sixthwardguy

This is the same house that you posted earlier in the day,  it was remodeled in 1890 by George Dickey to take on a significant Victorian appearance.  

That was the former William Read residence (of Inman & Read Cotton Merchants).  Built in the 1890's and sold to the Cullinans in the teens.  Lived there for less than a decade until they built their permanent house at 2 Remington Lane in Shadyside. 

One of the 15 four-room houses on Sutton Street that Mr Herman built was relocated in the 1990's to the NW corner of Sabine and Lubbock Sts where it still stands today.  

That house was actually at 2210 Main St, on the corner of Hadley.  The footprint shown on the 1924 Sanborn FIre Insurance Map matches the one seen in the photograph. 

At first, I thought this was the Scanlan Mansion on Scanlan Road, located behind the Sienna Plantation subdivsion in Missouri City, since it resembles the one in the photographs in many ways, including the fountain.  After closer inspection, I realized that the Scanlan Mansion is smaller than the one in the photograph, it has fewer columns across the front and does not have a long wing in the back, along with a swimming pool instead of the fountain pool shown in the photograph.   The Scanlan Mansion can only be seen via birds eye maps due to its set-back from the road.

The Second Empire style never really took off in Houston, and there were only two or three examples that were built in Houston that I could think of.    They were all built on Main Street downtown and were already gone by the 1930's.    I read somewhere that the Second Empire style was identified with the North and Houstonians during the late 19th century still harbored a grudge against the north for winning the War Between the States, and refused to build anything with a style that indentified with the North.

I happen to work at MD Anderson.

From what I understand, both MD Anderson and a museum in New Mexico finally found a donor who is willing to pay to have the mural removed and delivered to the museum in a single piece. Specially trained workers arrived at the building several weeks ago to detach the mural from the ceiling and floor, and encapsulate the entire mural in a gigantic crate that is 20 ft tall and 50 ft wide. The entire front doorway, vestibule, and porte cohere will have to be dismantled to make way for the crate. They will have to go down to the basement to reinforce the floor underneath the lobby to support the load of the crate as it departs the building. A crane will be brought to lift the crate onto a specially commissioned tractor trailer. The trailer will transport the mural to New Mexico with a convoy of bucket trucks to raise any obstructing power lines between here and there. Once the mural has been removed, the demolition of the building will begin immediately.

I'm not sure why my comments didn't show with the photos I downloaded, but I found these in the HUGE Life Magazine photo archives under McCarthy. These were the only ones I could find of the family at home but I knew I had seen at least one photo of them inside, in addition to the ginormous covered porch.

I found a better photo of the house from the Life Magazine photo archives. It wasn't labeled with the McCarthy name but I remembered the photo from the magazine article.

Interesting...IIRC, one of the later real estate transactions was with Mobil Pipeline.

One was also from Carrie Neiman (his aunt, I believe)..

I just remembered to look at HistoricAerials.com and found that there weren't any structures on that location in the 1957 and 1964 aerial maps. It wasn't until the 1973 map that showed a new bridge and driveway in the immediate area. That may bolster the theory that the house was built with salvaged historic materials, or perhaps brought in pieces from various places. My preservationist friend who saw the house up close said it had a large chimney that went up through the center of the house. All early/true examples of that house style (Gulf Coast Cottage/Colonial) featured a central hallway (dog-trot) that ran all the way from the front to the back, and this house didn't have that.

Thanks for the additional information - and I saw Blusky but totally dismissed it!

That part of the road was Addicks Satsuma I thought, but there is a listing for 6219 FM 1960 from 1976 that shows the Lawrence Marcus Polo Farm..(Lawrence Marcus of Neiman Marcus?).

And here are a couple of block book images of the Matzke survey:

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v047/AE1997_47_0071.jpg

http://books.tax.hctx.net/v047/AE1997_47_0178.jpg

Three years ago a preservationist friend of mine actually went up to the door of the house and knocked on it. He said that up close the house looked like a hodgepodge of old and new architecture. A gentleman answered the door and clearly wasn't pleased. My friend asked for information about the house and the guy was noncommittal but would only volunteer that it was used as a hunting lodge for a large corporation back in the 60s and 70's, and that it was built with parts salvaged from houses in the Bear Creek area that had been dismantled to make way for the Addicks Reservoir.

I've searched quite a bit and have come up with little to nothing on the former estate of Glenn McCarthy - it sat where the Brentwood and 7575 Kirby condominiums currently are (northeast corner of Kirby and North Braeswood, right across from Jenkins' 2530 Underwood house). It was designed by Milton McGinty and completed by 1938. McCarthy bought the land from Rice Institute in 1935 and later sold it to Harold Farb in 1972. It was demolished some time between 1972 and 1977.

