apower

We just bought a bungalow in sunset heights. One of the rooms has some nasty 70s or 80s looking carpet in it, but I pulled up a corner and there are the original hardwood that are in the rest of the house underneath.

I did not post in the general home renovation section because we are not looking for a recommendation for just a "floor guy." Looking for a recommendation for someone you used to actually remove carpet or some overlay and salvage the original hardwoods underneath. Is there a go-to heights guy for this in the way pfister seems to be the go-to pier and beam guy (at least from my searches on here and asking around).

I have not been yet, but two weeks ago Anvil has supposedly started a Tiki Tuesday night with proper drinks and food. Going to try to make it out tonight and will report back if I do. Certainly the "vibe" will be off but would be nice to at least have the drinks made right

If we sent you an email but didn't receive a response, can we go ahead and assume our name is on the list?

flipper

It looks like a Preway. They usually go for less than a Malm. Looks like it is in good condition. I would guess you could get $500-$600 bucks for it, but would probably be a pain to ship.

http://blantonmuseum.org/works_of_art/exhi..._cool/index.cfm

On display 2/22 - 5/17.

They were supposed to be released 10 days ago, but our post office doesn't have any still. Someone should post if they actually get any in Houston.

Someone is me. Our post office got them in today.

They were supposed to be released 10 days ago, but our post office doesn't have any still. Someone should post if they actually get any in Houston.

There is a strong west coast prejudice to the history of googie, but Wildwood developed essentially around the same time and is extremely concentrated. This site is pretty good -

http://www.doowopusa.org/index.html

We met with several landscapers. The absolute best that seemed to connect with our MCM ideas was Portia Leyendecker. Unfortunately she ended up out of our price range. We decided to do the "design" ourselves and just get someone to do the heavy lifting parts. We had one person come out and tell us that they would never plant horsetail and another that they wouldn't plant an agave for us because we had small children living next door. Since I didn't actually contract Leyendecker, my recommendation is limited somewhat, but from the interaction I did have I fully believed that she "got it."

Can there be such a thing as a Googie church? And if so, would you count Park Place Baptist, at 4101 Broadway?

Is this the church on the way to Glenbrook Valley from the Highway? If so, I think it has to be the Googiest church going.

Maybe someone with an older knowledge of Meyerland can answer this. There is a Mexican place next to Belden's called El Ranchero that my wife and I agree must have had a previous life as a Googie diner. It has all been covered up now but there are enough hints that I think we are right.

On the general topic. Does anyone here have horsetail? We just planted a lot of it in a long planter running the width of the front of the house. Having terrible problems keeping it watered. We planted it in mulch, but most times it seems to be in rocks. Could that be part of the problem? Rather than hand watering every night we may just have to get some kind of drip system.

Any horsetail tips?

We have been talking about roadtripping out there for the day to see the Rauschenberg pieces at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. Is there anything else interesting to add to a road trip between here and there? Port Arthur, Orange, Beaumont, anywhere else on or off the beaten path? Also, do you remember any more specifics about the neighbor (street names/subdivision name)?

A more "aggressive" disdain for McMansions in the new today - http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hQlKz_U...S82a5gD8V651UO0

check your PMs

Hey GoAtomic, I can't find your card. Our bathroom remodel is finally underway but has been going poorly. I sent you a PM hoping that you still have some selection available but haven't heard back. In the mean time you can read about our issues here -http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11614

Email me.

(sorry to everyone else for the otherwise PM)

I went and saw this house yesterday, and it has some amazing features. I think it's likely that it is the House of Formica, for every surface--walls, cabinets, bars, etc.--is covered in Formica. I don't think there's is a drop of paint anywhere.

But the house is also really odd. I like strange, and this one is strange without being cool. Some of the design features just aren't right. Therefore, it's possible that we're heading for another Moonlight. I hope not, but I doubt the house will go for anything above lot value.

What are people's thoughts in general on the idea of Formica on walls? The previous owners of our house painted every last surface with cheap white paint including the paneling. We have been toying with the idea of covering the paneling with formica instead of luan or something else. This is the design - http://www.formica.com/publish/site/na/us/...9012.0001.html#

And we were going to hang it horizontally instead of vertically. We plan to be here for a while but not the rest of our lives so I'm worried that it would scare off even modern minded people that would be looking at the house.

these houses are small by today's standards as are their lots so it takes someone not only wealthy but with a mod attitude to own and live in one.

Finding someone like that will be no problem in Los Angeles. Also, I understand that LACMA has plans to buy up mod houses as a new "wing" of the museum and use them like the Schindler house on Kings Road.

Great photos. Thank you so much for posting. How was the Teepee motel? And, tell us some more about the 20th century technology museum.

The Teepee Motel was actually a little nicer than I expected inside. Everything is new because there was basically nothing left to salvage from the old structures. The only disappointment was that the ceiling inside was flat. I had always pictured the sheetrocking to extend all the way up to the point at the top. A pleasant surprise was that each room had its own bathroom. I just figured that one teepee was just a communal bathroom. The fact that someone took their lottery winnings to do this alone should be reason to go. If you want things like this to be saved, you have to support and patron the people and places that have taken the risk.

