lgg
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Interesting story from the L.A. Times: http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm...1,5370634.story Where do you guys weigh in? Sleek? or more nature-y?
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I agree that most '70s and '80s houses are depressing -- but a tiny percentage are gorgeous and well-made, and they seem underpriced relative to equally gorgeous houses from other eras. A few months ago, RPS showed me two that got under my skin. I seriously considered buying a Sea Ranch knock-off in Meadowcreek, just outside the Loop on the East Side. It had been glopped up, but had good bones -- and the great lot that the nature-loving style really needs. (I'm a sucker for bayou frontage, especially when it's not even in the 100-year flood plain.) Lots of sliding glass doors that led to the park-like back yard. I also had to work hard to talk myself out of a very different '70s house: An enormous foreclosed swankienda in Northfield, the Lubovitcher neighborhood in Fondren Southwest. That house was all '70s glam, but without kitsch. There was a sunken "conversation-pit" living room with a 2-story ceiling, the stone fireplace in front of two-story windows. The materials -- loads of stone and wood -- were top-notch, as were the original fixtures. Even the garage had a beamed, finished ceiling. If I'd had enough cash to deal with the house's problems (mold, leaky flat roof, HVAC), I'd have jumped on it.
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The budget is pathetic: $100 or less, if I can manage it, for the dining room hanging fixture. And to make it worse: I've got to find it before the end of the week, when the electrician finishes the last of the re-wiring. Maybe I'm doomed to an IKEA placeholder....
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Can anyone recommend places to buy mod light fixtures? My budget won't allow the George Nelson bubble lamp that begs to hang in my dining room -- but is there a good salvage source where I could find something at least period-appropriate? Or can anyone recommend useful places to look for something new but with the right vibe? And what are good sources for mod fixtures in general? Doorknobs, cabinet pulls, faucets -- that kind of stuff? Is eBay my best bet?
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Can anyone recommend places to buy mod light fixtures? My budget won't allow the George Nelson bubble lamp that begs to hang in my dining room -- but is there a good salvage source where I could find something at least period-appropriate? Or can anyone recommend useful places to look for something new but with the right vibe? And what are good sources for mod fixtures in general? Doorknobs, cabinet pulls, faucets -- that kind of stuff? Is eBay my best bet?
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Good news: Looks like the Realtor's added a few interior pics for the house on Electra.
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Is it a sunken atrium? And if so, how deep? That affects how much dirt you'll have. Ficus trees are obvious -- tough as nails, good in indoor light, and period-appropriate. Or at least I think they're appropriate: As a kid in the early '70s, I admired them in malls.
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Glenbrook United Methodist, 8635 Glen Valley Drive, 77061. I don't know who designed it, but it was built in the mid-50s, and has a dramatic swoopy pointed roof. Scroll to the bottom of the page for an exterior photo, which links to interior shots: http://www.glenbrookumc.org/ *** Also: First Unitarian, 5210 Fannin. Original low-slung flat-roofed sanctuary designed 1952 by Thomas E. Greacen II. "The influence of Eliel Saarinen's Middle Western churches of the 1940s is evident in this understated complex," Stephen Fox wrote in the Guide. Addition, in 1996, by Val Glitsch. Here's a photo: http://firstuu.org/html/fc_history.htm
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I had to go check the Chron's web page, and was rewarded with another appearance of dmghouston. Now I'm even more sure that he's Marvin Granit, who's done a lot of development in Bellaire. The good news, if I'm right, is that he's willing to sell. He wrote: I would take one of those large scale tract homes any day! The houses I have been to in Bellaire look more like museums then spec houses. I am sure the city of Bellaire isn't complaining about the taxes they collect every year of the McMansions. Why don't one of the readers make the owner a big offer for the house? I am sure he would sell it to someone who wanted to preserve it. Fact is that most people are quick to fight for a cause but aren't putting up anything to fight for it. The cost of purchasing this lot and then cleaning the mold and remodeling it will exceed the cost of rebuilding on the lot. It's a house thats covered in mold! I think people should concentrate on better preserved buildings maybe like River Oaks bookstore etc.
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Ooh, Flipper, that quote from "dmghouston" *is* interesting. Do you think Marvin Granit's initials are "dmg"? The Chron story didn't mention mold because a source who'd been inside the house recently told me that he didn't see any. And I think it's interesting that he defends the company's reputation, and says he's sure that Granit will "keep some historical aspect of the property." I heard that he might reuse some of the stones from that front wall -- but again, that wasn't in the story.
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A Chron reader just e-mailed me this story. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen the house that Cohen built. I worked with a former business partner of Robert Cohen's. He once told me how he and Robert floated a boat (cabin cruiser) in The Shamrock's pool for a party!
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This interesting tidbit just appeared among the Chron's on-line comments. I assume it refers to what Granit told a neighbor: That he bought the house because his girlfriend lives across the street, and that he planned to live there himself. "Granit bought the house next to ours and said exactly the same thing to the old man who lived there. He must have a lot of girlfriends..."
