For Preservation Newsletter
0/ the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance December 1993
Volume 9, Number 4
"Approval by the Board of Review is tantamount to acceptance on the National Register by the National Parks Service " said Lisa Hart of the Texas Historical Commission . "After we approve and forward the nomination , the Parks Service has 45 days to a.c cept it or reject it, and it is unheard of for them to reject it. "
Wesbnoreland Wins State Approval as National Register Historic District by David Beale
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On Saturday, September 18 , 1993 , Westmoreland residents cheered when the Board of Review of the Texas Historical Commission officially recognized the significance of their neighborhood by approving Westmoreland's nomination as Houston's eighth district to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The new district lies roughly between Courtlandt Place on the north and Marshall Street on the south , and between Spur 527 of the Southwest Freeway and Garrott Street. Residents have been pursuing the goal of National Register designation for several years . Efforts intensified in 1991, when the plan was officially endorsed by Westmoreland Civic Association. The historic survey and much of the work involved in preparing the National Register application was funded by a grant from the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation to the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. Westmoreland Addition was platted by the South End Land Company in 1902, on bare prairie at the southeast edge of Houston's city limits , where Smith , Louisiana and Milam streets ended . Planned as a "private place ", a refuge from the noise, sights and odors of Houston, this neighborhood type was especially associated with the private streets of St. Louis. In Houston, Westmoreland was the first subdivision in Houston with systematic deed restrictions, providing a model for Houston's future
planned community developments . The eight square blocks of Westmoreland Addition developed as planned , in a wide variety of late Victorian and early twentieth century house styles. Since 1902 , the neighborhood has withstood the erosive effects of changing tastes in house styles , population flight to the suburbs, construction of intrusive apartment complexes , absence of zoning, construction of the Southwest Freeway and Houston's public-sector indifference to the preservation of its history. Despite these obstacles, Westmoreland Addition survives today with its historical integrity essentially intact.
David Krentz , preSident of Westmoreland Civic Association , said that upon learning of the Board of Review's action , his reaction was one of jubilation. "It has been two years of hard work for the Beales [W.C.A. Historian and Historical Committee Chairperson Sharie Beale and her husband David] . It has brought the neighborhood together for a common goal. A lot of people have contributed. We have quite a punch for such a small neighborhood ," added Krentz , who also noted the support from Houston City Councilman Al Calloway's office, especially in the last, crucial weeks . The idea of a Westmoreland Historic District was conceived in the mid-1980s by Ron and Carolyn Crockett during the research for the historic nomination for their 1905 Colonial Revival Nash House at 215 Westmoreland Avenue. Ron Crockett's hundreds of hours of research of Westmoreland homeowners, architects and builders forms the basis of the Westmoreland nomination. Approximately 35 Westmorelanders participated in various phases of the nomination process . After the Board of Review's vote , Crockett stated, "We can use the nomination as a Continued on Page 5
Top Left: The Queen Anne cottage at 116 Hawthorne was built by English-born architect Henry Collier Cooke. Above: Hawthorne was built in 1905 for Houston portrait painter George Westfall and his wife Emma, at a cost of $2 ,500 . ]0]
THE NATIONAL REGISTER O/HISTORIC PLACES AND THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF REVIEW by Stephen Fox The National Register of Historic Places is a comprehensive catalogue of our nation's cultural resources. It is our country's official honor roll of districts , sites , buildings , structures , and objects significant in American history , architecture , and archeology . Properties of state and local as well as national significance are listed. The Board of Review of the Texas Historical Commission consists of 15 individuals from around the state who are charged with approving all nominations to the National Register of Historic Places of properties in Texas. Each state in the United States is required by the National Historic Preservation Act to maintain a board of review for this purpose. The members of the state's his toric preserva tion agency , the Texas Historical Commission (appointees of the governor), appoint in turn eleven members to the State Board of Review , usually on the recommendation of the staff of the National Register Programs of the Texas Historical Commission. Terms of appointment are two years. Members may be reappointed for three successive terms before rotating off the Board. In addition to the appointed members, there are two honorary members--the State Archeologist and the director of the State Marker Program (both employees of the THC)-and two ex-officio members, Texas's Advisors to the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The National Historic Preservation Ac t requires that the fields of history , archeology (historic and prehistoric), architectural history, and architecture be represented on the State Board of Review. The Texas Historical Commission, through its appOintments, also seeks to ensure representation on the basis of geography , race , ethnicity , and gender.
