MD Anderson Main Building At 1515 Holcombe Blvd.

[FilioScotia]

I once gave a proposal to replace the cooling towers and associated piping in the HMB building. The cooling towers are located on the high roof behind big architectural louvers. It was an elaborate plan envolving erecting a hoist over the side of the building. It was apparently too expensive though. I also gave a proposal to convert the public toilets to ADA. I was amazed to find a full chase behind each toilet room that a maintenance man could walk into. You never see this type of space allowed for such things these days. I did get that job. I also gave a proposal to remove the pool equipment and piping. It was behind the employee lockers on the ground floor and basement areas. I must have been too high on that bid though. This was all around 1992 or 1993. MDACC was apparently looking longer term on this building back in those days.

In a radio interview on KUHF back when all this started in 2008, Bill Daigneau of MDACC said the old building is slowly falling in on itself. There are visible cracks in ceilings and walls from top to bottom, including the lobby and in the mural itself. It's no longer safe for people to be in it, and repairing it would cost more than demolishing and building new. Also, let's face it. It's just a refitted office building that's not suited for what MD Anderson does. They want something built for medical research and hospital care.

Here's a link to audio and transcript of that story in KUHF's news archives in April of 2008. There also some interesting photos of Peter Hurd painting the mural back in 52.

http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=31046

For those who wonder why removing the mural is so difficult, here's some information about the "fresco" technique of painting.

"Fresco Painting is one done with earth colors, mixed with distilled water on a specially prepared plaster wall. There are several kinds of mural paintings: Oil paints are used on canvas and the canvas pasted to the wall, and a secco mural, which consists of letting the plaster dry and then painting on the wall tempera color. An example of this is Peter Hurd’s mural in the Prudential Life Insurance Building, Houston, Texas.

A Fresco Mural is one of the most lasting, the most expensive, and the most difficult types of mural decoration. Few artists will even attempt it. There are frescoes in Pompeii, Italy, which were covered with ashes and lava. After they were uncovered, the colors seemed just as brilliant as they were at the time they were painted. An example of another well-known fresco is the evocation of Genesis by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter’s in Rome.

Fresco demands perfection in painting; mastering the art of making a perfect joining of one day’s work to the next is also the fresco painter’s goal. The cutting of the edge of the finished part to provide for the next day’s plastering was done before the painting was finished."

Edited April 4, 2010 by FilioScotia

[lockmat]

photo by Ben Hill

Preservationists tried for years to save it. But retrofitting the old building is prohibitively expensive and more land is needed so more cancer patients can be treated in efficient new buildings. And now it’s time for the Prudential Building to go. The building is being fenced in, dismantled and will vanish forever in 2011.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-05-10-big-heads-and-busted-buildings-prudential-goes-astrodome/

[Subdude]

Note duplicate topics merged.

[dbigtex56]

I'm not in the habit of defending the demolition of an architecturally and historically significant building, but this time I'll make an exception.

It's just not that great of a building. Its purpose has been served, and the time has come for a mercy killing.

Some years ago, medical necessity brought me to this building ( the cause escapes me.) All I remember is that I felt cheap and dirty just walking in the place. To be fair, the Moderne-Meets-International Style of the lobby has some charm. The exterior is attractive, in an unremarkable Gotham City sort of way. The fresco, too, has significance (but then, so do the covers of Collier's or Saturday Evening Post magazines of that era.)

For those unfamiliar with the fresco, it's a dreadful period piece of commercial art depicting emboldened young white men wielding blueprints, and contented Negroes picking cotton. Yes, it should be documented before its demolition if only as a prime example of unfortunate mid-20th Century attitudes. It's not exactly The Last Supper, and the art world can survive the loss even of a fresco.

The rest of the building...oh, how should I put it? Sucks. It sucks. Exit the slow, small elevator and enter a narrow, cramped hallway, leading to featureless, painfully dreary offices. Modern attitudes assert that a medical building should reflect some regard for the patients it serves, and for the people who treat them. Such is not the case here.The place is - how you say? - ratty. Just awful. Perhaps if one was to sink half a billion dollars into the Prudential Life, a sensitive re-adaption could make this facility useful and attractive. The scenario seems unlikely.

If this building deserves to be preserved, then so does Pergatory. It has the approximate charm and utility of a 1949 water heater, and is occupying land which can be - shall be - used for better purposes. The new facility may save lives. Isn't that more important?

Sorry to see it go, but not as sorry as I might be.

[Fringe]

Gotta agree with dbigtex56. That building probably has more personal sentimental value to me then anyone else on this site but having worked there a few years in the late 80's/early 90's it is definitely a building that's seen it's better days.  

[LTAWACS]

I like that thing.

