marmer

Designed 1927-28 by Joseph W. Northrop. Associate architect was Alfred C. Bossom. http://www.stcroixarchitecture.com/products/san-jacinto-trust-company-building-houston-tx-1928-lithograph-jos-w-northrop

The Houston Public Library has an architectural archives database on their site. Some Houston firms (MacKie and Kamrath, Lloyd and Morgan, etc.) are represented there, but you have to visit the Julia Ideson Building to see them. There is no city repository of drawings.

I saw a similar cleaner building on Cullen south of 610 this morning. Roofline was similar in angle and scale but the Oriental detailing, such as it is, was absent. Could be coincidence; not sure.

Correct. They moved from downtown Lake Jackson to Brazos Mall, briefly before closing in the 1980s. There are mentions of "Brockman and Co." dry goods in Freeport beginning in 1930. By the mid-60s they had stores in Alvin, Angleton, Lake Jackson, West Columbia, Freeport, and Sweeny, but the family lived in Angleton. The Lake Jackson store was the authorized dealer for Boy Scout uniforms and equipment when I was of Scouting age.

County records show it was 605 N. Gordon. Intersection of 35 and Highway 6, which makes sense. The assumed name, Oasis Drive Inn, was withdrawn in 1980 after a series of short term owners and tax liens. The building at that address now is a tire shop. It might be the same size but doesn't look like the building pictured. My guess is that it was torn down or burned down.

Roller extensions and a long extension ladder leaning against the wall to cut the edges with a brush? Doesn't sound like fun, but that's what I'd try.

Not "new" but very mod-friendly: Ben Koush Associates http://www.benkoush.com Miller Dahlstrand DeJean: http://mddarchitects.com

Yes, that is in Pearland. You probably won't be surprised to hear that it is a Popeye's Chicken now. I moved to Pearland in 1990 and it has always been Popeye's Chicken while I've been there. There was also a Del Taco on Dixie Drive in Lake Jackson. Either it's been torn down and replaced by Shipley's Donuts or converted into a Shipley's.

Yes, it does look like some early Lake Jackson houses. 815 Azalea, for one.

Heartbreaking. I don't understand why anyone thinks HD or internet radio is a legit broadcast alternative. HD is far from ubiquitous in cars.

I thought the reason that they closed is because Jimmie's wife had a bunch of business interests in New Orleans and they wanted to move there.

Yes.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/technology-park-ready-for-occupants/article_c596dd0b-5097-5acf-a8f6-3a87cd9f530d.html

Well, I'm late to this party. Born in Freeport 1961, grew up in Lake Jackson, Brazoswood High School Class of 1980. Lived in Houston since graduation, but inherited my family home in 2011. Currently completing a book about the mid-century architecture of the area, hoping to be published by Houston Mod for Christmas 2015, funding permitting. Carriage Square was the block-long low series of office buildings on South Parking Place. This was one of the first Alden-Dow-designed Lake Jackson buildings, with an oversailing front awning. It did deteriorate into unsalvageable condition and was demolished about 2005. However, the Alden Dow office at the north end was donated to the city by the owner and the Lake Jackson Historical Association restored it beautifully. That section, still standing, is on the National Register of Historic Places. While the Oakwood Housing Development is gone now (and its loss was hotly debated in the community) a great deal of the historic fabric, particularly houses, remains. Preservation, beyond the ABD office and the archaeological site at the Lake, hasn't needed to be a priority up until now. Oak Drive, Oyster Creek Drive, Plantation Court, Azalea, and Magnolia, to name a few, still display several well-kept architect-designed mid-century houses. I fear with all this growth that there will be teardown pressure on the desirable creekside lots of Oak Drive and Oyster Creek Drive and on the modest single family Alden Dow houses west of Yaupon and along Winding Way. All is not bleak for downtown: the Rainbow Center, Lake Jackson Clinic, and Lake Jackson Professional Building are still standing in decent condition and there has been a major revitalization effort, which to its credit emphasizes mid-century design over Plantation-style details. Word is that the Lake Theatre will become a restaurant although I understand the project has been delayed by city inspectors. The building does have roof issues but it is not caved in. There is actually some new development in Freeport and some effort to spruce up the historic downtown area near Park Avenue.

