Sixth Ward Demolition

[texasboy]

it happened on september 9th:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/art/3356092

[houstonsemipro]

Sometimes a change is good.

[GoAtomic]

Sometimes a change is good.

Sometimes, doing something for the betterment of the community (i.e. saving a historic house) and not your own personal gain is better.

[kjb434]

But when change also is a gain for new residents and an increase tax base for the city, it is quite good.

It a historic house is beyond repair, i have know problem with it going. Not everything historic is worth saving.

[HeightsGuy]

For what it's worth, this website posts an email from the new owners on that gives their perspective. They make a pretty good argument:

There goes another neighborhood

[sevfiv]

almost two years later, the only thing on the lot where the Valentine house sat is an old Winnebago

fwiw, Maria Isabel (the one who demolished the Valentine house) is the head of the Old Sixth ward Property Owners Association, and they are trying to get new historic entry signs for the neighborhood:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2007_4354849 (registration req.)

Wanting more than the brown historic district signs to designate its uniqueness, residents of the Old Sixth Ward are looking for a few good designs.

"It's a monumental, significant way to say, `This is our district,' " said Maria Isabel of the Sixth Ward Property Owners, which is organizing the call for entries.

Isabel said she wants something more than what the brown historic district signs offer.

"Right now we have markers in the neighborhood and they're in bad shape," she said. "It would be great to redo those."

now, here is a news segment where she shows her true feelings about preservation (she comes in about 50 seconds into the segment):

[Guest danax]

almost two years later, the only thing on the lot where the Valentine house sat is an old Winnebago

fwiw, Maria Isabel (the one who demolished the Valentine house) is the head of the Old Sixth ward Property Owners Association, and they are trying to get new historic entry signs for the neighborhood:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2007_4354849 (registration req.)

now, here is a news segment where she shows her true feelings about preservation (she comes in about 50 seconds into the segment):

Just listening to the sound of her voice made me feel like I was married again......ick.

I think this woman likes to fight and likes the idea of being a sore thumb.. How could she not realize when she bought the old house that her new home, if built, will long be a symbol in that nabe of Houston's current clash of old school freedom and old architecture lovers.

[RedScare]

A good friend of mine is friends with Maria. While her feelings on the lost cause nature of the house that was demolished did not change, apparently she had a change of heart about the structure to replace it. He seemed to believe that she now wants to build something that will compliment the neighborhood, rather than clash with it. Hearing she is president of the POA is surprising. Has she mended fences with the neighbors?

I may have to ask him about this. Any comments from 6th Warders would be welcome.

EDIT: Having watched the video, and noticed the date (Jan. 2007), she didn't sound like she had made amends. Old 6th Ward POA may be a group she started herself. Certainly, the conversation I had with my friend occurred prior to January.

[sevfiv]

EDIT: Having watched the video, and noticed the date (Jan. 2007), she didn't sound like she had made amends. Old 6th Ward POA may be a group she started herself. Certainly, the conversation I had with my friend occurred prior to January.

OSWPO is not in any way affiliated with the neighborhood association (http://www.old6ward.com) - i can't find anything about OSWPO with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, either

[sixthwardguy]

OSWPO is not in any way affiliated with the neighborhood association (http://www.old6ward.com) - i can't find anything about OSWPO with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, either

Here are some comments from a Sixth Ward homeowner.

1. There is no such thing as "oswpo". The correct term is SWPO - Sixth Ward Property Owners, this group wants the osw historic district redeveloped---- leaving "old" out of their group's name was deliberate----- and you are correct that they are not affiliated with the oswna, a longtime 501c3 organization dedicated to the historic preservation of Old Sixth Ward.

2. "Swpo" is simply a loosely organized club of sorts, and Maria Isabel is their self described "Communications Executive", and the post above is correct, she started this "POA" herself with a few others.

3. She has not made amends in the neighborhood, and has made recent comments in various televised settings that indicate she has not "rethought" her design plans. She still continues with her anti-historic preservation crusade to this day.

4. You are correct that this woman, Maria Isabel, likes to fight and to be a sore thumb. She has already identified 63 historic homes in the Old Sixth Ward that need to be demolished and actually approached the city with the list.

