For Preservation the newsletter of
Volume 20, No. 1
www.ghpa.org
n
greater houston preservation alliance
Houston’s local partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Winter 2010
the 2010 good brick awards
Core House project: Rice Building Workshop and Project Row Houses created a prototype for affordable historic renovations.
courtesy jan smulcer
courtesy chad loucks
courtesy charles stava
1001 Lubbock St.: Ann and Salvador Guercio rescued the 1887 Tajan House, a classic Victorian cottage in the Old Sixth Ward.
2315 Looscan Lane: Jan and Ron Smulcer are being honored for their sensitive rehabilitation of the 1937 Jacques P. Adoue House.
Awards mark best in local preservation About the Cornerstone Dinner Greater Houston Preservation Alliance will present the 2010 Good Brick Awards during the Cornerstone Dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, February 5, at River Oaks Country Club, 1600 River Oaks Boulevard. Bob Fretz, Jr. is the honorary chair along with the gentlemen of GHPA’s Board of Directors. Tickets start at $200. Courtesy 1940 Air Terminal Museum
When Greater Houston Preservation Alliance presents the 2010 Good Brick Awards on Friday, February 5, the award-winning projects will run the gamut from a modest West End bungalow to a gracious Courtlandt Place home and include the volunteer effort to preserve one of Houston’s aviation landmarks. The annual awards showcase outstanding historic preservation efforts and the people who make them happen. This year, 13 projects were chosen to receive awards from the 32 project nominated. A jury of design and preservation professionals, former Good Brick Award winners and community leaders selected the recipients. GHPA board member and former Houston Chronicle home design editor Madeleine McDermott Hamm chaired this year’s jury. “The majority of this year’s nominations were for the preservation of private homes,” said Madeleine Hamm. “The quality of the residential projects reflects the high level of pride and personal commitment found
Municipal Air Terminal: The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society will receive the Stewart Title Award for preserving and restoring the 1940 Air Terminal Museum.
among homeowners in Houston’s historic neighborhoods.” In addition to the juried awards, GHPA will present its 2010 President’s Award to the Heritage Society for more than 50 years of preserva-
tion and heritage education programs in Houston and Harris County. The Heritage Society is best known for preserving the historic structures at Sam Houston Park downtown. “When the Heritage Society was
Changes in GHPA board
david bush
Immanuel Lutheran update Members of Immanuel Lutheran Church have voted to delay demolition of their historic Gothic Revival sanctuary until May. GHPA representatives continue to meet with church and community leaders to find a new use for the building on Cortlandt and E. 15th Street in the Heights. The church was dedicated in 1932 and is a contributing building in the Houston Heights Historic District (East).
For reservations and information, call 713-216-5000. To make a reservation online, visit www.ghpa.org/awards. Proceeds benefit the programs and projects of Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. Since 1978, GHPA has promoted the preservation and appreciation of Houston’s historic architectural and cultural resources. founded in 1954, it pioneered the historic preservation movement in Houston,” said GHPA Executive Director Ramona Davis. “We’re very Please see Good Bricks, Page 3
museum of houston
Exhibit to focus on local legal legends
A line of thunderstorms kept attendance down, but did not dampen the spirit of GHPA’s 2009 Annual Meeting on October 29 at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. During the meeting, Larry E. Whaley succeeded Tony Abyad as President of the Board of Directors, GHPA’s highest volunteer office. “I am honored that the Board of Directors of GHPA have entrusted me with the presidency this year,” said Whaley. “I look forward to working with our exceptional staff, board, volunteers and supporters.” “Over the years we have made steady progress in establishing a preservation ethic in Houston. Larry E. Whaley We do make a difference. I am excited about where we are, and where we can go to further the preservation of our historic treasures,” he said. Whaley has served on the Board since 2004 and joined the Executive Committee as treasurer in 2006. He is the president and founding partner of HaynesWhaley Associates, Inc., structural engi-
The Museum of Houston, GHPA’s innovative online archive and exhibit project, is continuing to move forward thanks to a $150,000 grant from Houston Endowment Inc. The grant allows the museum to continue developing its digital repository, which features items contributed by Houston’s leading libraries, archives, museums and universities. The Center for Digital Scholarship at Rice University, a project partner, is creating a search system that will allow visitors to the MoH Web site to more easily access the repository’s historic documents, photographs, maps and architectural drawings. Another grant from the Brown Foundation is funding the museum’s newest online exhibit, in which some of Houston’s most recognizable legal figures, including Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, Dick and Mike DeGuerin and Diana Marshall, will discuss their storied careers. The exhibit is based on a series of video in-
Please see Board, Page 2
Please see Museum, Page 2
For Preservation
2 | Winter 2010
fr o m t h e ex e c u t i v e d i r e c to r: RAMONA DAVIS
GHPA has launched its completely redesigned Web site, www.ghpa.org, with a fresh look, revised content and a host of new features. Among the site’s features are a more easily navigable news section and the ability to accept online reservations and payments. GHPA members will soon be able to manage their memberships online as well. The design is by local firm Nteractive Marketing.
