Willowisp

Here's a link to the old listing.

Only 2 shots of the outside. The rest is of the lot. It reminds me a little of 950 Kirby, another Kamrath, which as far as I know has been sitting vacant for quite some time.

It's the most expensive one-story house for sale in Meyerland under 4000 square feet. But it's on a pretty big lot. I'd say give it a chance and see what you think.

That is a spectacular mod, and dare I say a good price for it? I've probably been looking at Memorial area homes for too long to think over $500k is a decent deal.

Check it out.

9007 Manhattan

In interviewing him, he mentioned being affected by the new architecture of San Francisco where he was stationed in the military. It was around WW2 as I recall that he saw this and was influenced to start designing in the contemporary country style. What we are finding is that he became one of Houston's most prolific residential architects of medium to large contemporary ranch houses. I wouldn't think he was connected much to Philip Johnson in his style. He was more Frank Lloyd Wright influenced. He was extremely humble considering how much he produced. It was a great honor to meet him and talk to him.

So, it's the 3 year anniversary for this topic!

This is great stuff, you are documenting the most important architectural history of Houston. Do you have a sense of when he began building modern styles? The earliest date I saw was from the late 40s. Was he building modern houses at the same time or before the DeMenil house?

Thanks to Lisa Gray for pointing this out.

Somebody save this baby.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=75389228

Send me an email to info @ houstonmod . org and I will give you Mr. Vale's email address. I haven't talked to him in almost 2 years so I don't know how his health is these days. In discussing plans he said "they're all in storage somewhere." He was a little vague about the quantity of plans etc he still has. Ben Hill, especially, has researched his work and both of us would enjoy helping you document your restoration. Ben has met several of the owners of his houses and can point you in the right direction in contacting them. I can include him in the emails to the info address. Vale was a prolific architect. It's incredibly sad how much of it is gone now.

That's great, other than it being a hideous paint color and my detesting of ceiling fans, both undoables except for the painting of brick. But maybe they had a good reason to paint it...

That's where I went! It never occurred to me that I may have sublimanally gotten my interest in mid-century modernism from my intermediate school.

Thank you for splitting the threads! You read my mind...

The House of the Century (Angleton) posts were moved to a separate topic:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=22474

Brazos Books should have it now unless they sold out in a month. I don't know why they didn't contact you if they were supposed to.

The other best way to get the book is at the Mods of the Month or through the PO Box ($3 for shipping).

I talked to the realtor and we may be able to arrange a Mod of the Month at this house. Sadly, it's an estate sale. They are cleaning up the house and getting it ready for sale. The woman I met there two years ago has passed on. I feel even worse now that I never took her my book!

The realtor actually said someone was interested in buying and remodeling. I told her I'd love to be part of that process as I have experience. Who knows if that's serious though. It could just be someone who said "I like this".

Jason

The listing photos are beautiful! What a view with all those windows. So sad to hear it's neglected and probably a goner.

Jason, I'm sorry to complain, but I called Brazos Bookstore for a copy of your Jenkins book last spring when it came out, and gave them my CC number (I was a little surprised they asked for it at that time.)

Haven't heard a word from them for several months. Can you shed any light on that?

Ben brought it to my attention that this house is for sale.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=95455265&backButton=Y&Address=218%20Pine%20Hollow%20Ln

When I wrote the Jenkins book, I debated a long time about whether or not to feature this house. All of the houses I featured were in Bellaire and just south of Bellaire. This house is off of Woodway on Pine Hollow. I didn't have any vintage photos of the house, and there would be little way to make it look great now, so I decided to leave it out. I went over and visited the current owner once and toured the house a couple of years ago and it was looking neglected.

I'm starting to regret that I didn't feature it now, as it is up for sale, and likely to meet a demo crew. Hopefully we can all get over there soon for a tour. If one had the money and interest, this would be a very interesting project. Many original features remain, and the view/real estate is terrific.

The house was built in 1953 for the Sullivan family. There is a bedroom addition with lots of glass that follows the style of the original house.

I have a small newspaper clipping of it, but on my home computer.

Jason

Maybe this should be a completely different thread??? But...

Where do you live that's so bad? How many modern elements do you hope to find? How original do you expect it to be?

First off $240K will limit you to:

A - terrible condition in a good neighborhood (like the house this thread covers).

What are the "good neighborhoods"? Well, that too is up for a major debate, covered in several topics around this forum.

B - small house in an average neighborhood - and it will still probably need $30K in repairs.

Most MCMs around town in the under $500K are pretty small anyway. 1700K sq. ft. is about all you're getting under $250K.

Now the "modern elements". The more modern elements you expect to find the rarer and harder it will be. Floor to ceiling glass, flat roof, post and beam, lack of moulding, sliding glass doors, built-in furniture, courtyards, a locally known architect... The more options you want the less likely you will find it. Are you set on an "Eichler Style" or a "Frank Lloyd Wright wannabe" or a "Miesian" or 1960s party house, or is "ranch with modern undertones" good?

The same goes for how original you expect it to be. You're just not likely to find an untouched 1950s house. But you might find something worth saving.

Finally, do you want to furnish it in modern? One of my top 20 favorite houses in Houston is a ranch with modern lines, but the fact that it is completely stylin' inside makes all the difference.

And rule number 1 - there will always be some kind of issues you can't control. If you can tolerate that then you'll survive.

Jason

Domus - that's great to hear about better houses out there. I am genuinely interested in finding one since this one purportedly closed on May 22. Could you please tell me where they are that are as interesting, well-located and for a $240,000 asking price?

We live in a mid-century house in a far worse neighborhood for crime and want to get a better house in a better location. We are cash buyers and not afraid of some refurbishing.