The chief responsibility of the State Board of Review is to ensure that all nominations con form to the criteria for listing in the National Register established by the National Park Service. Professional expertise is essential to the Board's discharge of this duty . The Board is expected to function independently of the staff of the National Register department and other THC departments. Therefore it reviews nominations critically and does not merely "rubberstamp" the applications brought before it. Should the State Board of Review approve the forwarding of inappropriate properties or insufficiently documented nomination applications to the National Park Service in Washington , D.C., the National Park Service will return the nomination to the state preservation agency. Through the efforts of Jim Steely , deputy state historic preservation officer and director of the Texas Historical Commission's National Register Programs , and his staff, including Lisa S. Hart, who is in charge of the Houston area, Texas's State Board of Review has achieved an exceptionally high level of expertise and critical acuity. This does lead on occasion to uncomfortable public questioning and criticism of nominations . But the procedure works very well to maintain-to use a favorite preservation term-the "integrity" of National Register submissions from Texas . Presently from Houston on the State Board of Review is the distinguished historian , Emilio Zamora , assistant professor of history at the University of Houston. Previous Houston appointees have included architect and former GHPA president Graham B. Luhn. Stephen Fox is a Fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas and is a former member of the State Board of Review .
ZONING HISTORY
by Donna H . Kristap onis
Note from the Editor: With the November 2 defeat of Houston's zoning referendum, the future prospects for local historic preservation, described in two of the articles in the this issue of "For Preservation ", have taken a 180-degree turn, We will report the implications of this failure to approve zoning more fully in the next issue.
Tim McAuliffe, Market Square Historic District Project Director enters the historic State National Bank Building at 412 Main Street. Designed by Alfred Finn, this stately 1924 structure has recently reopened after several years of vacancy and is now the new office headquarters of the Market Square Project.
Tilll McAuliffe !YJi.-ecta,. e/'the ~fla,.hel .J9UU,.c 9U"to-,.':e, Mut,.ict, SP"f!/ecl
Paint Company Warehouse in the historic Warehouse District just north of Buffalo Bayou,
A PRESERVATION PERSONALITY PROFILE
by Minnette Boesel A marine biology major would not seem like a probable candidate for a career in public administration , but Tim McAuliffe made the transition easily, After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, Tim accepted an environmental fellowship to continue his studies towards a master's degree, While in graduate school, he worked as Management In tern for the City Administrator of Goose Creek, a fastgrowing city located near Charleston, South Carolina. He was hooked. The experience led him to switch to a graduate degree in public administration, and ultimately he carne to Houston this past spring to become the Director of the Market Square Historic District Project. Tim's experience in urban planning and economic development programming brings invaluable expertise to Houston's downtown historic district. As a city planner in Goose Creek, Tim was responsible for monitoring all zoning regulations, for improving the City's building code inspection process and for initiating South Carolina's second impact fee ordinance, which currently generates more than $150,000 annually, Later, as Economic and Community Development Planner for Greenville, South Carolina, Tim administered the City's historic preservation program, which includes working with three historic districts. He com-
pIe ted nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and facilitated revitalization strategies for downtown, Before accepting the Market Square position, Tim administered economic development programs and projects for Refugio County in south Texas. The Market Square Historic District Project is a revitalization initiative conceived by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. Initiated in 1991, the Project has been a program of the Downtown Houston Association and is a participant in the Texas Urban Main Street Program of the Texas Historical Commission. This work to deal with the many extraordinary challenges in rejuvenating Houston's most historic heart has been invigorated with Tim's enthusiasm for the future of the area and its potential for returning economic benefits to the city, "Everything you do is subtle," says Tim, "If you can change one person's attitude, get one person to bring his friends back for dinner to one of our wonderful restaurants, or get one person to open a business, you have been successfuL Incremental change ultimately brings major change." Tim's immediate objectives are to set up a business loan program backed by the City and private lending institutions and to develop a marketing campaign to enhance visitation to the area. Tim and his wife Ashley live in the Dakota Lofts, a recently completed redevelopment of the Bute
With all the green space redevelopment InItlatives envisioned for Buffalo Bayou on the northern edge of the Market Square Historic District, Tim's marine biology degree may still come in handy!
Minnette Boesel is a past preSident of GHPA and is the former Director of the Market Square Historic District Project of the Downtown Houston Association.