continued from Page 1
Byrd’s Market & Café returns retail operations to the ground floor of the historic Byrd’s building on Main Street. The business was inspired by urban grocers like Dean & Deluca in New York.
out its unfinished space. In 2006, GHPA recognized the redevelopment of the former Byrd’s Department Store as Byrd’s Lofts with a Good Brick Award. Byrd’s Market is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For additional information, visit www. byrdsmarket.com.
h i s to r i c n e ighborhoods council
City Council OKs historic district, landmark At its December 30th meeting, Houston City Council approved the designation of Boulevard Oaks as Houston’s fifteenth historic district. The new district encompasses a large concentration of early 20th century revival style homes on North and South boulevards between Mandell and Hazard streets. Both Boulevard Oaks and the contiguous Broadacres Historic District are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Boulevard Oaks homeown-
er and GHPA Board Member Janet Spencer spearheaded the project. Courtney Tardy, GHPA Historic Neighborhoods Council director, completed the architectural resources survey that supported the application. City Council also designated the Scientific Barbershop at 4610 Market Street in Houston’s Fifth Ward as a historic landmark. The business is still owned by the same family that opened the shop in 1949. The historical significance
of the Scientific Barbershop includes its status as a gathering place for leaders in the African-American community including the late Congressman George “Mickey” Leland. The original proprietor of Scientific Barbershop, Willia “Bill” Glenn Scott, was one of Houston’s first female barbers, a rarity in the maledominated field. GHPA’s Tardy assisted Bernadette Pressley, Scott’s daughter and current owner of the Scientific Barbershop, in the application process.
terviews with prominent lawyers, judges and legislators that were intended for a museum in the 1910 Harris County Courthouse, which is being restored. The courthouse museum won’t take shape as planned, and the Museum of Houston was able to acquire the videos through the $50,000 Brown Foundation grant. “Few of us have had the chance to hear the stories of these lawyers’ lives and careers straight from the lawyers themselves,” Museum of Houston Director Jim Parsons said. “That’s what makes these interviews so valuable, and we’re happy that we have the opportunity to make them accessible to the public.” Local firm Deuce Creative is designing the exhibit, which is set to be launched this spring. For more information about the museum, visit www.museumofhouston.org.
Board
continued from Page 1 neering services. Tony Abyad will continue to serve on the Board and Executive Committee as past president. Four new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Jane-Page Crump, Diane Gendel, Patty Porter and Bob Wakefield will take the places of retiring Board members Phyllis Griffin Epps, Sidney Faust, Beth Madison and Carmen Nadolney. GHPA greatly appreciates the commitment, energy and enthusiasm the members of the Board bring to the organization. A complete list of members of the 2009-2010 Board of Directors is on the last page of this newsletter.