[FilioScotia]

I'm not in the habit of defending the demolition of an architecturally and historically significant building, but this time I'll make an exception.

It's just not that great of a building. Its purpose has been served, and the time has come for a mercy killing.For those unfamiliar with the fresco, it's a dreadful period piece of commercial art depicting emboldened young white men wielding blueprints, and contented Negroes picking cotton.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the building, but I have to ask if we're talking about the same frescoe?

I've examined the frescoe at MD Anderson up close and in person, and nowhere on it will you find "emboldened young white men wielding blueprints, and contented Negroes picking cotton."

What you will see is a ranch, with people of various ethnicities spreading their harvested food out for what appears to be a picnic, children playing in the background, and some men of undeterminable ethnicity loading a hay wagon. Not a cotton field anywhere.

Personally, I think it's an important representation of life in the southwest, as seen through the eyes of an major artist of the 40s and 50s, and Peter Hurd was a major artist and muralist. It's a shame the art world doesn't appear to be interested in preserving it. At least not interested enough to raise the money needed to remove and move the mural somewhere else.

[feufoma]

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

[lockmat]

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

I was hoping/expecting something of at least the same size, wouldn't y'all think the same?

HCAD ownership history says it is owned by Univ. of Texas System Cancer Center, which doesn't give me much of a lead to find any kind of a rendering I don't think. And if demolition is coming up soon, I would think they might have some renderings somewhere already.

My guess is something with a mix of glass and brown stone.

hcad: http://www.hcad.org/records/details.asp?crypt=%94%9A%B0%94%BFg%84%91%83zqj%8El%87tXwXW%9E%99%A2%D3%89%95%C2e%7CU%8A%7C%86%C0%AB%A8%AD%86%5E&bld=1&tab=2

Edited April 6, 2010 by lockmat

[Subdude]

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

Ah, but we live in the age of beige.

[TheNiche]

I'm not in the habit of defending the demolition of an architecturally and historically significant building, but this time I'll make an exception.

It's just not that great of a building. Its purpose has been served, and the time has come for a mercy killing.

Some years ago, medical necessity brought me to this building ( the cause escapes me.) All I remember is that I felt cheap and dirty just walking in the place. To be fair, the Moderne-Meets-International Style of the lobby has some charm. The exterior is attractive, in an unremarkable Gotham City sort of way. The fresco, too, has significance (but then, so do the covers of Collier's or Saturday Evening Post magazines of that era.)

For those unfamiliar with the fresco, it's a dreadful period piece of commercial art depicting emboldened young white men wielding blueprints, and contented Negroes picking cotton. Yes, it should be documented before its demolition if only as a prime example of unfortunate mid-20th Century attitudes. It's not exactly The Last Supper, and the art world can survive the loss even of a fresco.

The rest of the building...oh, how should I put it? Sucks. It sucks. Exit the slow, small elevator and enter a narrow, cramped hallway, leading to featureless, painfully dreary offices. Modern attitudes assert that a medical building should reflect some regard for the patients it serves, and for the people who treat them. Such is not the case here.The place is - how you say? - ratty. Just awful. Perhaps if one was to sink half a billion dollars into the Prudential Life, a sensitive re-adaption could make this facility useful and attractive. The scenario seems unlikely.

If this building deserves to be preserved, then so does Pergatory. It has the approximate charm and utility of a 1949 water heater, and is occupying land which can be - shall be - used for better purposes. The new facility may save lives. Isn't that more important?

Sorry to see it go, but not as sorry as I might be.

The thing I don't like about the MDACC rationale, though, is that their cost estimates are based upon repurposing the building for a medical use. I'd like to see the cost of renovating and leaving it as office space and having MDACC simply build their facilities in a different location. It's not as though there isn't land available in the Mid Campus or South Campus, and it's not as though other TMC institutions aren't willing to go there.

[FilioScotia]

The thing I don't like about the MDACC rationale, though, is that their cost estimates are based upon repurposing the building for a medical use. I'd like to see the cost of renovating and leaving it as office space and having MDACC simply build their facilities in a different location.

A simple renovation is just cosmetic and easily done, but it won't solve the problem. MDACC Operations VP Bill Daigneau says the foundation is slowly cracking and sinking and this is causing the building's superstructure to pull apart and fall in on itself. There are cracks in ceilings and walls from top to bottom, including the lobby wall with the mural, and they're spreading. MDACC's attitude is that it's beyond saving. He said if they did nothing the building would collapse in a few years.

[TheNiche]

A simple renovation is just cosmetic and easily done, but it won't solve the problem. MDACC Operations VP Bill Daigneau says the foundation is slowly cracking and sinking and this is causing the building's superstructure to pull apart and fall in on itself. There are cracks in ceilings and walls from top to bottom, including the lobby wall with the mural, and they're spreading. MDACC's attitude is that it's beyond saving. He said if they did nothing the building would collapse in a few years.