Historic preservation efforts in Houston would receive a strong boost in November with voter approval of the city's first zoning ordinance. The zoning ordinance offers four tools for adding teeth to the city's historical preservation power: compelling the proper maintenance of historic buildings; calling for communities in historic districts to develop tailored conservation plans that define goals and conditions for future development and continued preserva tion; creating a watchdog system for changes to historic buildings; and enforcing preservation policies. The strongest protection zoning offers historic preservationists is a mandate to property owners within "Historic" or "Landmark" overlay districts to maintain their properties. Under zoning, all property owners within overlay districts must maintain their property in good repair - no property owner is permitted to let the property fall into a state of serious disrepair. Should this occur, zoning gives ci ty officials the ammunition to compel property owners to repair their property , Such cases are treated as violations of the zoning ordinance, In the case of the Burns Building demolition, had zoning been in place in the years preceding its deterioration, the city would have had the authority to compel the property owners to maintain the structure, avoiding its disrepair and ultimate need for demolition. The Historic or Landmark overlay districts are the key to triggering the enforcement and planning elements that will protect Houston's culture and history. Historic overlay districts cover an area, while Landmark status is applied to a Single structure, possessing cultural, historical, or architectural significance, They work in conjunction with base zoning districts which establish use; the overlay district adds the additional historic preservation requirements to the base district. A conservation plan must be submitted to the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission (HAHC) before a neighborhood district or structure can receive the overlay designation, These conservation plans are tailored to fit the unique needs of specific areas, They provide specific guidelines for future development, construction, renovation, demo-
lition, or any change to the area that could affect its cultural or historical nature. The HAHC uses these conservation plans as a blueprint when considering any significant proposed changes to a property, Development, exterior alteration, restoration, rehabilitation or relocation of any site or structure within the overlay district must first receive approval from the HAHC. A public hearing is held prior to a ruling, and if approved, the changes must meet the guidelines set forth in that area's conservation plan. Ordinary maintenance and upkeep does not require HAHC approvaL Demolition of any structure located within the overlay district also must first receive approval from the HAHC. As with other proposed alterations, demolition guidelines set forth in that area's conservation plan are used by the HAHC when considering approvaL If a structure within a historic district is demolished illegally without a demolition permit approved by the HAHC -no new development will be permitted at that site for three years. In the case of a zoning ordinance violation, such as a property owner within an overlay district who fails to maintain a building, the errant property owner \5 notified and given a reasonable time period to make the repairs. If the owner does not voluntarily fix the violation, a public hearing is held before a Hearing Official , who can issue an order to the property owner to correct the violation, A property owner would be taken to court for failure to comply with the Order of the Hearing OfficiaL Historic preservation efforts in any city are a function of a community's values, The members of the HAHC will carry the responsibility of advocating for the preservation of designated historic structures and places, But their efforts at community education, combined with the City'S and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, are equally important to reinforce the value of preserving Houston's history. For more information on historic preservation tools within Houston's zoning ordinance, call 754-0113, Copies of the ordinance and maps are on view at all public libraries, and available at the Planning and Development Department offices located on the 5th floor of 1801 Main Street.
Donna H. Kristaponis is Director of the City of Houston's Department of Planning and Development.
BOOKS
The Past •
In
Print by David G. Woodcock, FAIA, RIBA
Back of the Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slavery. John Michael Vlach. (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. 258 pages, black and white photographs and line drawings, annotated notes on each chapter. $18.95 paper.)
John Vlach needs little introduction to those in the field of African American material culture, and his latest work is an important addi.ti.on to the study of the ante-bellum south. The "Gone With The Wind" image of southern architecture has often portrayed the grand house as the norm, and left the mistaken impression that all planters lived in columned mansions. Even for those who have pursued the smaller, but perhaps more typical, planter's dwelling, the dependencies associated with plantation communities have received scant attention. It is refreshing to find a work that focuses attention on these essential support facilities, and speaks clearly, often using the words of the slaveoccupants themselves, about the structures associated with the day-to-day life of a southern plantation. After setting the stage of plantation life in his first two chapters, Vlach examines the buildings of the plantation by ca tegory. After conSidering Kitchens, Smokehouses, Outbuilding, Barns and Stables, Production Machinery and Buildings, Overseers' Houses, Buildings for Slave Welfare, Quarters for Field Slaves, the book concludes with an overview of the Plantation Landscape Ensemble. This last chapter provides a valuable reminder of the complex infrastructure that made the plantation profitable, and the subtle siting decisions that allowed the parallel, in terdependent societies of owners and slaves to coexist. Vlach's research into the manuscripts and letters of the slaves who made the economic life of the plantation possible reveals a culture
with remarkable skills and talents, and with a social structure that was hidden from, and many ways independent of, the white owners. Vlach claims, with substantial evidence to support his view, that the society of the black plantation was separately ordered, and that it had a profound impact on the physical form of the landscape. This inSight reinforces that in an earlier publication on the life of Thomas Jefferson and the buildings of Monticello. In Vlach's words, it is clear that not only did the black carpenters and masons mold the artifacts of the south, the "demographiC dominance of black people across the South .... caused many places to be seen as black places." The book's source for the study of the architecture at "the back of the big house" is remarkable in its own right. The establishment of the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1933 put a legion of architects and draftsmen to work recording the architectural heritage of America. The collection, now housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, contains information on over 23,000 buildings, many of which have since been demolished or collapsed through neglect and abandonment. While the collection contains many "grand" buildings, Vlach has searched for the more modest structures that formed the support structures on over three hundred sites. His study reveals a wealth of examples from fourteen southern states, from whi.ch he selects some two hundred buildings, that provide a picture of the southern plantation as a working place. By his own admission Vlach notes that "there is no substitute for first hand fieldwork" but since many of his examples were recorded in the 1930s few of them remain for such study. The HABS system offers a rigorous and thorough documentation, and the book is replete with excellent reproductions from the collection. Interpretation from a drawing and photograph collection has its risks, and in the case of the Cavitt property at Wheelock, Texas there is some evidence to suggest that the "slave dwelling" was in fact the first house occupied by the white family as it settled in the Brazos Valley after the journey from Tennessee. Nevertheless, Vlach draws attentions to an extraordinary rich body of information about the slaves of the antebellum south and the way that their buildings helped to shape their society. Vlach's argues that the sheer occupation of land assigned to them gave the slave community de facto ownership. The fact that such "ownership" revolved around the location of buildings, which in turn gave the slave society a "sense of place," makes the contents of this book fascinating to social historians and architects alike. David G. Woodcock FAIA, RIBA, is Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University with a special interest in historic preservation.