Btw, she was told by several experienced contractors and expert house restorers that the original circa 1885 part of the Valentine house was very solid and would make an ideal front for a architecturally-compatible camelback addition in the back.....like many others in the neighborhood have done. She was told that the haphazard additions (the real source of the house being "in bad shape", and built in the last 30-40 years) could be removed without anyone batting an eye about it.

She had zero interest in saving the house from the beginning. She had already designed a Miami-Beach style house for herself and needed to find a lot for it. Another neighbor had just made arrangements to relocate the original portion of the Valentine House to her lot around the corner but Maria had it demolished without the lady's knowledge, citing time committments with her contractor. As a drive past the lot more than two years later, that was not true.

Her contribution to the "beautification" she so likes to tout, is an old winnebago parked on the otherwise empty lot, and her contribution to "preservation" is preserving the palm tree in the front.

[sevfiv]

thanks for the comments and clarifications...

and i wasn't aware that maria isabel has targeted even more homes in the area.

[OSWisHome]

thanks for the comments and clarifications...

and i wasn't aware that maria isabel has targeted even more homes in the area.

BTW, this is a couple from outside the neighborhood who think they are "doing us a favor", but in fact are just being destructive.

They (especially the wife) have devoted a lot of energy in the last couple years to publicly bashing other neighbors and the neighborhood in general and then trying to act like do-gooders.

Hope they aren't counting on being warmly embraced for their contributions.

[Guest danax]

3. She has not made amends in the neighborhood, and has made recent comments in various televised settings that indicate she has not "rethought" her design plans. She still continues with her anti-historic preservation crusade to this day.

4. You are correct that this woman, Maria Isabel, likes to fight and to be a sore thumb. She has already identified 63 historic homes in the Old Sixth Ward that need to be demolished and actually approached the city with the list.

Wow. If what you depict is accurate, she's way worse than I imagined. It does make sense now as I was wondering why on earth she picked 6th Ward to buy in; to crush all oldness and create a gleaming new hip nabe, free from the pestilence that old houses represent.

I guess I've never heard of an anti-historic preservation crusader before. I'm now thinking she might be the reincarnation of Carrie Nation with a revamped crusade. (I wish I had a good photo edit program > ).

[KinkaidAlum]

Maria Isabel just became Phillip's public enemy #3.

#1 is the owner of the brass maiden.

#2 is Weingarten Realty.

If Maria gets any of the 63 homes torn down, she could easily move up the list...

[sevfiv]

two years later (the winnebago is a nice touch, though):

[OSWisHome]

If you'd like to see Maria Isabel in action, she was interviewed last night (on the eve of the City Council vote to create Houston's first/only Protected Historic District) by Fox News, standing next to her rental apartment outside the neighborhood.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Ne...mp;pageId=3.2.1

[KinkaidAlum]

She said,

"There is many homes in the neighborhood that are dilapitated (sic)" while wearing a leopard print dress and claiming she was a supporter of preservation.

LOL.

Yeah, a woman who parks a Winnebago behind a chain link fence is certainly showing her concern with dangerous buildings and unsafe habitats.

What a tool.

[sixthwardguy]

She said,

"There is many homes in the neighborhood that are dilapitated (sic)" while wearing a leopard print dress and claiming she was a supporter of preservation.

LOL.

Yeah, a woman who parks a Winnebago behind a chain link fence is certainly showing her concern with dangerous buildings and unsafe habitats.

What a tool.

It appears that Maria Isabel has moved on to spreading her joy to a national audience. She is the staffer described in this blog and many others:

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/...a_flag_scandal/

[OSWisHome]

It appears that Maria Isabel has moved on to spreading her joy to a national audience. She is the staffer described in this blog and many others:

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/...a_flag_scandal/

Oh, my. It continues. She was interviewed... http://www.myfoxhouston.com:80/myfox/pages...14.1&sflg=1

And 2 among many blog posts http://lonestartimes.com:80/ :

<H3 id=post-9256>Che-flag-waving moonbat runs for cover

by Matt Bramanti | 02/13/2008 4:39 pm |

<H3 id=post-9243>LST identifies Obama's Che Moonbat

by David Benzion | 02/13/2008 6:00 am |

</H3></H3>