For Preservation News{etter of tfie Greater Mouston Preservation A((iance
I uvOiume 8, Number 2
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I.IIte ......." 1992
Mayor wants 'to see action' on revitalization targets '3y Vicki List Following the recommendations of the Mayor's transition subcommittee of the same name, the Neighborhoods to Standard program is off and running. As a first step in his plan to revitalize the older inner-city neighborhoods, Mayor Bob Lanier has initiated this project with the objective of accomplishing first step items as quickly as possible. "He wants to see action!" said Judith Butler, who has recently been named to the Mayor's staff and is responsible for overseeing the project. • The report produced by the subcommittee is a lengthy, indepth assessment that identifies not only specific problems and needs of selected neighborhoods, but also immediate initiatives that should be undertaken by the city. This translates into a plan of action by identifying 14 neighborhoods to be addressed, and then initiating the first phase of the plm in each of those areas. This project is of special benefit to the preservation community since most of the targeted areas are, to various degrees, historic. In recent months, the City of Houston has been exceptionally supportive of preservation efforts, and the subcommittee is definitely sensitive to the issues involved. When asked if there was any difference to the approach taken when dealing with an historic area, Butler emphatically stated "We have to preserve our heritage." There are three parts to the effort, beginning with the most easily accomplished; the installation of street lights. Working through civic associa-
will be produced, along with plans, drawings, and cost estimates. Finally, the most timeconsuming of the projects will be a crime survey, the objective of which will be to accumulate a history of crime in each neighborhood, to identify any changes in patterns and methods of eliminating particular problems. The committee is initiating the use of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (ePTED) techniques with the help of a volunteer from the Houston Police Department. For an immediate remedy, an ordinance is being presented to Houston City Council to amend the current procedure for the closing of streets. The procedure has been for the City to abandon streets when they are closed. Consequently for a neighborhood to instigate a street closing, they have had to accept the burden of maintaining the street. With this amendment, the city will be able to close streets without abandonment. The subcommittee is suggesting that street closings be considered carefully, with the volunteer aid of planners from the Houston Chapter of AlA, and tried on a temporary basis. The objective would be to lessen the ease of ingress and egress, and consequently make the neighborhoods less vulnerable to criminal activity. A concern of a historic district, such as the Sixth Ward/ Sabine, is maintaining the street grid as originally conceived, consequently care and professional guidance should definitely be taken in making those
A concern of a historic district, such as the Sixth Ward/Sabine, is maintaining the street grid as originally conceived. tions and community development corporations, visits to the leighborhoods inform them what will take place and how it will be accomplished. In three of the targeted areas, the street lights will be installed in the next 60 to 90 days. Second on the Neighborhoods to Standard agenda is a survey of infrastructure needs, to be effected by a team of volunteers from engineering firms throughout the city. Working with residents, these teams will determine problems with drainage, ditches, storm sewers, street toppings, etc. A list of problems to be addressed
determinations. What is the time frame for this initiative? ASAP! What will be the next phases, and when will additional areas be targeted? Again, ASAP. Butler stressed that this is a new program that is open-ended. This affords the city the opportunity to continue to identify methods of improvement, as well as the flexibility to adapt the program as it proceeds. How is it working so far? "What amazes me are the phone calls, neighborhoods continued on page 2
Camp Logan trainees were impetus for Memorial Park
Workers repaired the roof and steeple of Annunciation Catholic Church, and applied gold leaf to the steeple cross. (Photo by Curtis Dowell courtesy Texas Catholic Herald)
Works of sacred art included in church restorations By Rosie Walker Two of Houston's most historic church structures have undergone extensive restoration work. With each project, not only was major structural work undertaken, but art restoration as well. Annunciation Catholic Church, 1618 Texas Avenue, established in 1869, last fall underwent major repairs to its steeple, roof and other parts of the building. The job was estimated to have cost $160,000, under the supervision of Salvagio Construction Company of Sugar Land. On the outside of the church, gold leaf was applied to the steeple cross. Inside, a fresco in the sanctuary was restored. An almost-mystical project took place last winter at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. A stained-glass rose window, which had been concealed behind a masonry wall since the structure was completed in 1902, was uncovered and revealed for the first time. Why a canopy had been erected behind the altar at St. Joseph's, totally obscuring its original stained-glass windows, none among the living seems to know. However, when the decomposition of the old canopy, made of masonry, became an endangerment to worshippers, necessitating its removal, some church members mourned the loss of a mural painted in bright blues and oranges in the 1970s. The focal point of that mural, a Christ figure, was painted on canvas,
and could be preserved. During the short days of November and December, workers began removal of the timbers and mortar that had obscured the window for generations. Window watchers, among them this reporter, would meet in the church each afternoon as the sun was low, hoping to see that first bit of colored glass, so long concealed. After a few days, a quarter section of the 12-foot window could be seen above the crumbling masonry. Through the peach, green and amethyst glass, the sun shone in and cast St. Joseph's in a bath of marvelous light. The work of craftsmen long-depart cast St. Joseph's in a bath of marvelous light. The work of craftsmen long-departed was being debuted after almost a century. St. Joseph's parishioner Jimmy Wead found where a workman had carved the letters TOM into a 60-foot-long timber that supported the canopy. The window was crafted by Galveston-based George G. Brosius and Sons Stained Glass. Many Galveston businesses relocated to Houston after the 1900 hurricane, which killed thousands of Galvestonians. Brosius was one of them. The same hurricane had flattened the original St. Joseph's church, which had been built of wood. Besides the rose window, which is a near-match for another at the rear of St. continued on page 3
Recent encroachment attempts on Memorial Park, as well as controversy over the operation of its recreational facilities, continue to put the park into the news. In the heat of debate over adjacent development, or the widening of Loop 610, the historic significance of the park, and what came before it, is overlooked. July 25, 1992, marked the 75th anniversary of Camp Logan, a 7,600-acre World War I military training camp, which played a major role in early20th-Century Houston. Camp Logan bears deep historic significance for the city, both for its role in the war, as well as for a tragic race-riot that spilled from its confines into adjacent residential sections of the city. July 25,1917, is the date on which the first stake for the first structure was hammered into the ground. The development of Memorial Park came as a consequence of the operation of Camp Logan. In 1923, when the camp was decommissioned, Catharine Mary Emmott wrote to the Houston Chronicle, suggesting that the City of Houston acquire some of the land and turn it into a park, "in memory of the boys." According to the foreword of a book to be released soon by The Park People, Memorial Park "exists in its present size through the generosity of Miss Ima Hogg and her brothers, Will and Mike. The Hoggs bought the land and sold it to the City at their cost, with deeds stipulating that the land can only be used for park purposes." Miss Ima Hogg died in 1974. The author of Memorial Park: A Priceless Legacy, Sarah H. Emmott, died in July of this year following heart surgery. Sarah Emmott was the wife of Army Emmott, the son of Catharine Mary Emmott. According to Glenda Barrett, executive director of The Park People, Sarah Emmott had completed the manuscript for her book about Memorial Park at the time she entered the hospital for the surgery late in July. She had, as a matter of fact, postponed the surgery in order to complete her work, Barrett said. Memorial Park: A Priceless Legacy will be available in late September. The chapter on Camp Logan contains numerous historic, and fascinating, photographs of Camp Logan, as well as narrative. For more information, call 528-7725.