Preserving Historic Infrastructure by Barry Moore The new plan for the East End Heritage Corridor along Buffalo Bayou Singles out for future cultural development the Willow Street Pump Station on White Oak Bayou. A lot of people have been eyeing this grand old pile of bricks since Houston started to get serious about bayou beautification about ten years ago. And it's no wonder. Situated on the west bank between White Oak Bayou and San Jacinto Street (formerly Willow Street, before the bridge was built to link downtown with the Warehouse District), the three romantic turn-of-thecentury structures that make up the old pump station display an excellent example of red-brick industrial architecture, and offer a splendid site for viewing Houston's stunning skyline - perhaps the best. Besides its physical attributes, the place is an important artifact of one of our oldest
public works projects. Built in 1902, the pump station was part of the city's first sewage treatment system. Collection lines were laid on the higher ground in the neighborhoods west of White Oak Bayou. Effluent traveled by gravity, under the stream, to the pump house at the Willow Street site. From there it was pumped up to higher lines near the street, and then gravity drew it to the treatment faCility one and a half miles distant in the Fifth Ward. The building nearest the water held the pumps, the building directly behind it housed maintenance offices and materials, and the large building nearest downtown - the one with the tin roof and landmark double smokestacks - served as an incinerator, primarily for disposing of the carcasses of draft animals. The ensemble is best viewed from the Main Street Viaduct in front of the University of Houston Downtown, directly across
from White Oak Bayou. The site is currently fenced off as an access point for the city's new deep sewer project, now under construction. This ancient sewage facility was decommissioned 20 years ago, and has sat pretty much idle since then. Despite its public-health and publicworks duties, the pump station was built in part because of Houston's ambitious drive to become a world port. As David McComb reports in his Houston, a History: "Major A.M. Miller, while inspecting the potential ship channel in 1895, pointed out to civic leaders that the government had no intention of cleaning Houston's sewage out of the bayou and that the city had better clean up the mess if it desired any federal aid." After threat was confirmed, the city soon commissioned engineer Alesande Potter to design a $250,000 sewer system and approved a $300,000 bond to finance it. When it was put into service, Houston's sysContinued on Page 5
heavily polluted waters of the Bayou must be improved. In 1895 the city hired an engineer to provide plans for a sewer system.
WILLOW STREET PUMP STATION
by Lynn Edmundson During the past summer an Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) team of nine college students from University of Houston and Texas A&:M University researched and documented the historic three-building complex known as the Willow Street Pump Station, located in Houston's Warehouse District near the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous. Project field supervisor was Geoffrey Brune from University of Houston; Professor David Woodcock from Texas A&:M was the project instructor. University of Houston students were Lynn Edmundson, Sydney Moen and J. D. Trulove; Texas A&:M students were Emma Hocker, Peter Schmid, Seong-Woo Hong, Shuk Chan, Richard Burt and Amy Hammons. The Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record Division of the National Park Service produces measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories of historic sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are Significant to the architectural, engineering, and industrial heritage of the United States. Since 1935 the division has documented more than 22,000 historic resources. The collection is
housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Work at the Willow Street Pump Station was divided among three groups, one for each building. Students began their projects by taking exterior running measurements, then moved to the studio at night to execute the drawings. One of the first steps was to document the buildings in their present condition using HABS standards. During the time that has elapsed since original construction, walls and foundations have tended to move and settle, and originally perfect right angle corners no longer form perfect right angles. These variations made measuring and drawing more difficult. Historical research indicates that the location of the Willow Street Pump Station, at the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous, was once the site of the Allen brothers' steam saw mill. As the population of Houston expanded in the late 1800s, the source of a clear water supply became a major concern of the city. At the same time efforts were under way to expand local commerce by developing Houston as a major port on the Gulf Coast. When approval was finally given for federal aid for the Houston Ship Channel, a stipulation was made that the
The resulting sewer system utilized advanced concepts found in only a few other cities worldwide. A series of pipes would be routed through the neighborhoods and terminate in a central pumping station, the Willow Street Pump Station, located at the confluence of the two bayous. The system apparently never worked as well as anticipated. In 1913 alterations were made to improve the system, but by 1916 it was estimated that 70-80% of the raw sewage produced by the city went directly into the bayou. Willow Street Pump Station has been vacant since 1987. Almost all of the original equipment is still in place in the pump house. The students hope to create a catalog of all the drawings and exhibit them at Lawndale Arts and Performance Center in the fall together with the designs for the proposed Technology Museum from Barry Moore's adaptive-reuse studio.