I didn't use the word "simple" to describe a renovation as office space. Obviously whatever repairs are necessary to maintain the structure's integrity would have to be taken into account. And I do acknowledge the plausibility that this building is beyond repair; I've underwritten a few such project proposals before and determined as much. My concern, really, is that MDACC (and certain other TMC institutions) are placing an irrational premium on land (in terms of Dollars and utility) north of the bayou whereas they might should be more actively exploring numerous options to the south.

[lockmat]

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

Found this in the original posted chron article:

William Daigneau, M.D. Anderson's vice president for operations and facilities, said the building will be replaced by a pair of clinic buildings.

I'm not sure how big those normally are.

[FilioScotia]

I didn't use the word "simple" to describe a renovation as office space. Obviously whatever repairs are necessary to maintain the structure's integrity would have to be taken into account. And I do acknowledge the plausibility that this building is beyond repair; I've underwritten a few such project proposals before and determined as much. My concern, really, is that MDACC (and certain other TMC institutions) are placing an irrational premium on land (in terms of Dollars and utility) north of the bayou whereas they might should be more actively exploring numerous options to the south.

And I didn't intend to imply that you were thinking of a "simple" renovation. I used the word "simple renovation" to make the point that there's a universe of difference between doing a cosmetic renovation, and doing all the work necessary to restore a crumbling building's structural integrity. Clearly, a renovation would cost a helluva lot less than an overhaul, but it's not going to get either one.

I agree with your concerns over the way MDACC has handled its problems with this old building, and the way it's managed its expansion in and around the TMC. As for "options to the south", isn't that sort of what's going on down at the corner of Fannin and OST? Isn't MDACC doing some building there?

And for the poster wondering what the new structure that will replace the Prudential Bldg will look like, I think we can safely predict that in architectural style and general appearance, it will look pretty much just like all the other MDACC buildings between Fannin and Braeswood. Those people are nothing if not predictable.

Edited April 6, 2010 by FilioScotia

[TheNiche]

And I didn't intend to imply that you were thinking of a "simple" renovation. I understand where you're coming from with this old building, and I agree. As for "options to the south", isn't that what's going on down at the corner of Fannin and OST? Isn't MDACC doing some building there?

At some level I'm sure that the Mid- or South Campus has got to be in their long term plans. I just hope that their priorities are straight is all.

I think that its the UTHSC-Houston doing most of the expansion south of OST, btw.

[sevfiv]

Word on the street is that October 1 is the goal for the beginning the demolition and conclusion is January 2011. We shall see.

[FilioScotia]

Word on the street is that October 1 is the goal for the beginning the demolition and conclusion is January 2011. We shall see.

I retired recently and moved far away from Houston, so I'm not up to speed with the status of the Hurd Mural in the old Prudential Building. The last time I heard anything about it, they couldn't find anyone willing to pay the steep cost of removing the mural and storing it, and they couldn't find an art venue willing to create a space for it.

Everybody was wringing their hands saying "oh what a artistic shame this is", but no one was willing to do what is needed to save the mural.

That was the situation as of the first of this year. Has anything changed? Is the mural still doomed?

[sixthwardguy]

From what I understand, both MD Anderson and a museum in New Mexico finally found a donor who is willing to pay to have the mural removed and delivered to the museum in a single piece. Specially trained workers arrived at the building several weeks ago to detach the mural from the ceiling and floor, and encapsulate the entire mural in a gigantic crate that is 20 ft tall and 50 ft wide. The entire front doorway, vestibule, and porte cohere will have to be dismantled to make way for the crate. They will have to go down to the basement to reinforce the floor underneath the lobby to support the load of the crate as it departs the building. A crane will be brought to lift the crate onto a specially commissioned tractor trailer. The trailer will transport the mural to New Mexico with a convoy of bucket trucks to raise any obstructing power lines between here and there. Once the mural has been removed, the demolition of the building will begin immediately.

[ricco67]

From what I understand, both MD Anderson and a museum in New Mexico finally found a donor who is willing to pay to have the mural removed and delivered to the museum in a single piece. Specially trained workers arrived at the building several weeks ago to detach the mural from the ceiling and floor, and encapsulate the entire mural in a gigantic crate that is 20 ft tall and 50 ft wide. The entire front doorway, vestibule, and porte cohere will have to be dismantled to make way for the crate. They will have to go down to the basement to reinforce the floor underneath the lobby to support the load of the crate as it departs the building. A crane will be brought to lift the crate onto a specially commissioned tractor trailer. The trailer will transport the mural to New Mexico with a convoy of bucket trucks to raise any obstructing power lines between here and there. Once the mural has been removed, the demolition of the building will begin immediately.