Remembering a dedicated volunteer, friend GHPA lost a longtime volunteer and dear friend when Martha Peterson passed away last year. Below is her obituary, which appeared in the Houston Chronicle on August 13. Martha Anne Welsh Peterson of Houston passed away August 11, 2009, at Houston Hospice after a long illness. She was born August 30, 1945, in Beaumont, Texas. After graduating from Lamar College, Martha moved to Houston, where she worked for Humble Oil and its successors and subsidiaries and for the law firm of Andrews Kurth. Her interest in Houston’s history eventually led her to the position of project director for the Glenwood Cemetery Historic Preservation Foundation, where she
pete baatz
A new look for Web site
The opening of Byrd’s Market & Café returns retail operations to the historic Byrd’s Department Store (1934) at Main and Prairie. Located on the ground floor of Byrd’s Lofts, the market features grocery and gourmet food sections in addition to full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Jerrell “Rusty” Powers assembled the team of stakeholders backing the new business, which was inspired by urban grocers Dean & Deluca in New York and Fox & Obel in Chicago. “Byrd’s Market is a cross between a casual restaurant and a neighborhood grocer, with a strong emphasis on prepared foods,” said Powers. “We do not see Byrd’s as just another restaurant; it must be a destination for downtown and a place people love to walk to and hang out.” The project benefitted from the Houston Downtown Management District’s expanded Retail Incentives Grant Program. The grants support “independent destination retailers” that serve as cornerstones for neighborhood development and spur additional retail leasing. The market received a grant to help build
Museum
jim parsons
It’s time to change the way we talk about preservation. We tend to say a building has deteriorated or fallen into disrepair when we really mean the owner has allowed the building to deteriorate. When buildings become uninhabitable, it is usually the result of conscious decisions made by the property owners. The first time a leaking roof is not repaired or a broken windowpane is not replaced, the owner chooses to allow the building to deteriorate. It may not seem serious at first, but given time, deferred maintenance becomes demolition by neglect. It is a common misconception that preserving historic structures is more expensive than building new, but it is a false economy. Maintenance is the purest form of preservation. When owners allow buildings to deteriorate, it drives up renovation costs. Even if it were possible to find the same quality of historic building materials as those we’re sending to the landfill, we could not afford to replace what we are losing. Good stewardship is everyone’s responsibility. Through our work, we have seen how just one owner’s choices impact surrounding properties and entire neighborhoods. A single homeowner caring for a small property can inspire others. Time and again, simple acts have provided the impetus to preserve and revitalize whole historic districts.
Urban grocer sets up shop in restored Deco building
Martha Peterson
guided the restoration of historic monuments, applied her gift for language to fund raising and was instrumental in researching the cemetery’s history for a book about Glenwood. In recognition of her work at the cemetery, the foundation made her an honorary trustee. Her passion for history and preservation also took
Martha to Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, where she volunteered as a docent and co-chair of the walking tours program for more than 15 years. Everyone who took Martha’s tours benefited from her scholarship and talent for storytelling, traits that led GHPA to honor Martha for her years of service at its 2009 Preservation Month Luncheon. Martha truly loved her work and the people with whom it brought her in contact. We remember her for her wonderful sense of humor, her way with words, her infectious love for Houston and the joy and elegance with which she approached life. The world is less interesting without her in it. Martha is preceded in death by her parents, Virginia and
Memorials GHPA thanks all those who donated memorial gifts in honor of Martha Peterson: Margaret Culbertson Al Davis n Stephen Fox n Kerry Goelzer n Janet & Roger Hawkins n Dorothy Hicks n Everett L. Hyman n Peter K. Jameson n Jeannette Kerr n Bernice & Gus Mistrot n Charmaine Rinaldo n Monica & Tom White n n
Herbert Welsh, and is survived by her beloved Yorkie, Munchkin, and her countless friends. She was interred at Glenwood Cemetery following a graveside service August 14.
For Preservation
Winter 2010 | 3
2009 brought a series of local Art Deco losses
The Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Co. building on Harrisburg was demolished in 2009. Part of its façade was saved for assembly in Eastwood Park.
Good Bricks continued from Page 1
After: The building’s marquee and decorative details were removed last year.
ernistic landmark is also on the market. Despite neighborhood objections, developer Matthew Dilick demolished the Wilshire Village apartments (1940) in the last half of 2009. Previously announced plans for developing the property on West Alabama at Dunlavy did not materialize, and the land has been put up for sale. Owner KNA Partners has removed the distinctive marquee and other decorative elements from the former Tower Theater (1936) at 1201 Westheimer. The historic sign
cedar shake house was completed in 1929. Shannon B. Sasser, AIA, was the architect for the preservation project. Nancy and Neal Manne will accept their Good Brick Award for renovating their Tudor Revival style home on Inwood Drive. Built in 1931, the house bears the distinctive touch of developer Katherine Mott. Sasser designed the rehabilitation and sympathetic addition for this project as well. Jan and Ron Smulcer will accept a Good Brick for the sensitive rehabilitation of their 1937 house on Looscan Lane. Perry and Associates-Architects guided the renovation. Monica Savino and Mark Kusey will receive an award for their “green” renovation of a 1927 bungalow in the Old West End. It is one of the few remaining historic houses in its neighborhood. Savino Architecture planned the rehabilitation. Carol Triebel and Rick Gist are receiving a Good Brick for preserving their 1935 cottage in West University Place. This project also incorporated “green” innovations. Natalye Appel + Associates Architects designed the project. Chris and Max Lukens are being recognized for the renovation and sympathetic addition to their historic house on Willowick Drive. Celebrated architect Birdsall Briscoe designed the New Orleans-inspired house in 1940. Miller Dahlstrand Architects planned the renovation and addition. John W. Gabriel, AIA, will accept a Good Brick for the adaptive reuse of his historic house on Milford Street in the Museum District. The 1919 house was converted to office use while maintaining its historic residential character. Gabriel Architects, Inc. designed the renovation. Rice Building Workshop at Project Row Houses earned an award for the Core House project. The innovative program created a prototype for renovating historic houses on a limited budget. Houston Public Library is receiving a Good Brick for renovating the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in the 1917 William L. Clayton House. The project included rehabilitation and repurposing of the main house and adaptive reuse of the guesthouse and carriage house. Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects designed the project.