Lynn Edmundson is a graduate student at the University of Houston College of Architecture Historic Preservation Program.
INSIDE GHPA
This year's Endangered Buildings Committee, chaired by Gerald Moorhead and David Hodgson, has been involved in a number of important activities aimed at protecting our historic architectural resources. In the beginning of this year, the City of Houston and its Neighborhood Protective Services survey teams released a list of 11,700 dangerous or hazardous buildings, of which 417 were identified as historic properties. The GHPA Endangered Buildings Committee quickly directed its work toward evaluating this list to ensure that contributing and historic properties were properly identified. Other work presently under way in the committee includes evaluation of city securing and permitting issues, the creation of a historic resources database, and research of other cities' successful preservation legislation. If you have any interest in participating in this committee's work, please call the GHPA office at 236-5000. Our first Preservation Breakfast Talk, held at the Houston Club on September 22, drew an attendance of 80 to hear Morgan Hill discuss plans for renovation of the Rice Hotel. The next Breakfast Talk will be November 17, and the speaker will be Guy Hagstette who will discuss the results of a study on the potential market for downtown housing recently conducted for the Houston Downtown Management District. GHPA bids a reluctant farewell to Charles john, who has recently left Houston to accept a position with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Charles will be working out of the National Trust's Midwest office in Chicago administering the Trust's flood relief program. Before leaving Houston, Charles had worked on the GHPA newsletter. Much of the content of this issue of For Preservation was compiled under Charles's leadership. We extend our thanks and best wishes in his new position. The GHPA Membership Committee, chaired by Ann Ivins, has been hard at work on several projects. "Suburban Pioneers: The Early Days of West University Place," an audio-visual exhibit featuring photographs, oral histories, maps and other documents will be co-sponsored by GHPA and the West University Place Historical Society November 13-14 at the West University Community Building, 6104 Auden Place. SpeCial thanks
to committee members Teddie Baumgartner, Becky Carazzone, Denise Cormier, janet Gilmore, and Fletcher Mackey who have done such a great job on this project. A reception on Friday November 12 at 7:30 p.m. will open the exhibit. Refreshments will be provided by La Madeleine Bakery. During the exhibit, new members may join both organizations at a Significant savings. joint membership will be available to individuals for $20; students for $10; families for $35. Admission to the exhibit is free. Watch for your invitation in the mail. For more information, call Sonny McKenna at 666-9693 or GHPA at 236-5000. The membership committee is also putting final
touches on plans for the GHPA Holiday Reception, to be held December 14 at the home of Ann and Len Ivins, 2036 Brentwood. If you would like to volunteer to serve on the membership committee, call Ann Ivins at 942-8191 or GHPA at 2365000. "Doorways to Discovery", GHPA's heritage education curriculum, developed by committee members Linda Weiland, Betty Chapman, Sharon Tyler, and Phoebe Tudor, is in a pilot program this fall in the Aldine School District. Diane Creekmore, Co-ordinator for Elementary Social Studies and Co-operative Learning in the Aldine district, is directing the project at Wilson and Francis Elementary Schools. After the pilot is completed, the curriculum will be revised as needed and prepared for reproduction. The committee's goal is to place a copy of "Doorways to Discovery" in every elementary school in Harris County. In the mean-
At the National Preservation Conference in St. Louis on October 1, one of the 1993 National Trust Honor Awards went to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Battleship Texas Advisory Board, the Naval Sea Systems Command, First Texas Volunteers, and U. S. Congressman jack Brooks for the salvage and renewal of the USS Texas. America's only surviving "Dreadnought", the Texas was commissioned nearly eighty years ago and is the only intact warship that served in both world wars. Earlier this year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received a Good Brick Award from GHPA for this restoration project. Congratulations once again to Texas Parks and Wildlife. University of North Texas Press has just published "From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston", by GHPA member Patricia Smith Prather, Executive Director of the Houston Place Association, and jane Clements Monday. Born in Alabama in 1822, joshua was the slave of Margaret Lea until she married Sam Houston and moved to Texas in 1840. He served the family as trusted servant, blacksmith, carpenter, architect, wheelwright and driver until he was freed in 1863. Orders may be placed by telephone, 1-800-8268911. On September 17, the Texas Antiquities Committee approved the designation of two of Houston's National Register-listed historic buildings as State Archeological Landmarks (SALs). The 3story Sheridan Apartments, 802-804 McGowen Street, constructed in 1922 for Robert C. Duff, are typical of numerous apartments originally constructed along trolley lines in neardowntown neighborhoods. Depelchin Faith Home at 2710 Albany Street was constructed in 1913 as an orphanage. GHPA member j. H. Hollyfield bought these two buildings for their architectural value and sought SAL designation in order to ensure their preservation. SAL status requires review and approval of the Texas Antiquities Committee before a property can be removed, altered, damaged, salvaged, or excavated. Houston City Council has recently confirmed appointments to the city's Archeological and Historical Commission (HAHC). New commission members are Elisa Phelps, Cary D. Wintz, Ellen Beasley, Manuel V. Flores, Patricia Smith Prather, Rolando M. Romo, O'Neil Gregory,jr., Caro Walker, Bart Truxillo, David M. Lewis, and Sheila Condon. HAHC is the public agency that advises the Mayor and City Council about preservation issues. Under the provisions of Houston's proposed zoning ordinance, HAHC is charged with the review of applications for Historic Landmark and Historic District designations and with reviewing proposed alterations and demolitions of designated landmark buildings. The application for National Register listing of Isabella Court was approved by the State Board of Review on September 18. Built in 1928, Isabella Court was recently restored by owners Bob Herolz and Trudy Herolz as a stylish retail shop/apartment complex. GHPA recognized the Isabella Court project with a Good Brick Award last january. Vicki McIntosh, who wrote the nomination for the Herolzes on behalf of GHPA, describes Isabella Court as "overwhelmingly romantic, yet human in scale. The building survives in nearly its original state and use as. a reminder of the former commercial amenity and stylistiC fantasy of the South Main strip which served as Houston's Wilshire Boulevard during the 1920s and '30s."
