March 1987 GHPA Newsletter

FOR PRESERVATION NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER HOUSTON PRESERVATION ALLIANCE

Volume 3, Number 1

March 1987

WALKING TOUR OF WOODLAND HEIGHTS

Entry Gates to Woodland Heights c. 1907

WOODLAND HEIGHTS CIVIC ASSOCIATION GREATER HOUSTON PRESERVATION ALLIANCE invite you to a

WALKING TOUR OF WOODLAND HEIGHTS 8 HOUSES WILL BE OPEN! Saturday, April 25, 1987 Tour hours: 1:00pm - 5:00pm Ticket price: $5.00 The walking tour begins at the corner of Thelma Street and White Oak Drive.

In This Issue:

Main Street/Market Square GHPA Opens Office 1986 In Review Good Bricks for '86

Woodland Height. __ developed in 1907-19tJB on 106 IICres of high ground near White Oak Bayou jut rwrth of ooll1fllOuln Houton. By 1910 over 100 hoUlles had been oomtructed - inlIOtlIItive bUllRllIoIDII, late Victorian cotfIIBe8 lind numeroUII eJCIImples of the American foursquare_ With relatively few egregWUII IIlterllDom, many hoUlles have been recently restored or updated making II .troll throagh Woodland HeighbJ lin IIdventure into the put.

GHPA OPENS OFFICE

SABINE UPDATE

Thanks to the generosity of Texas Commerce Bank and the efforts of the GHPA Board Members john Hannah, Barrie Scardino and Minnette Boesel, the GHPA has an office. Our new office is located off the elevator bay in the Texas Commerce Bank Building 'Gulf Building' at 712 Main Street. The beautifully appointed space includes a reception area, office, and mechanical rooms.

The newly formed Sixth Ward - Sabine Association has been quite busy lately. Dianne Morin, of the association, reported that again this Spring the neighborhood will be included in the Houston Committee for Private Sector Initiatives Home Repair Program. Also, the association has been supporting the proposal to renovate the Holiday Inn building on Memorial Drive for use as an elderly housing complex. In February, neighborhood children were given a tour of the Sawyer Office Complex. This month, the association will share a food booth with the Saint joseph's MECA organization at the Houston International Festival. The association is currently in the process of organizing a neighborhood basketball team to compete in the YMCA tournament. On May 8, the association will be joining in the celebration of Dow Elementary School's 75th Diamond jubilee, and they have welcomed three new homeowners into the neighborhood.

Office hours are currently set at 10:00 am - 5:00 pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. When you visit the office you will be greeted by GHPA's Projects Coordinator, Kent Millard. Kent, an intern from the UH School of Architecture, has been working to get the office up and running and to keep volunteers informed and equipped.

The GHPA address and phone number is: Greater Houston Preservation Alliance 712 Main Street Houston, Texas 77002 Phone 713/236-5000

The GHPA salutes the accomplishments of the Sixth Ward/Sabine Historic District residents who are working to improve their neighborhood.

HIDALGO PARK .l">." ~

The Houston Parks Board has launched a fundraising campaign to finance the renovation of the City of Houston's Hidalgo Park. The park is located on Buffalo Bayou adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel Turning Basin.

The Parks Board has asked the GHPA to assist in this project, specifically in the restoration of the quiosco 'bandstand' which is the centerpiece of the park.

" .11f "'<

"

The quiosco was built by the Mexican concrete artist Vidal lozano and dedicated to the City of Houston in 1935. 'See photo.' The rustic-looking concrete structure is similar to structures which once existed in Hermann Park. Restoration and updating the quiosco is estimated to cost $20,000. This will not only stabilize the structure and restore deteriorated sections but will add lighting and electricity to permit outdoor concerts.

GHPA Board Members have agreed to assist in this restoration project. Board members Barrie Scardino, Stephen Fox and Mike Davis are preparing a National register of Historic Places nomination forthe quiosco. Other GHPA members have expressed an interest in the project. If you are interested or have fundraising or preservation ideas, please contact Mike Davis, at 739-4615.

Hidalgo Park quiosco, built by Victor Lozano, 1935.

MARKET SQUA. PARK DEDICATION On Friday February 13, the Downtown Houston Association, in cooperation with the Houston Parks and Recreation department broke ground on Phase I improvements for Market Square Park. The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by Dick Knight, President of the Downtown Houston Association. Presentations were made by Don Olson, Director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department; Toni Beauchamp, Chairman of the Market Square Steering Committee; Mayor Pro-Tem Judson Robinson; and City Council Member Eleanor Tinsley. Following the ceremony a reception was held at Diverse Works where proposal drawings of Phase I and Phase" for the park are on exhibit.

The Downtown Houston Association is responsible for implementing Phase I of the park redevelopment. The association has solicited $50,000 in donated services from local contractors. Donors of services include The City Partnership, general contractor; Mission Construction, Inc., construction coordinating and site grading; Cotton Surveying Company, grading survey; Gulf Coast Irrigation Association, irrigation system; HY -Turf and landscape Design Associates, WBE, hydromulch; Olshan Demolishing Company, demolition of parking lot retaining walls; Smith locke Asakura, Inc., irrigation engineering and Tom Guillette, architectural rendering.