Yes, I saw _LA Confidential_ at the Briargrove very late in its life. It had a vaguely creepy vibe back then. I'm pretty sure that would have been 1990 or so.

On a Mac, right-click or control-click the file name and select "Download Linked File…" I don't know about Windows, but I'll bet it's similar and can be found with a little Googling.

Aren't they still here? http://www.aynart.com/hulda.html

Jason and Ben already know this, but I was recently contacted by a brother and sister in Lake Jackson whose parents had a Jenkins house from 1959. It's still in the family, still in good shape, and mostly original inside. It's not strongly modern and might not be noticed as a Jenkins-style house at first look, but we can another one to the list. Interestingly enough, the plans say something like "Residence No. 817." Wonder if he actually did eight hundred houses? Or even eight hundred projects?

Wasn't there an airfield called Linda Sue out that way? Or is that the successor to Sky Ranch?

I searched the Harris County online records, which are difficult to navigate and have little information, and it looks like the first transaction involving that property was between one William J. Grierson and one Michael Wendland, in 1971. It looks like Grierson owned a lot of property in that area. It has been used as various music and rehearsal studios for a while.

The big question is: what is the significance of the design on the picture window? Semaphore flags? Military ribbons? Some kind of art piece? It's not there in the current photos.

The entry detailing in the Facebook photo is kinda nice. Just for fun I'll suggest Arthur Steinberg, who also did the "warped penthouse" building on Bellfort and who was known for unusual finishes and details. But I'm just guessing.

From The Institute for Texan Cultures: FRANK AND JENNIE INGRANDO FOUNDATION 1951 On Saint Patrick's Day in 1950 a childless couple, Frank and Jennie Ingrando of Houston, established a foundation to provide for the care of neglected children. They were about to begin construction of a home on the Gulf Freeway when Jennie be­came incurably ill and plans had to be postponed. After her death in May 1951 Frank decided to carryon alone. He was the architect, foreman and contractor for the building, which was designed to house 100 children. As Frank said after Jennie's death: "We both wanted to see chil­dren with lots of ground around them. We wanted them to have a few ponies, flowers, chickens and a gar­den, maybe:' The home was dedicated in the summer of 1954 and was opened in 1955, but Frank Ingrando did not live to see the first children move in; he had died the previous December. The Ingrando home operated until 1962, when the original structure was sold and a smaller, more economical place was purchased. The new quar­ters were operated until 1969. By then, the state and county had as­sumed responsibility for the care of the children the Ingrando home was intended to help. The foundation continued to donate money to orga­nizations already taking care of chil­dren. It made gifts to the City of Houston for a park to be named the Frank and Jennie Ingrando Park. It gave property to finance an intensive care unit for children at St. Joseph's Hospital. It also contributed to the Houston School for the Deaf, to the Boy Scouts, to the San Jose Clinic and to other children's groups. One of the more unusual gifts was to Dominican College in Hous­ton. The gift provided for continua­tion of a special mass recited each year on September 8. The mass had its origins in the 1900 storm which destroyed Galveston. Frank's father, Ignacio Ingrando, had vowed that, if his family survived the storm, he would mark the occasion annually. The family survived, and the mass has been observed with only a few exceptions ever since. Sicilian-born Frank Ingrando was two years old when his parents immigrated to Texas in 1888. Jennie Barbera was born in America to Italian parents who had settled in Houston shortly after the Civil War. As a boy Frank worked in his father's store, then opened his own paint shop. All the while, he was buying property whenever he could. By the late 1920's the Ingrandos possessed all the material comforts they felt they would ever need, so they turned their energies toward saving and investing for the children's home. Jennie kept the books, collected the rents and counseled with Frank in real estate investments. As a result of the tax reform act of 1969, it became uneconomical to operate the foundation, and the final gifts were made in 1973. But the memory of Frank and Jennie Ingran­do will live on in the park and in other good works provided for the children of Houston.

There is KHOU News film footage from August 22, 1968 about the Ingrando home fire here. Wow, that was a big fire. http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/film/id/99

Wow. I really like that corner window on the second floor part of the stairwell and the fireplace hearth.