time, work is continuing to develop the student walking tour that will accompany this curriculum program. If you enjoy working with students and have a few extra hours once a month, please consider volunteering and give us a call at 236-5000. Two students from Barry Moore's historic preservation studio at the University of Houston School of Architecture are working as interns this term in the GHPA office. Say hello to Anthony Monda or Lynn Edmundson if one of them answers the phone when you call.
PRESERVATION
A tax credit rehabilitation project is underway at Fire Station No. 3 on Houston Avenue by Bob Deutsch. The Italian Renaissance-style building is being rehabilitated for conversion into studios and apartments. Project architects are Aichler and Associates. The first phase addresses deferred maintenance, alteration of plumbing and utilities for the new uses and replacing the roof. Windows and walls are now being repaired and replaced. The building will ultimately be divided into two to four spaces, depending on space requirements of the occupants. The second phase will address the restoration of the facade to its original appearance of two large arched doorways from which horse drawn fire trucks once emerged. The existing store front shop windows were added when the building was used as a furniture store. Roger Moore, archeological consultant to METRO, will conduct a worker education program as part of a contract to monitor construction of the new Katy/CBD Ramp and Shepherd/Durham Transit Center projects. Although the project areas will have been extenSively investigated archeologically prior to any construction, the possibility exists that some archeological remains might escape detection until exposed by construction. In
CLARIFICATION
The UH student grant for the study of the Rice Hotel, reported in the previous issue of For Preservation, was provided by the Houston Architecture Foundation. The Foundation makes an annual urban design research grant to students at UH, Rice, and Prairie View, who must apply and work out a method of selecting the recipient from each school. Tau Sigma Delta manages the selection process at the University of Houston with the President of the Foundation serving on the jury. "For Preservation" regrets this omission.
PROJECTS
order to provide for this possibility, METRO has initiated its worker education program for inspectors and contractors. The purpose of the program is to teach Metropolitan Transit Authority staff and contractors how to recognize archeological remains if any are exposed during METRO construction activities. The program seeks to familiarize the staff and contractors with types of archeological remains likely to be encountered in urban and not-sourban contexts. Instruction will also be given as to the appropriate sequence of actions to be taken in case of archeological discoveries during construction excavation, especially Significant discoveries which would require coordination with the Texas Historical Commission and the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Molina &: Associates, Inc. and Moseley Associates, Inc. are working with the City of Houston and the Texas Historical Commission on a project to rehabilitate the National Register-eligible Sociedad Mutualista Obrera Mexicana at 5804 Canal Street. Partial funding for the project will be provided through the City of Houston by a Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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preservation vehicle to preserve the neighborhood. I would like to see us attract new homebuilders to build compatible houses in Westmoreland." The Board of Review meeting was preceded by a reception the previous evening for the members of the Board cohosted by GHPA and Westmoreland Civic Association at John White's and Lew Brown's elegant Waldo mansion, the most imposing home in Westmoreland. At its quarterly meeting held on the second floor of Treebeard's Restaurant in the historic Baker-Meyer Building on old Market Square in Houston the Board of Review, in addition to approving Westmoreland Historic District, also approved the National Register nominations of the concrete battleship S.S. Selma in Galveston Bay; the Spanish Colonial Revival style Isabella Court, 3909-3917 Main Street in Houston; the Sealy Hutchings House in Galveston; and the WillisMoody Mansion in Galveston. GHPA past president Vicki List had prepared the nominations for Isabella Court and the Sealy Hutchings House on behalf of GHPA. Morgan's Point Historic District on Galveston Bay was also approved. Official Houston's attitude toward zoning has changed in recent years. Donna H. Kristaponis, City of Houston Director of Planning and Development added the City of Houston's support for the Westmoreland nomination in a letter to the Texas Historical Commission, stating "Houston is well aware of the importance of recognizing historically significant structures and views this as another opportunity to preserve this nation's heritage. This endorsement should serve as an indication of how strongly I, as well as many others feel about historic preservation in Houston." Sharie Beale, who started the Westmoreland committee in 1991 which decided to push for National Register status, stated that on hearing the news about Westmoreland Historic District's approval, "I was elated. I was very nervous after our first run-through." The Board of Review had recessed a hearing of Westmoreland's nomination in February, 1993 to allow for a re-write of the nomination. Stephen Fox extensively rewrote the Statement of Significance and changed other parts of the nomination for the civic association. Beale said that she thought Westmoreland Civic Association had "turned it around by rewriting the nomination, by helping host the reception for the Board of Review, by inviting them to see the interiors of our houses - by letting them experience the human aspect of historic preservation, not just the architectural aspect."
