Whatever happened to the Thaxton house?

[Scott08]

Been lurking for a year now, my first post. On a day off last week, I got nosy and tracked down the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Thaxton house. From articles in the NY Times circa 1991, the house was spared from demolition and to be restored. You can't really see much from the street but the gate numbers are in a familiar Wright font. The original house was supposed to be about 1800 sq ft, but HCAD shows a "rebuilt/new" house of over 10000 sq ft from 1995. Some pictures on the net circa 2000 suggest it was completely rebuilt and enlarged. Anyone know the whole scoop?

[sevfiv]

i am sure others will chime in with more information, but here are a few other discussions on the board:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=5336

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=9142

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=6819

[BenH]

Been lurking for a year now, my first post. On a day off last week, I got nosy and tracked down the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Thaxton house. From articles in the NY Times circa 1991, the house was spared from demolition and to be restored. You can't really see much from the street but the gate numbers are in a familiar Wright font. The original house was supposed to be about 1800 sq ft, but HCAD shows a "rebuilt/new" house of over 10000 sq ft from 1995. Some pictures on the net circa 2000 suggest it was completely rebuilt and enlarged. Anyone know the whole scoop?

The original Thaxton house was nearly unlivable. It was tiny and uncompromising because of Wright's demands on his clients, so while the Gaw family was restoring it, they decided to make sympathetic additions. The restoration and additions were carried out by Kirksey Architects. If you look at the house, you'll notice there is a large, prairie style pavilion toward the back. That is the new portion. The front of the house is the older, restored part. The project isn't one that's publicized much, as Kirksey is more into large scale commercial work.

Welcome to the board!

[Jersey01]

The Thaxton house has been done in a sort of Asian style now, and it is owned by a dentist. That's all I really know.

Here are some photos of how it looks now:

http://www.exploringart.net/index.php?n=Fr...haxtonResidence

http://www.arcaid.captureweb.co.uk/feature.asp?JobNo=10387

[sevfiv]

and here's a NY Times article, pre-restoration (1991):

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...757C0A967958260

"I think it is wonderful that Frank Lloyd Wright properties mean so much to some people," said Brian Nevins, who bought Thaxton House eight years ago but has never lived in it. He said he had intended to build on the land but found another house for himself. "It is not up to me what happens to the house. I cannot be judgmental about what the purchaser chooses to do with it."

[...]

Mr. Thaxton said he has mixed emotions about the possibility of demolition. "If it was still in its original state, and had not been cannibalized until it is not really the house Mr. Wright had in mind, I would feel pretty bad about it," he said. "I guess I do kind of hope that someone will buy it and restore it, though I don't think anyone will. The money grabbers will get it, I'm afraid."