Dan the Man

I'm now wondering what the attached bldg on the right could be...a garage (w/ back entrance) or another room? Or maybe, a garage & a room, on top? Dan or JLWM8609, did you walked the property? Have you seen the back of the structure, got any clue? The two unequal windows in front bother me. I like to see balance in the details, in such a formal house.

The building on the right is a garage with the door facing the rear of the property. There is a room over the garage, with a hallway over the port couchere to connect it to the main house. Automobile access to the garage was through the port couchere, or from the alleyway along the back of the property.

Several years ago at an estate sale in Meyerland I saw a small stack of 1940's photographs of that house. The house was already painted by then and it displayed a faux wrought iron balcony across underneath the 2nd floor windows where the 'scar' stands. What made it poignant is that the house looked so impeccable in the background with a beaming young family standing proudly on the beautifully landscaped front yard. The pictures screamed "we found the American Dream". I wanted to buy these pictures but the dealer wanted far too much for them.

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.

They should bring back the Firebird as a cool sports car that is not based on the Camaro, and it should be the only model sold under the Pontiac brand name. Pricing should be comparable to the Ford Mustang, with both a V6 & V8 offered.

3616 Tartan Ln in Braeswood

...I think there's one Staub, one Briscoe...

The John Staub house is on South MacGregor, very close to the Weingarten estate. Unfortunately, it has been butchered beyond recognition. The Birdsall Briscoe house is on Riverside Drive. For $490K, it could be yours! http://www.har.com/2785618

http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-5865:83

Anyone recognize this one?

Spanish style...who's was it, originally?

address?

Is it still there?

I think that one is gone, probably demolished for 288. Judging by the fact that the loggia is on the right side of the house, I'd venture to say the house was on the north side of the street (loggias & screen porches were almost always on the southeast side of a house to catch the breeze). Perhaps historicaerials.com could give us clues to a more definite location?

I've never heard of this. There are many homes in Riverside Terrace that were probably influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's style, but I don't think any were actually designed by him. The only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in Houston is the Memorial area, but its appearance has been altered.

The more I look at the "architecture" of mass consumption and debt that was the bubble era, the more all of these houses look like they are built as a movie set. You know where it is really just a front facade and what is behind is just a generic stucco box.

The facade analogy can also apply to the occupants of bubble-era architecture: flashy facade, but no cash or substance to back it up.

The trail along Brays Bayou between Lawndale & Mason Park is very nice; I like it more than the Buffalo Bayou trail between downtown & Shepherd.

WTF? Most of the homes in Forest Hill are dilapidated roach infested dumps stuffed in WAY too close to the street and WAY too close together. There are some nice, well maintained houses in there, and a few blocks on a few streets are bordering on decent, but overall it can't touch Idylwood with a 10 foot pole. Iylwood is SUPER nice. 95% of the homes in there are VERY well kept. My money would be on Idylwood....WAY WAY better 'hood for not too much more money.

Eh, it's not that bad... I think Forest Hill's biggest negative is the mishmash of architectural styles & construction quality in the housing stock. Some of the houses are complete tear-downs, while others are very nice. Yeah, it's not Idylwood, but you can get a much larger yard in Forest Hill. Plus, you don't have to worry about flooding from the bayou.

What vacant lots? The blocks around the current museum site were....bungalows! Yes, bungalows in every direction from the current Menil Collection site, as well as bungalows on the current Menil Collection site.

You've already said things that I know are false, so I'm going to need citations on future claims. There were bungalows on the Cy Twombly site definitely as late as 1981 (the same year Piano was hired, and a decade after Rothko Chapel had already replaced existing bungalows), and Dominique de Menil was buying up land in these blocks in the 1980s. If the bungalows left at some point after 1981 and before the main Menil Collection opened in 1987, it was by her hand.

Cite some sources that back up what you say, because the historic aerials are not telling the same tale.

The house-moving story was part of Renzo Piano's lecture at the 20th anniversary of the Menil on April 21, 2007. If what he said was false, I apologize for repeating it and trying to present it as fact.

What about the previous bungalows that were plowed under to create the current Menil? I don't see why plowing some to the South would make things all that much worse. There's still plenty of neighborhood to go around.

The bungalows that are immediately adjacent to the museum building should not be demolished, as they play a primary role in the scalar relationship between the building and its original neighborhood context, which is central to the architectural experience.

In fact, some of the surrounding bungalows originally sat on the museum building site. Renzo Piano and Dominique deMenil chose to have these houses moved (not demolished), in order to fill in vacant lots in the blocks around the museum site. This move ensured that everything in the vicinity was relatively the same scale, and helped the new museum building fit into the surrounding area.

Yes, some of the adjacent bungalows are already gone (ie where the Cy Twombly Gallery is located). However, Piano was careful to design this building to be the same scale as the museum building and the remaining adjacent bungalows. Hopefully the new architect will keep this concept in mind when the new buildings are designed.

Love the lava rock!

Old vacant buildings have a better chance of survival during a recession than during times of economic prosperity. Historic preservation is one of the few positive results of poverty. However, poverty also results in deferred maintenance and neglect. New Orleans is a perfect example of this.

Cattitudes!

This expansion news bothers me, especially the remark about the surrounding bungalows being at the end of their useful lives.

One of the main reasons behind the Menil Collection's "architectural success" has to do with how well it is integrated into the surrounding neighborhood fabric. You could easily miss the buildings if you weren't looking out for them, and the museum is meant to be somewhat hidden. The buildings are to be seen as a backdrop for the art, not self-conscious landmarks. It is for this reason that neighboring bungalows were purchased and left in place - to preserve the context of the neighborhood. Painting everything the same colors was an afterthought meant to further drive home the point that the museum is part of the surrounding neighborhood.

I feel that demolishing a large section of the adjacent neighborhood to erect a big new building would totally destroy this effect, and go against Renzo Piano's and Dominique deMenil's original plans for the museum. If space is needed for expansion, it should be located somewhere else.

Why isn't Renzo Piano involved in this planning process? He's still alive, and he gave a lecture at the museum 2 years ago...

From what I've heard, it needs to be a cash sale. The banks don't want to finance it. There are several interested buyers, but no one can get the loans.

Jason

Why is this? The flooding?

I'm not surprised they closed up. I never saw anybody in that store.

Don't forget Randall's & Whole Foods on Bellaire Blvd, plus the Randall's on Weslayen. The grocery market in the West U area is already saturated; when the "super Kroger" opened, it took a lot of business away from the Weslayen Randall's. The new HEB will probably put the nail in the coffin for the Weslayan Randall's, as it is the oldest grocery store in the area, and was designed to 1980s standards.

I think 77035 and 77096 keep the foundation repair companies in business

flipper

77025 (Braeswood) is supposed to be some of the most expansive soil in the city. Most expansive = worst for foundations.

Great house.

Transco/Williams Tower?

Been there since 1983...

Is the mall the main reason for the area's problems? I had always heard that the rundown apartments in the neighboring Gulfton area had more of a negative impact than the mall itself; ie apartment residents go to the mall to steal things for drug money/meet with gang members/etc. I would focus on getting rid of the apartments before redeveloping the mall.

That said, I'd like to see that area turn back around. Sharpstown is surprisingly close to Bellaire and the Galleria.

Cool!

One point that hasn't been brought up is: How intact was the interior of this house prior to the renovation? I had heard that it was a halfway house for many years, so I imagine it took some serious abuse.

I'm glad that it was saved, even if the interior isn't period-correct. The house is significant to the history of Woodland Heights, and preserving the most visible portion (the exterior) maintains the building as a neighborhood landmark. To me, that's more important, since many people will never go inside.