was damaged during Hurricane Ike and dismantled after Hollywood Video, the building’s longtime tenant, closed. The façade and signage are the only surviving elements of the original theater. The historic building was gutted in the 1990s when the theater was converted to retail use. It is not clear whether the marquee will be reinstalled. The former Alabama Theater (1939), 2922 S. Shepherd, is available for lease. After Barnes & Noble closed Bookstop in September, the 2009 Cinema Arts Festival
Houston briefly occupied the now vacant theater. The City of Houston has tagged the former home of the Wilson Stationery & Printing Co. (1932), 1018 Prairie, as a dangerous building. In July 2008, Houston Archeological and Historical Commission approved a restoration plan submitted by the building’s owners, Jeff and Mindy Hildebrand, using the original plans created by William Ward Watkin. The work was never carried out. The building is currently being offered for sale. On a more positive note, Knapp Chevrolet remains open in its 1941 building at 815 Houston Ave. General Motors had notified the dealership that it was ending the Knapp franchise as part of the automaker’s reorganization. GHPA continues to support the Knapp family’s efforts to maintain the franchise. For more photos of the buildings mentioned here, visit www.houstondeco.org.
david bush
pleased to recognize their accomplishments with the GHPA President’s Award.” GHPA is also presenting a new named award this year. The Martha Peterson Award honors the memory of the dedicated volunteer who co-chaired GHPA’s walking tours program for many years. The first annual Peterson Award is going to the City of Houston’s Summer Jobs for Youth Program for the College Memorial Park Cemetery genealogy project. Student interns identified graves at the historic African-American burial ground, expanded the cemetery database and compiled the book, “Genealogy and College Memorial Park Cemetery: History Found.” The recipient is particularly appropriate for the first Peterson Award. Martha Peterson was project director for the Glenwood Cemetery Historical Foundation. She coordinated monument restoration, conducted genealogical research and was instrumental in the publication of the new book “Glenwood Cemetery: Houston’s Silent Garden, 1871-2009,” to be released later this year. The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society will receive the Stewart Title Award for its decade-long volunteer effort to preserve and restore the 1940 Houston Municipal Airport Terminal. The streamlined Art Deco building on the west side of Hobby Airport had been vacant for ten years when HAHS began its work in 1988. The City of Houston Protected Landmark is now open to the public as the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. Amy and Eric Powitzky are being recognized for their restoration of Number Four Courtlandt Place. Built in 1910, the impressive Tudor Revival style house is one of the oldest in the Courtlandt Place Historic District. Shelley Homeyer was the architect for the restoration. Ann and Salvador Guercio are receiving their Good Brick Award for rescuing a late 19th century house in the Old Sixth Ward. The 1887 Tajan House is a classic Victorian featuring extensive original woodwork. J.D. Bartell designed the renovation. Cathy and Paul Chapman will receive a Good Brick Award for the renovation and sympathetic addition to their historic Brentwood Drive house. The traditional brick and
jim parsons
jim parsons
Before: The former Tower Theater building in Montrose in 2006, with its marquee and signage in place.
david bush
The last months of 2009 took a heavy toll on Houston’s Art Deco architecture. Late in the year, METRO razed the former Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Co. (1935) at 4819 Harrisburg. The site along the planned Harrisburg light rail line is being sold for development. More than a year ago, GHPA Executive Director Ramona Davis met with METRO Chairman David Wolff to discuss saving the building. Houston City Council members Sue Lovell, Ed Gonzales and Melissa Noriega reached an agreement with METRO and East End leaders to salvage elements from the Sterling building’s façade for eventual assembly in Eastwood Park. GHPA supported a proposal that would have maintained the Sterling building as part of Harrisburg’s historic streetscape by incorporating its façade into the rail station to be constructed in the area. The site of another mod-
The design of the Herbert Bohn house in Austin (1938), one of the buildings featured in Hill Country Deco, was inspired by streamlined ocean liners and Hollywood movie sets.
