marmer Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 So today I did an intown bike ride as I often do on Sunday mornings. The ride leader is a longtime Houstonian with an appreciation for old structures. As it happened today, we rode by the River Oaks Shopping Center demo, the Allen House demo, and the 950 Heights demo. Also one other demo on Bissonnet, which *really* surprised me (even though it had been looking abandoned for a while: The odor of sewage kept seeping out of various drains, adding to the "fun" and at last I saw this, which brought a grim chuckle: Edit: we also rode by the defunct Pig Stand and drank a Coke from a machine at the Amtrak station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I also noticed the Waverly Ct demolition today. I didn't know that house was only 8 yrs old! Did it have problems with mold or moisture intrusion? The last few times I went by the house, it looked like it had some industrial ventilators hooked up to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 I also noticed the Waverly Ct demolition today. I didn't know that house was only 8 yrs old! Did it have problems with mold or moisture intrusion? The last few times I went by the house, it looked like it had some industrial ventilators hooked up to it.That ducting had been there for months. As had, interestingly enough, a Glassman Shoemake Maldonado sign. Maybe they are going to replace it with another mod house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 First thing that comes to mind! Imagine living inside a Chinese take out container! With 6 you get egg roll? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasdago Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 That was a great house - hopefully they're replacing it with another one because something was structurally wrong with the first one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey01 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Wow, I too had this depressing bike ride. We must ride the same route. I noticed this last Thursday, I was riding by the Waverly Ct. while the final demolition was happening. I got nice and muddy from that ordeal, actually. That house was a neat place, but it's poor state did make it an eyesore, and I heard that it had issues, which I would have loved to have seen taken care of. Hopefully it will be a model for the new project that will come up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Anyone know if there any pictures out there of David Baer's "sadly mutilated 50s modern house" before it got mutilated and later demo'd? 2 Waverly Ct is a fave of mine, the Morris House.Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 I was specifically looking for the Glassman house the other day and couldnt find it.... now I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 here is an article about the Waverly housethe original owner sold the house to protect another...http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/ar...ay/5207509.htmlThe house on Waverly Court was one of those works that please both architects and regular people. The American Institute of Architects gave it two awards, and it earned a photo in what architects refer to as "the guide," Stephen Fox's Houston Architectural Guide. The neighbors liked the place, too.But the house's second owners apparently weren't among its fans. The house, built in 1999, disappeared early this fall, razed to make way for something new. Houstonians have grown used to seeing historical houses torn down to make way for newer ones. But 1 Waverly Court was a surprise. That house? Only 8 years old?"It's so Houston," laments Susan Garwood, the original owner. "To be torn down for its lot. Everything here is all about the dirt."Garwood appreciates that Waverly Court is a terrific piece of dirt.She charged architect Carrie Glassman Shoemake with designing a modern house that respected its neighborhood. Shoemake chose brick that matched the brick of the architect-designed house across the street and corrugated metal that matched the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, only a couple of blocks away. The metal was also a sly salute to Garwood, a former president of the CAMH board.She went to five places searching for the perfect doorknobs and spent even longer looking for the perfect 1 to serve as her house number. She planted a garden of rare plants, many of them Texas natives, and labeled them with their Latin names. She was deeply happy there.But in 2003, not long after the garden had grown in, she inherited another house: a 1920s mansion in River Oaks designed by Birdsall Briscoe. Its architecture also merited a photo in "the guide."Garwood's grandparents had lived there. She loved the place and hated seeing that kind of graceful old mansion disappear from River Oaks. Determined not to let it be a teardown, she moved her family and put her Waverly Court house up for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I couldn't believe it myself. Damn! Here are some nice pics of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 Yeah, I saw Lisa's article in Zest on Sunday. Thanks to Lisa for finding the story!I think there may be a little more behind the scenes -- the flexible ducting running in the windows and the Glassman Shoemake Maldonado sign in the corner of the (overgrown) yard. Probably evidence of the alterations the second owners requested before giving up on the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgg Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I think there may be a little more behind the scenes -- the flexible ducting running in the windows and the Glassman Shoemake Maldonado sign in the corner of the (overgrown) yard. Probably evidence of the alterations the second owners requested before giving up on the house.Nobody I talked to mentioned any structural problems at all -- no mold, no nada -- so yeah, the ducting and signs must have been related to that aborted renovation.The house's first owner, Susan Garwood, said the house was designed to be low-maintenance. It was fine when she moved out, and since it was only eight years old, I doubt anything serious could have gone wrong with it. Breaks my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pode101 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I live out-of-town and drove by this site the other day and had to do a double-take, searching frantically for my beloved landmark. Delirious Houston.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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