifice.

Robert Cohen, the designer and builder of the house, incorporated the most lavish elements and themes of the period. If my memory is correct, you enter through double doors after crossing pads of concrete over a pond water feature. The foyer is walled with floor to ceiling glass panels which lead to the circular steel framed living pavilion. There are triangular windows topping each wall segment created by the folded plate roof structure and also glass at the base of each wall panel. This pavilion is anchored to the ground only at the center of the circle by an elevated platform. The floor beams are thus cantilevered out from this center platform so the pavilion appears to float above the lawn. Two of the wall panels are glass while the others are upholstered in raw silk and used as art gallery space. A custom made sofa, probably twenty feet in length, which corresponded to the curvature of the outside wall, is situated upon a custom rug and forms the primary sitting area.

The convergence of the roof plates is the location of a circular skylight with a corresponding floor planter box containing several preserved palm trees. The kitchen area is also located within the pavilion space, behind a partial wall partition. The kitchen is styled similarly to photographs you see of the proposed Moon Base of the same period. Behind the kitchen are large storage areas, a bedroom and garage. The dining room, located next to the pavilion, is near the kitchen. The dining room will remind you of being inside of Jeanie's bottle from the 1960s television show I Dream of Jeanie. The color scheme, like Jeanie's bottle, is pink and purple. One wall features narrow vertical diamond shaped cutouts opening to the foyer and is accented with fur wall covering. Glass sliding doors lead from this area to the patio and pool.

Back through the foyer extends a corridor leading to a guest bathroom, an office with several built-ins, and a master bedroom all on the back or pool view side of the corridor. The master bedroom has an aquarium built into the wall and also is complete with some built in furniture pieces, one of which houses the control panel to the sophisticated lighting and sound system for the house. Opposite the master bedroom is another bathroom, guest room and a large bedroom divided by a folding wall for the children. Small, walled and gated gardens are accessible from these rooms.

The family room is located at the end of this wing of the house and overlooks the large swimming pool and patio/lawn area. The space is expansive since the lot is almost one-half acre in size.

Photo

Photo

Edited by SpaceAge
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Thanks, guys! I was going to bump this to its own topic too, but you did it better. Especially thanks to SpaceAge for the description. I've loved this house ever since driving around Braesheather in the mid-80s and going "What the h_ll is that?" (also easily done on Glenmeadow!) In missjanel's post (props, janel, for bringing this to our attention) she said that the new owner said that "mold and neglect" had done this house in. I'm sorry, but I go to the Galveston Historical Homes Tour every year, and there's almost always at least one house that is either restored or undergoing restoration from far, far worse condition (fire damage, years of neglect, etc.) I don't get it. It's almost enough to wish that the City would place a moratorium on demolition of any building not condemned as unsafe by the city.

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HCAD says that the house is owned by John O'Quinn. It seems inconsistent that someone who is so interested in perserving old cars and the history of the automobile (including ones from this era) would have bought this house just 3 years ago to sit on and sell for lot value. It looks like the previous sale was just over $500,000 in 2004. I can't imagine that this lot is worth that much. Has it been vacant since he bought it?

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i went by there last week but took a closer look today, and it definitely has that abandoned smell coming out of it.

it seems probable that it has been vacant the entire time, but he has managed to keep up the pool and landscaping quite nicely.

(he lives in River Oaks - and in this case, he bought the home, tore it down, and rebuilt something typicalesque, at least from aerial view...).

apparently the Cohens moved to the Bristol highrise in the Galleria...i wonder if they had any idea that O'Quinn has let the house rot away.

Edited by sevfiv
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John O'Quinn is obviously not low on funds. We need to contact him and convince him this house is worth saving.

From the Columbus Dispatch of August 21, 2007:

A billionaire Houston trial lawyer who has collected more than 800 classic cars now owns most of the Rolls-Royce cars that Columbus developer Richard J. Solove put on the auction block.

John O'Quinn successfully bid on eight of Solove's 13 Rolls-Royce automobiles that were sold Sunday at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auction in California.