Diverse Works is responsible for Phase" of the project.

Fundraising efforts are gearing up to raise the $500,000 needed to complete the project. Phase" will complete the project with the installation of sidewalks, seating areas and a sculpture located in the central plaza. Five artists will have their work displayed in the park. The

artists are M ...,.)u Flato, painter; Paul Hester, photographer; Doug Hollis, sculptor; James Sur/s, sculptor; and Richard Turner sculptor.

MARKET SQUARE HAPPENINGS The Main Street/Market Square Historic District has been the focus of attention and activity of late. On December 3,1986, the Downtown Houston Association sponsored a Christmas reception at the Stage Door Cafe.

Special guests included Mayor Whitmire and friends who travelled by horse drawn carriage from the annual tree lighting ceremony at Hermann Square to the Stage Door Cafe.

Another reception was held in the district that same evening at the Magnolia Ballroom. Guest of honor was artist R. C. Gorman. Several buildings in the district were decorated with white lights. The City Partnership, the company which will restore the Pillot Building, donated the lights to decorate trees in Market Square Park.

Market Square Park has been the subject of an exciting exhibit at Diverse Works, the alternative art space located in the W. l. Foley Building. The exhibit featured the design for the renovation of Market Square Park. The design is the result of collaboration with several artists.

'See Market Square Park article in this newsletter' Supporters of the Main Street/Market Square Historic District continued efforts to keep Houston Festival activities programmed for Market Square. Efforts by GHPA members and the Market Square merchants kept the festival in the area last year, but unfortunately not this year. GHPA again passed a resolution encouraging continued use of the historic district in the festival.

Marlcet Square Parle - Phase I groundbrealcing ceremony.

11

\

\ Marlcet Square Parle - Phase I. Rendering by Tom Guillette.

JI GOOD BRICK AWARDS FOR 1986 One of the highlights of our annual meeting in the Texas Commerce Bank Building was the presentation of the Good Brick Awards. Minnette Boesel and Bart Truxillo presented awards to representatives of the Houston Community College for their adaptive re-use of the Temple Beth Israel as the Heinen Theater,to the Univer-

sity of Houston/Downtown for the renovation of the Merchants and Manufacturers Building and to Texas Commerce Bank for the restoration of the Texas Commerce Bank Building. Congratulations to award recipients and thanks for proving once again that preservation pays.

Houston Community College, receives the Good Brick Award for the adaptive reuse of Temple Beth Israel as the Heinen

Theater.

Good Brick Award presented to Andy Gomez 'left' and Ross Allen 'right', UHIDowntown, for the adaptive reuse of the Merchants and Manufacturers Building.

PRESERVATIONISTS' PERSPECTIVE ON 1986 1986 was a busy and productive year for the GHPA. The year began with the annual meeting, held at the Kirby Mansion. At the meeting, Good Brick Awards were presented for restoration of the Alabama Theater and the Star Engraving Building.

Throughout the Spring of 1986, GHPA members were busy completing the Sixth Ward/Sabine Historic District Revitalization Study and working with Sabine residents to implement study recommendations. As a result, eleven houses in the district have been rehabilitated through the Houston Committee for Private Sector Initiatives Home Repair Program. Also in 1986, the Sabine Study was given an Award of Merit by the Texas Chapter - American Planning Association.

The GHPA supported preservation action in the Fourth Ward Historic District. The GHPA assisted in financing the Fourth Ward exhibit at Diverse Works Gallery. The exhibit has sparked great interest in the fate of Houston's most recently designated historic district. The GHPA will continue its involvement in the Fourth Ward Historic District in 1987.

Greater Houston Preservation Alliance 712 Main Street Houston, Texas 77002

The Pillot Building remained an important agenda item for the GHPA. The City Partnership, the redeveloper of the building, is working tirelessly to obtain necessary pre-lease agreements and financing.

Under the guidance of Minnette Boesel, President, the GHPA completed a goal-setting process during the summer of1986. As a result of this project, clear priorities have been set as a means of maximizing volunteer efforts. 'see "GHPA Sets Goals", Volume 2, Number 3, October 1986.' Results of this project are visible in the increase in our membership rolls.

The GHPA has continued to provide tours of the Main Street/Market Square Historic District and has begun development of a historic walking tours map series for Houston. In October, the GHPA co-sponsored, with the Midtown Civic Club, a tour of the South End and the Heinen Theater.

Countless volunteer hours were required to advance the GHPA through 1986. With continuing commitment and new resources such as our office and Projects Coordinator 1987 will be an even more successful year for preservation in Houston.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Houston, TX Permit #712

FOR PRESERVATION is published as a membership service of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. Editor - Milce Davis. Contributors - Kent Millard, V. Nia Dorian-Becnel, Beverly Pennington.