Beale outlined GHPA's role in the process "GHPA supported us in our effort," she said. "We sought GHPA's opmlOn on our chances before undertaking the project. GHPA provided education in the nomination process, and recommended professionals for us to hire. They sponsored me in a grant-writing workshop , which led to our getting a foundation grant to help pay for the effort, and edited the grant request." GHPA used the grant to pay most of the costs incurred in the nomination process. "GHPA is always open to explore partnership opportunities with neighborhoods," said Margie C. Elliott, Executive Director of GHPA "We are the best source of information for local preservation issues. We can work with a group to advise them how to get assistance, what needs to be done, what financial resources are necessary and available. We can also help neighborhoods in the local political process." "We can help write grant requests, " added McIntosh, who is also chairperson of GHPA's Historic Neighborhoods Committee, which, she noted, organizes semi-annual forums and seminars for older neighborhoods to help in the nomination process as well as on other issues important to older neighborhoods . Westmoreland Addition in 1902 was Houston's first planned elite residential neighborhood. Platted just outside Houston's southern city limits, it gained seclusion by limiting access by dead-end streets and by being laid out on a North-South axis; Westmoreland's grid was therefore set at an angle to the Northeast/Southwest grid of Houston. Deep setback building lines created a park-like, peaceful setting as Westmoreland was quickly built out in a variety of late Victorian style middle class to upper class homes. The most prominent resident of Westmoreland Historic District was Lyndon B. Johnson, who in 1930-1931 lived with his Aunt Eva Johnson Bright and her husband, John Bright, in the white frame house at 435 Hawthorne Street. Johnson taught speech and coached the debate team (to the state finals) at Houston's Sam Houston High School. He reSigned his teaching position in 1931 to accept a position in poli tics in Washington, D.C. President Johnson's first cousin, Dorothea Bright Askew, still resides at the Hawthorne address. Other prominent policians who resided in Westmoreland Historic District were Governor James V. Allred, Governor William P. Hobby, and U. S. Senator and Houston Daily Post editor Rienzi M. Johnston. A number of Westmoreland's early residents "contributed to Houston's emergence as a petroleum center," Fox writes; more so than any other subdivision. Among them were Walter W.
Fondren, co-founder of Humble Oil & Refining Company (now Exxon) - 401 Westmoreland; independent oilman John H. Hamman 401 Emerson; oil driller John Curtis McKallip; Henry T. Staiti, whose home at 421 Westmoreland now rests in Sam Houston Park. Other prominent Westmorelanders included insurance man James R. Cravens; insurance man, philanthropist and civic leader Burke Baker; architect Henry C. Cooke; Paul Whitfield Horn, Houston Superintendent of Schools 1904-1921 who in 1924 became the founding president of Texas Tech University; and Louis Wiltz Kemp, one of the foremost authorities on Texas history. Architectural historian Fox has stated that the "private place" type of elite residential neighborhood, developed in St. Louis, was introduced to Houston in Westmoreland Addition, and "its influence in Houston can be seen in such subsequent elite neighborhoods as the Courtlandt Place Historic District (N. R. 1980), developed along Westmore- land's northern border in 19061909; Montrose, developed along Westmoreland's western border in 1911; Rossmoyne (1914); Shadyside (1916); West Eleventh Place (1920) ; Waverly Court (1922); Chelsea Place (1922); Shadow lawn (1922); and the Broadacres Historic District (1923; N.R. 1980) .... " Westmoreland's architecture is also historically significant, a mixture of grand and modest houses. Fox, again, states: "Westmoreland is the only elite Houston neighborhood south of Buffalo Bayou to preserve a concen tra tion of Victorian house types, although all postdate 1900. Westmoreland's 18 contributing Late Victorian Queen Anne houses range from cottages ... to such substantial two-story houses with corner turrets and two-story wrap around porches as 304 Hawthorne (1904-1905) and 401 Westmoreland (1905)." Westmoreland Historic District also contains a substantial number of Four Square type houses, Craftsman bungalows, Colonial Revival style houses, as well as early 20th Century houses types such as the early example of the Dutch Colonial style in the Cravens House at 3410 Garrott (1907), and the Mediterranean style Heyne House at 220 Westmoreland. Westmoreland Historic District's diversity is also shown by five contributing small-scale apartment buildings built from the la te teens into the early 1930's, two in Jacobethan Revival style. The 1902 deed restrictions in Westmoreland Addition limit buildings to residential buildings, but permit "flats", interpreted to permit apartments. In the 1950's-1970's, numerous historic style houses in the neighborhood were demolished to make way for contemporary apartment projects, mostly unsympathetic in scale, design and massing.