I'm bumping this topic as we've recently had an inquiry about this church from a member of the church. Hopefully we'll be able to document the church now that we have a contact who goes there and is interested in doing more documentation on it. I'll post more as I learn more.

This is one of those River Oaks houses I've driven by a hundred times wishing I could get in to see (Farfel House is the other main one in that area). Unless "Houston Mod's best friend" (I'm paraphrasing several people who have told me this) the recession spares this house, I'm afraid it will be the only time we get to appreciate it up close. John Daugherty has some realtors that are big Modern Fans though so who knows. Maybe there's a person for this beauty.

What a weekend this is shaping up to be!

Jason

The open house will be a nice way to spend the day after the tour! Unofficial Mod of the Month, anyone?

There was one on Tree Frog a few years back that I think was over $500K. You're right though, I wouldn't consider this Meyerland.

We had a mod of the month in the neighborhood awhile back and it could/should be a great neighborhood. But it is surrounded by some bad reputation neighborhoods, whether or not that's deserved, I don't know. It's part of that "inner ring" between the loop and the beltway that seems to be down these days.

There are a bunch of houses over there that we should know the architects of and don't. Maybe the architects there didn't get a lot of press.

Jason

I wouldn't consider Bonham Acres to be in the Meyerland market... Anything west of Hillcroft is pushing it and this is west of Fondern. It is by far the most expensive home on the market in the subdivision and if it sold at list price would be the most expensive ever sold in the subdivision.

However, it is a really cool looking ranch (minus the kitchen) on a nice sized lot. Bonham Acres is a nice pocket in the area...

It will be there all weekend, but I think it will be $20 (regular price) except on the tour ($15).

Sorry you won't be able to make it.

Jason

We are not going to be able to make the tour The 25th is just a bad day for us. We do plan on going to the Modern Market, though - will we be able to buy the book there? Or just pick it up later from Houston Mod?

Cool, thanks for bringing that to everyone's attention. It could be a good mod of the month, despite the non-purist things they did to update the house.

Does anyone have an old har listing for this? Is it a flipper's house, or did a long time owner "update" it?

Jason

No connection, other than I live down the street (Dunlap) and have admired this house since we moved in last year. Plus, it reinforces the value of mine to some degree, so i suppose there is that "rooting interest".

I've wondered who the architect was for this house for a long time. Any ideas? Are you the seller or realtor or just a someone in the neighborhood?

Robindell is great. I would love to live there.

Thanks for sharing.

Pretty Cool, no? The pics are lame, but the virtual tour shows the outside, which is cool. It sits across Braeswood from the bayou, so there's that.

Ah, yes... RDA, I didn't say that. We'll have to talk to the owners about it as well as discuss it at the Board Meeting. Ben has already been able to take some fantastic photos in these houses. Many of them are going to be in the book. I don't think you're going to get much better shots for yourselves than Amanda (phDesign), Ben, and I put in the book, so make sure to buy the book.

We went to SXSW music festival this year and they had various policies on cameras in the venues. I was trying to take a picture of every band we saw just so I could remember them later (saw over 50 bands in 4 days!) We went to see The New York Dolls, and during the opening bands a bouncer told me to put the camera away "no photos allowed tonight" so I put it away. You should have seen all the cameras and iphones come out when The New York Dolls took the stage. There were less people not taking pictures than there were taking them. It was rock and roll history and everyone wanted to preserve it for themselves. Of course I got a few shots myself.

I don't know the ins and outs and issues of it so at this point I better just say I will defer to our Board's collective wishes and let you know for sure one way or another before the tour. I hope it's not a deal breaker if you're not able to take photos inside.

Jason

Of all the places I could live for $2.3 mil, Gessner at Memorial is not the first place I'd think of, even in that awesome new house (especially awesome for fans of The Munsters). I wonder if it has the Grandpa closet and science lab, or if that's extra? Sorry, I'm going for the bad karma tonight, aren't I?

I will make a check with the other owners on that. But I think the answer is yes, as long as they are "for your personal use only" and the owners privacy is respected. The houses are very photogenic so I can't blame anyone for wanting their own shots, but some of the owners are private people. And these days everyone is a little suspicious of photographers, right, Ben?

Jason

Was wondering if cameras would be allowed for interior shots?

Yes, I've got you on the list. I thought I responded to ask what time you wanted on, but maybe that was someone else?

Please send your time reservation to the info@houstonmod.org address.

Thanks,

Jason

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

My instant thought was The Munsters! 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

http://www.classictvhits.com/munsters/house.html

The replacement looks like it is being built for the Adams family branch from New Orleans. I wonder if a hand will grab the mail in the mail box?

1313 Mockingbird Lane.

"one-way-in and one-way-out street that dead ends into a beautiful large culdesac over the Bayou."

That one way in and out street ends in a cul de sac full of town homes. Sounds like it would be crowded every day getting out of your little street.

Here's a quick update on the April 25 tour.

We will be visiting the interiors of the following houses:

Weintraub

Jenkins 2

Barnes

Godine

AND the exteriors of these:

Ginzbarg ("peek in")

Brier ("peek in")

Guarino

Huvard

Parade of Homes House

Jenkins 3

Parc IV & V Apartments (if time permits)

Knight (if time permits)

The tour will be a very packed 3 hours of fun on a bus and at the houses with fellow modern enthusiasts.

RSVP to info@houstonmod.org with your choice of 10am or 2pm - about half the slots are spoken for already. Don't wait to RSVP! RSVP now and pay by check through the mail.

The book will be $15 at the tour, and then $20 after that.

Thanks,

Jason