Solove's collection, which included two other cars, sold for $14.3 million. He's donating the money, minus auction expenses, to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, as well as Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Solove, 82, had predicted that the cars would go for about $15 million.

The collection's "Corgi," a 1912 Rolls-Royce SG limousine, sold for the most at $2.97 million.

The cars sold within an hour. O'Quinn bought all but one of the Silver Ghost models, which were the only known collection of first-series 40/50hp Ghosts, manufactured from 1907 through 1915.

He has been buying vintage cars for a number of years and plans to open a car museum in Houston in 2009. Among noted cars he already owns are a 1903 Ford Model A, a Batmobile, President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 Packard limousine and the 1975 Ford Escort used by Pope John Paul II.

O'Quinn has amassed a fortune heading up such cases as Texas' $17.3 billion settlement with the tobacco industry and lawsuits against breast-implant manufacturers. Most recently, he represented Virgie Arthur, the late Anna Nicole Smith's mother, in her battle to obtain custody of Smith's daughter.

The lawyer purchased a number of other cars at the Pebble Beach auction, which broke an overall sales record of $60 million this year. O'Quinn could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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If somebody wants to do something about this situation -- and I agree something should be done -- then they have to do more than post on this site. It's not all that difficult either. Simply contact Randy Pace (randy.pace@cityofhouston.net) and inquire about a Landmark designation. Even if this is secured, (and I believe with proper documentation HAHC can designate such) it will not protect the structure from being torn down -- which is likely a foregone conclusion -- but at least it will send a message.

Or we could continue to whine about noteworthy architectural structures continually being demolished.

Anyone want to step up to the plate?

Kinda quiet out there...

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i agree, contacting people involved or that could be involved is the only way to get things rolling.

i have serious doubts that his mind will be changed, and am not so sure that city council would vote for landmark status without the consent of the owner (as they did for the River Oaks and Alabama theaters/shopping centers), but at least making things known will help a lot.

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Even if this is secured, (and I believe with proper documentation HAHC can designate such) it will not protect the structure from being torn down -- which is likely a foregone conclusion -- but at least it will send a message.

the message is quite clear, the city will not step on the foot of developers. the "gifts" provided ensure that.

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It looks to me as though the previous owner was looking to make a fortune and kept the asking price well out of the reach of most home buyers. Here is the history from MLS, each time with a different listing agent:

3/26/02 to 7/13/02 - $780,000 asking price

9/17/02 to 11/22/02 - $659,000 asking price

2/18/03 to 6/30/03 - $629,000 asking price

7/19/03 to 6/30/04 - $589,000 asking price, sold for $515,000

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This saddens me; it's my absolute favorite house in Houston. I grew up in Meyerland, and my parents knew the folks who built the house; they attended several parties there. They always referred to it as "The House of Formica"; I guess in the 60's Formica was a space-age product. I remember going through the house once as a child, and being amazed by the huge round room. What a truly unique space.

(I actually looked into purchasing the house before I moved to the Woodlands, but the $700K+ asking price seemed more than a little absurd.)

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i agree, contacting people involved or that could be involved is the only way to get things rolling.

i have serious doubts that his mind will be changed, and am not so sure that city council would vote for landmark status without the consent of the owner (as they did for the River Oaks and Alabama theaters/shopping centers), but at least making things known will help a lot.

Yes, working politely with the owners is the only way to be successful. Even with the improved preservation ordinances, the city still has no way to force owners into saving anything. We can't take peoples property rights away. We can show them options and that there is concern.

So, if you are concerned, you can easily find the owners website and send him a note. That's what I did and his staff very politely acknowledged it along with Jason's call. Let's keep a count of people who contact the owner. So far, we know of 2.

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Yes, working politely with the owners is the only way to be successful. Even with the improved preservation ordinances, the city still has no way to force owners into saving anything. We can't take peoples property rights away. We can show them options and that there is concern.

So, if you are concerned, you can easily find the owners website and send him a note. That's what I did and his staff very politely acknowledged it along with Jason's call. Let's keep a count of people who contact the owner. So far, we know of 2.

3 actually; I contacted his office about a month and a half ago.

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