The only thing I can say to this is "Excellent." I'm glad it is being salvaged.

[FilioScotia]

From what I understand, both MD Anderson and a museum in New Mexico finally found a donor who is willing to pay to have the mural removed and delivered to the museum in a single piece. Specially trained workers arrived at the building several weeks ago to detach the mural from the ceiling and floor, and encapsulate the entire mural in a gigantic crate that is 20 ft tall and 50 ft wide. The entire front doorway, vestibule, and porte cohere will have to be dismantled to make way for the crate. They will have to go down to the basement to reinforce the floor underneath the lobby to support the load of the crate as it departs the building. A crane will be brought to lift the crate onto a specially commissioned tractor trailer. The trailer will transport the mural to New Mexico with a convoy of bucket trucks to raise any obstructing power lines between here and there. Once the mural has been removed, the demolition of the building will begin immediately.

Wow. That is going to be one gigantic crate all right. The mural itself is 15 feet by 47 feet, but its size is just part of the problem. You have to remember that the mural wall makes a 90 degree curve around a corner there in the lobby. Removing that entire curved corner in one piece, getting it into the custom designed curved crate, and getting it out of the building is going to be a major feat of careful engineering.

Now we're getting a clear picture of why this is costing so much, and why it's been so hard to find anyone willing to foot that cost.

I do hope one or more of the Houston TV stations is following this to get video of this removal.

[ricco67]

I certainly do think that a call to a station might be in order.

[sevfiv]

I wonder if the Wyeth/Hurd family has a hand in this (especially if it may be going to New Mexico)..

[sevfiv]

From what I understand, both MD Anderson and a museum in New Mexico...

Also, can you disclose your source of understanding?

[sixthwardguy]

I happen to work at MD Anderson.

[sevfiv]

I mean, was it in a newsletter/email/bid document/.../?

[sevfiv]

n/m (from MD Anderson newsletter). Looks like demo will begin in the new year, too:

What's 19 feet tall, 47 feet long and connected to a ceiling? The Peter Hurd mural, "West Texas Farm," located in the lobby of the Houston Main Building (HMB). And the effort to remove the mural will be a feat of engineering and teamwork.

"It's a major undertaking to remove it from the lobby," says John Chachere, project director, Capital Planning and Management. "We're going to work hand-in-hand with the contractors that the donor has hired to remove and transport it."

Employees in Facilities Management will work in parallel with the contractors hired to remove the mural. "While the art specialist gets the piece ready for moving, we'll prepare the pathway for them to remove the mural," says Chachere.

The mural, created on one-inch-thick plaster in the early 1950s, has been exposed to consistent levels of temperature and humidity. The restoration specialist will clean, restore and protect the mural before it's detached from the ceiling. Once it's detached, a contractor will create and install a supportive structure on the back of the mural. "They're going to reinforce and encapsulate the entire mural in a large crate before removing it from the lobby," says Chachere. "They'll also bring in a structural engineer to make sure that the lobby floor can take the load, because there's a basement beneath it."

Creating the pathway for removal also is a complex matter. Facilities Management employees will remove the vestibule, glass entry doors and covered drive entrance to make room for the crated piece.

The final piece of the project-moving the mural to New Mexico-is a challenge that the contractors have developed a unique solution for: a tractor trailer accompanied by a bucket truck will take the mural to its new home. "There are good highways all the way to New Mexico," says Chachere, "but not every overpass and every town you come to has power lines above 20 feet. The bucket truck will be there to raise any obstructions."

The team expects to complete the project in January, after which the demolition process for HMB will begin in earnest.

[NenaE]

Happy to know the mural will be saved, even if it's out-of-state. Would like to see other parts salvaged, as well. I just loved the design of those grounds. And that light stone.

[FilioScotia]

Happy to know the mural will be saved, even if it's out-of-state. Would like to see other parts salvaged, as well. I just loved the design of those grounds. And that light stone.

For those who're wondering where the mural is going, it will be either the Wyeth-Hurd Museum in Santa Fe New Mexico, or the Hurd La Rinconada Gallery and Guest Ranch in San Patricio New Mexico. The Hurd and Wyeth families control both. Here's a link to the Museum: http://wyethhurd.com/index.html

Homes at the guest ranch are open to the public for short term rentals. And yes they are pricey. But it's an incredibly beautiful place to spend a few days, or a week, or two or three. http://www.wyethartists.com/guest-homes/guest-homes.htm

Edited September 4, 2010 by FilioScotia

[Fringe]

Having spent a lot of time at the building as a kid when my father worked there and actually once working there myself in later years this is indeed great news.