NASA Ambox Building At 6040 Telephone Rd.

[JLWM8609]

I was reading the Chron's blog on historic Houston, when I came across this picture of JFK touring a NASA facility listed as being at "6040 Telephone Rd". Does anyone here remember that facility? According to Google Maps, there's still an industrial looking building standing there, perhaps the same building that housed the facility. I don't know what it houses now though.

[gnu]

I was reading the Chron's blog on historic Houston, when I came across this picture of JFK touring a NASA facility listed as being at "6040 Telephone Rd". Does anyone here remember that facility? According to Google Maps, there's still an industrial looking building standing there, perhaps the same building that housed the facility. I don't know what it houses now though.

it's the Ambox bldg.

check out the thread here:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=3080

and this thread for info on the telephone road book with a chapter on early NASA

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=14855

Edited November 22, 2008 by gnu

[NenaE]

it's the Ambox bldg.

check out the thread here:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=3080

and this thread for info on the telephone road book with a chapter on early NASA

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=14855

Across(East) from Gulfgate, up I-45 (@ Maxwell St. rt. before Wayside) is where I always understood it was, temporarily (one location-had that Howard Johnson bldg. by it, to the right, by the bayou) & another one where that Houston Parks bldg. is, MacGregor area (neat Bldg.- Mackee & Kamrath). The first HAIF post link tells of the astronauts staying at apartments by a park, may have been the Patricia Manor.

[Vertigo58]

The very neat modern building was discussed in Pine Valley topic under East End neighborhoods. This building is still there and houses City of Houston Parks Dept? there is a park right next to it but I cannot recall the name.

This once NASA building I believe was built in 1959 or 1960 appears very Frank Lloyd Wright-like sits on South Wayside about 1/2 mile from Telephone Road, ironically enough an old school friend's dad worked there and it was always rumoured his dad invented some gizmo & they got $$$ and bought numerous houses in this area. The numerous homes part is very true since the house we now live in was one of the ones that gentleman owned. oops sorry to stray, but yes that NASA bldg is still there. Maybe I will take a pic and post. It is about 1 mile from Griggs and S Wayside.

[Dex]

I remember it. Thats where NASA started. The old Tropicana swim club was next door to it.

[texianjoe]

The very neat modern building was discussed in Pine Valley topic under East End neighborhoods. This building is still there and houses City of Houston Parks Dept? there is a park right next to it but I cannot recall the name.

This once NASA building I believe was built in 1959 or 1960 appears very Frank Lloyd Wright-like sits on South Wayside about 1/2 mile from Telephone Road, ironically enough an old school friend's dad worked there and it was always rumoured his dad invented some gizmo & they got $$$ and bought numerous houses in this area. The numerous homes part is very true since the house we now live in was one of the ones that gentleman owned. oops sorry to stray, but yes that NASA bldg is still there. Maybe I will take a pic and post. It is about 1 mile from Griggs and S Wayside.

The greenish stone building on the corner of S. Wayside and Wheeler used to be HQ for StranSteel before they moved to the west side in the late 70s.

I think the name of the park is Gragg Park but I am not sure of that one it's been a few years since I toured the old hood.

joe

[Specwriter]

The greenish stone building on the corner of S. Wayside and Wheeler used to be HQ for StranSteel before they moved to the west side in the late 70s.

I think the name of the park is Gragg Park but I am not sure of that one it's been a few years since I toured the old hood.

joe

A quick review of the Parks Department building at Gragg Park: It was built in 1956 for the Farnsworth & Chambers Company, a construction firm. In 1961 the building was purchased as a real estate investment by W. D York and the Gragg Drilling Company.

The design firm was MacKie & Kamrath, the architects also of Temple Emmanuel on Sunset Blvd. among other notable buildings in the city. Yes, the work of MacKie & Kamrath is very much in the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright's later work.