Mod Palace, Hear Stephen Fox's Howard Barnstone Talk At April 14 Mod Of The Month

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April Mod of the Month Houston Mod invites you to join us this Sunday, April 14, 2019  for a Mod of the Month open house event from 2 - 4 PM. At mid-point in MODern Month, we hope you will help us find a new preservation-minded owner for this outstanding vintage modern house located three miles west of downtown Houston. Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event. 2930 Lazy Lane Boulevard, River Oaks Homewoods, Houston, Texas 77019  HAR Link   |   Google Map The John F. Maher House was designed by the firm Howard Barnstone (1923-1987) and Partner (Eugene Aubry b 1935) in 1964 and slotted between Bayou Bend and the Hugo V. Neuhaus residence, along Buffalo Bayou in the prominent Homewoods section of the River Oaks neighborhood. Barnstone described the steel framed house as a p-a-l-a-c-e.  Architectural historian Stephen Fox describes it as Barnstone's most assured project of the 1960s and says it's epic. Many of Barnstone's buildings are threatened and others have been lost. Finding a preservation-minded owner for this house will allow it to remain one of Houston's most prominent architectural landmarks.   Stephen Fox will give a talk about the house and about his soon to be released publication about the architecture of Howard Barnstone during the April Mod of the Month event. You may read a previous article on Barnstone by Stephen Fox in Cite Magazine, Fall 1987.  The Mod Squad will be on hand at Sunday's event to assist with membership and publication purchases. Memberships and publications make excellent gifts!   About Houston Mod & Mod of the Month Houston Mod is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting knowledge and appreciation of modern architecture and design in Houston and Texas. Houston Mod advocates the preservation of this cultural legacy and seeks support from its members and the general public in achieving this goal. The Mod of the Month (MOTM) program, launched in 2006, was devised to promote the preservation of modern buildings by educating the public of their architectural and cultural importance in an attempt to show the buildings as desirable to a next generation of owners. The program received a Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston in 2009 and continues its important mission.  MOTM's promote the preservation of Mid Century Modern architecture during a time when the properties are most vulnerable - when they are placed for sale. The value embodied within modern properties often goes unseen by the public and real estate agent who may list the property as a candidate for demolition or contemporary renovation. The original design concept, architect, and owners of modern homes are important, and provide both a quality space and history desired by many home seekers. Modern is historic? Yes! Properties that are at least 50 years old may be considered for historic designation by national, state, and local preservation programs. Most of the featured Mod of the Month homes are eligible for designation at the local level, many also at the state and/or national level. The City of Houston offers tax exemptions to owners for appropriate work conducted to improve locally designated historic homes. For more information on designating a modern property, contact the City of Houston Historic Preservation Office, or email Houston Mod at info@houstonmod.org. MODern Month Continues! MODern Month April 2019 continues with an AIA Houston Urban Art Walking Tour, Preservation Houston Victor Lundy book talk, Jones Hall concert, AIA Houston Historic Resources Committee Speaker Series, Miller Outdoor Theater concert, RDA Architecture Tour, Eames film screening, and much more.   We hope you will all join us on Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. for the Houston Mod MODern Month Celebration at Design Within Reach. Marty Merritt will give a brief talk on his new book, After Alden: Midcentury Architecture in Brazosport, Texas. We have temporarily sold out of the publication online, but more will available at the event. Click the image below to download the complete MODern Month calendar of events PDF.