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A Home and the Dome


rps324

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Made sense to me. Do you really not understand her point, or do you simply disagree?

She lost my interest.

I wonder if scientists reference houses in disrepair in their papers on global warming.

flipper

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Well done piece by Ms. Gray... she is certainly a friend of preservationists -- particularly Post War Modern. Having said that, the following quote rankles me: "As everyone knows, the Dome was once the Eighth Wonder of the World". Why? Well, the so called eighth wonder of the world was a phrase coined by Houstonians -- hence a self-referential attribute. Sorry to say, if the Astrodome is (or was) the "eighth wonder of the world" it was downhill from there.

There's some legitimately conflicted interests at play with David Mincberg. Sure, he'll do what he can to save a questionable "landmark" (a high profile, emotionally charged edifice most certainly tied to votes) but when it comes to maintaining historic fabric in a publicly less visible manner, well... that's apparently that's another thing altogether.

I'm no fan of the Astrodome -- there are far more significant architecturally significant features in this city -- but I am committed to preserving and enlightening the public with respect to the value and importance of Post War Modern preservation. Too bad Mr. Mincberg is looking to his less than fully informed constituents for his preservation platform.

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Okay, so it wasn't the best analogy. My point was that it doesn't make sense to save just one building at a time.

Unfortunately, it's a concept that I'll probably need to explain again soon. Anybody got a better way to say it?

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Okay, so it wasn't the best analogy. My point was that it doesn't make sense to save just one building at a time.

Unfortunately, it's a concept that I'll probably need to explain again soon. Anybody got a better way to say it?

I'll give it a shot. If Mincberg wants my vote, the best way to do that is to prove to me that he's serious about preservation by restoring that house. Before I help put him in a position of power, I want to know that he can be trusted. And he's not scoring any points so far.

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I'll give it a shot. If Mincberg wants my vote, the best way to do that is to prove to me that he's serious about preservation by restoring that house. Before I help put him in a position of power, I want to know that he can be trusted. And he's not scoring any points so far.

I got Lisa's point. I can imagine that preservation is really going to be a struggle in the Memorial area because every house was someone else's dream house and it's hard to spend that much money just for the house, plus repairs and restoration, just to live in someone else's fifty-year-old custom home. And every house is an architect-designed house, unlike, say, the cookie-cutter tract houses of suburbia. Not sure what the answer is; it's difficult to make arguments about scale when the houses are large, flat, and hidden back on heavily wooded land. And they already look different from each other. On top of that, even if someone saves a house, it's not such an obvious cultural win as say, Jason helping to preserve the Jenkins enclave in the Willowisp area, because it's not terribly visible from the street or publicly accessible. (Of course, I could be describing the Menil house on San Felipe :) )

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I took a swing by and it is a nice house on a decent lot...only problem is that it is flanked by (imo) fug-lee houses.

The A- grade, etc. on HCAD means it probably isn't teardown worthy in their eyes, either.

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  • 1 month later...
I took a swing by and it is a nice house on a decent lot...only problem is that it is flanked by (imo) fug-lee houses.

The A- grade, etc. on HCAD means it probably isn't teardown worthy in their eyes, either.

I have been in this house and it is not an A grade. It is closer to a C or D. There are many repairs that need to be made including mold remediation, but it is certainly possible. It would certainly be a shame to tear it down and build something of comparable size and it is always a shame to build a monstrosity.

The lot is amazing, the best I have seen in Houston. Reminds you of Vargos

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I'm very disappointed at Mr. Minceberg's decision to tear down this house. Houston is one of the few places where people had the money and courage to construct mid-century modern houses as distinctive as this one. Soon, so few will be left that a unique charactoristic of this city will be lost.

Trotting out the old "there were just too many problems to save it" excuse is getting increasingly tiresome. It seems to encompass everything short of crabgrass. Wonder why Mr. Minceberg is so reluctant to share his inspection report? Is he afraid he might be seen as exercising poor judgement? I've been a supporter of Mr. Minceberg's in the past; now I think he (like his house) bears closer inspection.

As usual, good reporting by Lisa Gray.

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I'm very disappointed at Mr. Minceberg's decision to tear down this house. Houston is one of the few places where people had the money and courage to construct mid-century modern houses as distinctive as this one. Soon, so few will be left that a unique charactoristic of this city will be lost.
Exactly, Tex. Houston came to be known as the Space City, and all that is going away with every Tuscan mcmansion that goes up where a cool mcm house used to be.

When the Dome is finally gone, Houston will look just like any other major city.

This house is back on the market. www.har.com/6426654

Sounds perfect for me! :)

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This house is back on the market. www.har.com/6426654

From the realtor's "general description":

One of the most spectacular living sites inside the loop. Midcentury modern house can be renovated or build your own dream. On over 1.3 acres, this original Talbott Wilson home sits on a hill overlooking rolling terrain. Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity!

At least she doesn't completely comdemn it as a tear-down; a photo, however, would be nice...

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This is probably old news, but the house on Glen Cove is gone. Rode by there on my bike Saturday and a crew is doing the preliminary work on a new Tuscan/Mc/GIANT house. Some consolation is that there is a brand new modern house nearing completion when you first pull onto the street from Memorial. It's the very first house on the left backing up to the Hogg Bird Sanctuary on Westcott. Lots of stone, wood, and glass on the back. I'm afraid to see what gets built on the old lot.

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This is probably old news, but the house on Glen Cove is gone. Rode by there on my bike Saturday and a crew is doing the preliminary work on a new Tuscan/Mc/GIANT house. Some consolation is that there is a brand new modern house nearing completion when you first pull onto the street from Memorial. It's the very first house on the left backing up to the Hogg Bird Sanctuary on Westcott. Lots of stone, wood, and glass on the back. I'm afraid to see what gets built on the old lot.

No Tuscan or McMansion going in... It's going to be a Modern house replacing the MCM. Anyone know the architects/builders? I didn't write it down and now I have forgotten.

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MorrisHullinger is the design / build company that is building the new home. It is a neo-mid century look to a degree.

All of you penniless preservationists can come in off of the ledge now.

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Not a huge fan of what I've seen from Morris/Hullinger but curious to see at what degree the mod comes out in the new build.

I guess in the meantime I'll go back to dangling from the eave.. :rolleyes::D

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