The 20th Century Technology Museum is in the old (I think late 19th century?) jail in Wharton. Started by a husband and wife. His family had owned the local electronics store for at least two generations, so he had this collection of old radios and TVs. There is a room with a lot of domestic items - fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. The wife gave us a tour and could not possibly have been any nicer. I'm sure some HoustonMod people are aware of the museum because she said she had spoken to Don Emmitt before when there was that exhibit at UofH. The pieces at the museum aren't as pristine as the ones from the UofH show, but I like the fact that they were actually used for their intended purpose.

Combined makes a great weekend. Would love to organize a group of mod-minded people to go down when the weather is better and make a weekender of it. We could rent the entire set of teepees for one night and have a BBQ. I'm sure there is more stuff we didn't discover.

We haven't been in Houston too long, so all of these things may be common knowledge amongst the HoustonMod crowd, but I was pleasantly surprised about our little road trip to Victoria and back on 59. Not quite Route 66, but lots of interesting things.

Working in reverse order coming back to town:

1) This is a restaurant in Victoria. You can't tell from the picture but at night the indian shoots a neon arrow over from the sign at the side of the road to the restaurant. Didn't actually eat here, so don't know what it was like inside.

2) Great motel in El Campo. The metal staircase wraps around the palm tree in the middle. Their kidney-shaped pool had been filled in and was not just a grass lawn with a kidney-shaped outline of concrete.

3) Finally to Wharton, the focal point of our road trip. This is the 20th Century Technology Museum. Unfortunately we were having such a nice time inside we didn't take any pictures except for this one. It was closed the day we were down but the woman that owns it with her husband came down anyway to give us a tour. It's a really endearing little spot. Kind of like walking into an antique store without any junk in the way. Lots of MCM applicances and such.

4) This is the art deco theater that has been restored and hosts community theater events.

5) We stayed at the Tee Pee Motel, which has been discussed on HAIF before. Another really great story. Basically a local couple won the lottery and their dream has always been to restore this motel. It was originally built much earlier than I expected. I think around 1948.

6) Tee Pee sign at night and during the day

7) Wharton's dimunitive answer to Claude Bell

8) Also in Wharton, I have no idea how old this would be, but I find the idea of people immediately paying their parking ticket but dropping money into a box quaint.

9) Finally, the real find of our trip. This is a building at the Wharton County Historical Museum. The outside has the carousel/Cohen House vibe.

And inside housed this crazy mid-century trophy room. It was full of stuff I'm pretty sure you can't kill any more, even in Africa -- A giraffe, an elephant, a polar bear. The room was amazingly swank and looks completely unchanged since the 60's. I'm sure somebody here had to have gone to this place on a field trip as a kid and is still having nightmares.

The room is built around a circular copper fireplace.

The benches are beautiful, but for the fact that those zebra cushions really are zebra hides.

One close up of a few of the animals

10) Although not photographed, old Rosenberg is also highly recommended.

check your PMs

You mean George Kovacs right? We bought that lamp from a store in LA called Plummers before we moved to Houston. We have been talking about selling it since it doesn't really serve any purpose in our house here. If you are interested in buying it used or just want to check it out to see what it looks like, send me an email - apower14@aol.com. We live right down the street in Parkwest.

Another of the same model house as ours/the TLC house just came on the market down the street from us. Unfortunately, it is listed a possible teardown. I can't understand the pricing of this house at $225k. Way too high for lot value and presumably only about 25k under market value of the house in good condition. I really hope someone saves this house. Also, I will get around to getting pictures of our house up soon.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=4485713

HCAD says that the house is owned by John O'Quinn. It seems inconsistent that someone who is so interested in perserving old cars and the history of the automobile (including ones from this era) would have bought this house just 3 years ago to sit on and sell for lot value. It looks like the previous sale was just over $500,000 in 2004. I can't imagine that this lot is worth that much. Has it been vacant since he bought it?

Did anyone see an episode of "Flip that House" on TLC that was on tonight (Sat. 8/4) from 7-8pm? It was a ranch in Memorial that got butchered up. Does anyone know the address or har listing from that one? I remember briefly seeing it online. It is the identical model of the house that we bought in Westbury (of course for less than half the price). I would love to find the har pictures so that I can do a compare/contrast between that style of flip and what we are doing.

This was sent out in the westbury crier email list. Thought I would repost it here just in case. Also, I think this is awesome.

---------

Westbury is one of Houston's largest subdivisions with about 5000

residences. The formal subdivision is over 50 years old, and we are

fortunate to have a number of original residents and "almost

original" residents in the area. The Westbury Civic Club has decided

to undertake a project to preserve the history of the area,

including photos, documents, and videos if possible.

How can you help us? We are looking for a number of things including

the following items.

* Original sales documents or sales brochures for homes in the area

from 1953 to the present.

* Newspaper articles on Westbury from 1953 to present

* Newspaper advertisements about Westbury from 1953 to present

* Photos of the area, please label them with location and date if

possible

* Any film you might have converted to video.

Basically we are looking for anything that might provide a

historical reference for folks as Westbury moves into its second 50

years of history. Electronic documents can be e-mailed to

westburyhistory. houston@gmail. com

If you have printed documents that you would be willing to let us

scan, please send a note to the e-mail address also. If you don't

have e-mail or internet access please call the WCC office at 713-723-

5437 and leave information for us to be able to contact you.

http://houston.craigslist.org/fur/357273098.html

Just for the record, I'm not the seller but came across it and remembered someone looking for one. I am pretty sure the post is a typo and should say preway fireplace.