Other than some newspaper articles about its construction and a mention of it in the Anchorage Foundation's Braeswood: An Architectural History, there doesn't seem to be much else out there. Anyone have any information or memories?

I remember reading an article in an older magazine somewhere many years ago that prominently featured a photograph of the McCarthy family sitting in front of their house. I believe the article was published around the time of the opening of the Shamrock Hotel. I wish I could remember the name of the magazine, I would love to see the photograph again.

Thanks for the info. I'd love to see that photograph! Painted brick and a balcony makes sense with the style of the house, though I'd argue that the house might look better without the balcony. Do you remember what the entry looked like in the photo? There's a ghost outline of an arch over the front door. Also, do you remember if the windows had shutters on them? I'm thinking they did, given the wide space between the decorative brick cornice and the second story windows.

I do recall the photos showing thick fluted pilasters on each side of the doorway but cannot remember seeing an arch on top for the pilasters went up pretty much all the way to the faux balcony above. There were potted topiaries on both sides of the front door, giving the house a distinct "Hollywood Regency" look.

I also remember seeing dark-colored shutters on the first floor windows but not if the 2nd floor windows had them. What I thought was interesting was that the house prominently displayed a railing matching the fake balcony along the roof ridge between the chimneys.

There is another house nearby that still has the faux balcony similar to this house but I cannot recall its exact location.

I have an investment property two blocks from this house, and have wondered about the history. Thanks for the enlightenment.

When I drove by this weekend I noticed it now has a Realtor's "For Sale" sign out front, but it is not listed in HAR.

It would be a real chalenge to restore the beast, and the location sux being sandwiched in between the concrete walls of two rather shabby businesses.

Here is another house that (now Pending) was advertized as "Possibly the oldest privately owned home in Houston in need of complete renovation. " Built in 1856 it is located at 1518 Weber.

There's a thread about this house in the Historic Houston category of this forum: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=13756

After the 1964 World's Fair ended, the Formica House was dismantled and rebuilt on Townsend Drive in Middletown, New Jersey. I went to school with one of the daughters of the family that bought the house directly from the builder and have been inside it several times. The owners, who still own the house today, have maintained the original circa 1964 kitchen appliances, light fixtures, and of course, the formica walls. They even hired the original architect of the house to design a 2-car garage to 'complete' the house. The house, now 43 years old, still looks new with its formica exterior walls.

The Formica Company replied that the company has gone through several owners and most of their archives have been lost. The representative did remember that several idea houses were built in various cities based on the plans of the Formica House featured at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York City. Following is a vintage drawing of that house. It seems quite conventional compared to the one in Houston. There could be a lead, however. Notice the small pod to the left of the house. Could that have been the catalyst of pods to come?

Don't miss this Mod of the Month. You will be amazed at the extent of workmanship involved to cover almost every surface inside and some outside this house with wonderful plastic laminate. With a bit of maintenance and restoration, this mostly original house could once again be a showcase for futuristic living in Space City.

Join us this Sunday, December 16th (2-4pm), at the Mod of the Month!

This house was designed by Waller S. Poage for the Stephens family, who were the owners of the region's Formica Company franchise. Naturally, they used lots of Formica in this house (on the counter tops and walls as well), enough that the house has come to be known as the Formica House. Though the house is in need of TLC, many original "spare no expense" modernist details abound in the house, including a sauna, large built-in cabinets, interior and exterior stone walls, cork paneled walls, a mansion sized master bathroom, hot tub, and many beautiful sconces on the walls of the house. Come join us in celebrating this house and help us find a buyer who can save the house from demolition and take it to its former glory! Please drive around the corner of S. Braeswood and S. Rice and park on Braesheather.

5103 S. Braeswood at South Rice- Southwest Corner

HAR Listing for more pictures, map, pricing details, etc.

My father was raised on Houston Avenue. 1204 Houston Avenue right next to the railroad track and next to the under pass. Their name was Shuptrine. Does anyone know what happened to the house? We were told that the house was moved. and if it was we would like to find out everything we could. Thanks

Was it a 2-story house on the NE corner of Houston and the overpass? Would you happen to have a photograph of that house? That property was owned by the Traweek family who ran the laundry business next door. I don't know if it was they who had the lot cleared to make way for parking.

Have you contacted the Montalbano family who runs the hardware store across the street to see if they know what happened to the house? Some of the family members have worked there since the 50's and have watched the immediate neighborhood come and go.