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Thanks, guys -- especially those of you who talked to me. I love this forum. -- Lisa, from the Chron
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I looked at that house with RPS, and I loved it. (I've been surprised by how much I like high-end '70s mods.) But the place was way more house than I need, and more than I could afford, given the work it needs. It was obviously maltreated a long time. The scariest thing was an Enormous Wall o' Mold -- probably from an old plumbing leak. I have no idea whether the mold had gotten into the structural members or the ducts. A friend who's obsessed with real estate believes that the neighborhood, Fondren Southwest Northfield, is a fabulous bargain. I looked at police stats, and they confirmed what the neighborhood association's president told me: Northfield is fairly crime-free, or at least comparable to my current place in Montrose. But it's ringed by the most dangerous apartment complexes in Houston. The neighborhood has an active civic club, and its high dues help pay for constable street patrols in unmarked cars. But another factor may be more important in stabilizing the neighborhood. Orthodox Jews began pouring into Northfield after the oil bust. The area has several Orthodox synagogues. Because the Lubavitchers don't drive on the Sabbath, they tend to cluster around the synagogues. On Saturday nights, you see whole families walking home from worship, the men in beards and broad-brimmed hats: A sweet, strange sight. The Orthodox presence won't help much with schools. The HISD middle and high schools are appalling. And because Lubavitchers tend to send their kids to religious schools, the public schools won't get their upper-middle-class kids. And for what it's worth: The Lubavitcher community is growing. Right now, they're expanding their Chabad Center, a very modern-looking building at 10900 Fondren: http://www.chabadtexas.org/templates/artic...ng-Campaign.htm
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Nobody I talked to mentioned any structural problems at all -- no mold, no nada -- so yeah, the ducting and signs must have been related to that aborted renovation. The house's first owner, Susan Garwood, said the house was designed to be low-maintenance. It was fine when she moved out, and since it was only eight years old, I doubt anything serious could have gone wrong with it. Breaks my heart.
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I work at the Chron. And yes, the building has psoriasis. (The same thing, I think, happened with Jones Hall's marble.) Last time I got a memo on the subject, it said that the Chronicle's marble was being replaced by plastic that will look like marble. And heck: maybe it really will. Anything's likely to be better than that perpetual scaffolding. I've heard jokes about aluminum siding.... but those were jokes.
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I filed this with the Chron: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5106106.html The demolition was especially awful because it didn't look as though the building had been salvaged. Schoolhouse light fixtures are (as of this afternoon) still hanging in the old Black-Eyed Pea site. Through an office window over Jos. A. Banks' old space, I saw a mid-century aluminum chair. The backhoe mangled it. -
Fear of PR damage seems to be the only thing protecting the buildings now, and I'm afraid most people think they've already been saved. Weingarten won't have any trouble getting a permit to demolish the shopping center building. The recommendation to designate the three buildings as landmarks will take months before it appears before city council. Even if it's approved, the toughest thing the city can do is delay demo by 90 days. But what about the theater? How long does a demolition permit last? Could you apply now for one to be used in 2008? or 2010?Think Weingarten's fear of potentially tougher preservation laws offset the bad P.R. that's bound to result from the demolition permits?
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It's really not over: http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolit...ay/4758297.html --Lisa, from the Chronicle.
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Turner didn't mean to diss '50s houses. She was, unfortunately, just describing the market: Unless a house in Memorial is over 4,000 square feet, it's bulldozer fodder. To survive a sale, an older, smaller house has to be "special" enough to attract a Mod fan able to spend $800K. And if you're looking for a Mod in that price range, you can be picky. I need to write soon about the gigantism afflicting most new houses. But the truth is, I don't understand it. I mean, I see why builders like big houses: Since price is largely determined by square footage, the bigger the house, the bigger the builder's profit. But why do *buyers* want gigantic houses? Any ideas? --Lisa, from the Chron
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Thanks. And (she says, self-servingly) here's the link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/4172529.html
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As I understood Drew Alexander, he believes his duty toward shareholders is to make them as much money as possible without breaking any laws. And really, isn't that what the market demands? Last time you allocated money in your 401(k), did you check precisely how all those mutual-fund dollars were invested? Part of my pathetic retirement savings is socked in an ethical-investments account, but even that doesn't consider historic preservation. The larger problem, I think, is that the City of Houston cedes these decisions to developers -- and even more frighteningly, to their shareholders, who often don't know or care what they're doing to the city.
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Lisa Gray here, dutifully identifying herself as the reporter from the Chronicle.... Now I'm looking for adaptive reuses of old theaters. I've found tons of performing-arts venues around the country, and a handful of bookstores. (Mostly started by the old Bookstop chain, now apparently being abandoned by Barnes & Noble.) There's a Restoration Hardware or two out there. But do you know of any other good ones? Especially things that are able to hold their own on expensive real estate? Post them here, or drop me a line. I'd be grateful.
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Chronicle story about Carolyn Farb's protest and other efforts to save the three buildings: http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4153487.html
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Actually, the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission *is* a City of Houston entity. Here's the web site: http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/commissions/arch.htm You might be confusing it with the similar-sounding Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, or maybe Historic Houston. (Those are both nonprofits.) The city commission has only feeble powers, but I believe that even under current laws, it could make Weingarten more uncomfortable. The commission could, for instance, recommend that City Council to designate buildings as historic landmarks -- even though the owner hasn't applied. That's never happened before. I believe Weingarten could still maneuver around that designation, and would be able to raze the buildings. But it would at least have to file public notice of those intentions months before bulldozers arrive.