jazzooo

Can anyone suggest which were the most significant downtown buildings razed in the 60s and 70s to make room for skyscrapers like the Exxon Mobil Building, Shell Plaza, 1100 Milam, Pennzoil Place, and One/Two Houston Center?

I did notice a couple of fleeting mentions of this one, and I suppose it could be the same theatre if it lay vacant for decades (or if it later operated under another name). The citation is from Rice architecture professor William Martin's piece on Orange Show creator Jeff McKissack in a 1977 Texas Monthly article. He writes: "For almost every item in his show, he can -- and will -- provide the relevant historical, architectural and economical data, and points with special pride to pieces scavenged from buildings wrecked in downtown Houston during the years he worked for the post office: roof tiles from the old Capitol Theater, a railing from a Stowers Furniture Company fire escape, and a miniature San Jacinto-like obelisk that once graced the Texas State Hotel." Martin's still around, and though we've corresponded by e-mail, we've yet to connect in person. Maybe he knows more. Obviously, there's good info on the web about Stowers and the Texas State Hotel. However, while I've got y'all, anyone know where in the Hotel the obelisk was displayed? And in a more general sense, what were the most historic and architecturally interesting buildings to be lost during the 1970s while McKissack was building up the Orange Show? I'm sort of fascinated by this repurposing of bits and pieces of historic Houston buildings during the creation of the OS. Thanks in advance for any details anyone might be able to toss in here.

I'm trying to follow up on a reference I've seen to a Capitol Theater, presumably in Houston, which was razed sometime in the '60s or '70s (in an 1977 magazine article, a Houston resident is said to have scavenged "roof tiles from the old Capitol Theater"). Googling around produces nothing ... not even from sites dedicated to historic Houston theaters. Anyone know anything about this place, if, in fact, it ever existed at all?

Much appreciated, Simbha. I'm working on this project with the aid of Orange Show staff and directors, and I do have access to their own archives and contacts, but I have got to assume there are people out there around Houston who knew the creators of these environments but who've never been interviewed or even asked about what they know. For sure, there will be a place for Smither Park in this book as sort of the culmination of three decades of the Orange Show Foundation's efforts. Again, many thanks!

Thank you, sir!!

Dokey's Hall ... anyone know where it was located??

Hi there! I'm doing some research into various folk art 'environments' here in Houston, including (but not limited to) the Orange Show, the Beer Can House, Bob Harper's Third World, Sylvester Williams' Eagle's Nest, Harold Porter's OK Corral, and various others. I'm very eager to talk to anyone who visited these places while they were still under construction (or in some cases, still existent) and who knew their creators fairly well. I've got a lot of the basics already, but I would love to hear from anyone who might have detailed first hand knowledge about these places. Thanks in advance! pete gershon editor@signaltonoisemagazine.org