Hill Country Deco set to be released this fall TCU Press of Fort Worth is publishing Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas, a new book written and photographed by GHPA staff members Jim Parsons and David Bush. The book will feature original and historic photographs of more than 100 Art Deco and Art Moderne buildings in San Antonio, Austin and surrounding communities. Mark Wolfe, executive director of Texas Historical Commission, contributed the foreword. Hill Country Deco will be released in October to coincide with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2010 conference in Austin. Hill Country Deco was funded in part by a grant from the Fondren Endowed Preservation Services Fund for Texas of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The new book is a companion volume to GHPA’s Houston Deco, which was released in 2008. Houston Deco is the basis for the tours of downtown’s modernistic architecture that Bush and Parsons will conduct during Texas Historical Commission’s 2010 Preservation Conference, April 22 to 24 in Houston. The conference brochure and online registration will be available in February on the THC Web site, www.thc.state.tx.us.
Follow GHPA on the Web Find GHPA on Facebook (search for “Friends of GHPA”) and follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ghpa.
For Preservation
4 | Winter 2010
greater houston preservation alliance 2009-2010 Board of Directors Officers Larry E. Whaley President Nancy Ames VP/Special Events
Tony Abyad Past President
Al Calloway VP/Communication
Lynne Bentsen Treasurer
Bill Franks VP/Development
Patricia Laurent Secretary
Eileen Hricik VP at Large
Rick Walton VP/Museum of Houston
d i r e c to r s Michelle Barnes Minnette Boesel Rosario Boling Tim Cisneros Joe Colaco
David Cottrell III Jane-Page Crump Carlo M. Di Nunzio Cindy Crane Garbs Diane Gendel
Madeleine Hamm Karen Henry Susan Hill Andrew Kaldis C.C. Lee
Janita Lo Jim Murnane Patty Porter Mary Ann Reynolds Randhir Sahni
Louis H. Skidmore, Jr. Janet Spencer William W. Stubbs Phoebe Tudor Bob Wakefield
ex officio R. George Cunningham Parliamentarian
Charles D. Maynard, Jr. Legal Counsel
Bart Truxillo Director Emeritus
Patrick Van Pelt Chairman, Harris County Historical Commission
Randy Pace City of Houston Historical Preservation Officer
Marlene Gafrick Director, City of Houston Department of Planning and Development
b u s i n e s s a n d n ot - f o r - p r o f i t m e m b e r s 1940 Air Terminal Museum Tony Abyad / Skyland Development AGC Houston AIA Houston Area 16 Homes Bailey Architects, Inc. Bering’s Bill Fisher Benefits Specialists Bradshaw-Carter Memorial & Funeral Services Brick Restoration, Inc. Boulevard Oaks Ladies Club Budweiser / Silver Eagle Distributors Canyonlands Corp. Colquitt Court Civic Association Christian Science Reading Room Cooke + Skidmore Consulting Corp. Documentary Alliance
Faust Distributing Company Fretz Construction Company Gabriel Architects, Inc. Gensler Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects Glenwood Cemetery, Inc. and Glenwood Cemetery Historic Preservation Foundation HawesHillCalderon, LLP Haynes Whaley Associates, Inc. Karen Henry / The PR Boutique The Heritage Society Hines HistoryConsultants.net Houston Mod Houston House & Home HSPVA Friends Jane-Page Design Group JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kaldis Development Interests Kirksey Llewelyn-Davies Sahni Madison Benefits Group Martha Turner Properties Matrix Spencer Architects Nadolney Enterprises, LP North Houston Bank Osborne, Helman, Knebel & Deleery Rey de la Reza Architects, Inc. Russo Painting & Carpentry Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc. Stewart Title SWCA Environmental Consultants Ward & Ames Special Events William Reaves Fine Art, LLC William W. Stubbs & Associates Winlow Place Civic Club
About GHPA The mission of Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA) is to promote the preservation and appreciation of Houston’s architectural and cultural historic resources through education, advocacy and committed action, thereby creating economic value and developing a stronger sense of community. GHPA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. GHPA is funded in part by a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. GHPA is a member of Preservation Texas and Partners for Sacred Spaces.
GHPA online www.ghpa.org www.museumofhouston.org www.houstondeco.org
For Preservation David Bush, editor Copyright © 2010, Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. All rights reserved.
The Cornerstone Dinner presenting the 2010 Good Brick Awards Friday, February 5, 2010 River Oaks Country Club Reserve online at www.ghpa.org/awards
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