The essential nature of Westmoreland was not destroyed, however, and today these now middle-aged apartments are in decline and the Victorian and early twentieth century houses are being restored. Westmoreland Historic District presents another example of how lack of zoning hurt historic preservation and how the zoning ordinance passed by Houston City Council in September can help it. Since the neighborhood deed restrictions do not prohibit apartments, Westmoreland has suffered the intrusion of unsympathetic apartment construction . During the '60s even a high rise apartment project was built within the subdivision. Recently a 100-unit project in the neighborhood was depicted as a drug-ridden slum in filming the movie "Rush". Zoning would have protected Westmoreland . In 1962, when plans for the Southwest Freeway were being finalized, then Westmoreland Civic Association preSident Len Scott wrote Westmoreland's city councilman, ruefully reminding him that Westmoreland residents had accepted the Southwest Freeway "for the common good", but begging city council to pass the zoning ordinance then being proposed. The Southwest Freeway was constructed, lopping off the eastern two blocks of Westmoreland. A public referendum defeated the zoning ordinance. Thirty-one years later City Council has approved a zoning ordinance which restricts density to four residential units per lot in Westmoreland Historic District and makes possible historic district overlay zoning to provide a plan to preserve and enhance Westmoreland's historic nature. For these protections to be put into effect, however, zoning must get past the referenda hurdles and be implemented. David Beale is a Houston attorney and President-elect of GHPA.
Design of the Queen Anne house at 2I9 Hawthorne came from Knoxville architect George F. Barber's house design book.
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tern was one of the most advanced in the world. The Willow Street Pump Station is an important part of our history as a city. The Engineers Council of Houston - a consortium of specialized professional associa tions under the leadership of Gerald Malan, a citizen inspired with the site's potential -started promoting the development of a museum in the three buildings. The city, for its part, has said that if the group builds support and can raise the money, it can have the site . Last winter, graduate students at the UH College of Architecture took the project one step further and investigated what kind of technology the museum should encompass, how it should be presented and how the buildings should be adapted. Six of those solutions will be displayed next fall in an exhibit at Lawndale Art and Performance Center. The technology museum movement has now grown into a nonprofit organization, separate from the Engineers Council, to take the concept one step closer to reality. The vision is there, the leadership is in place and the spectacular site is there - but everything turns on funding and timing. If realized, the Willow Street Plump Station could be one of the highlights of the Bayou Heritage Corridor - and one of Houston's most attractive cultural assets . Barry Moore teaches preservation architecture at the University of Houston and is President of GHPA. This article is reprinted with permission from the Houston Press, July 29, 1993.
The
Greater Houston Preservation Alliance Board of Directors Barry Moore President
WelcoTI1e New MeTI1bers Betty Chapman Secretary
Patron Members Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lawson Family/Dual Memberships Student Members
Individual Members
Sabine Brebach Craig E. Holden Jing Sun
Diana Armstrong Sanches Annette Cheek Bishop Stephen Brown Paul M. Davey J. Mark Gresham Bernice Jandrasi David Lawson Diane Morin Brad Nechman Terri Phillips John K. Spear
Mr.lMrs. Charles G. Cobb Mr. Tom Hester Mr. /Mrs. James D. Lea Mr. /Mrs. Isik Tezel Messrs. John White and Lewis Brown
Jeffrey S. Balou tine R. George Cunningham Gabriella Gutierrez
MeTI1bership
--Student $10 -Individual $25 --Family $40 --Business $250 _ _ Corporate $500 --Patron $100
David B. Jones Susan Keeton Staci Minchen
James A. Tinsley 1st Vice President
Elizabeth Rockwell Treasurer
Rolando Romo Mercedes Terry Linda Weiland
Margie Elliott Executive Director
Charles D. Maynard, Jr . Legal Council
Tim McAuliffe Market Square Project
Bart Truxillo Director Emeritus
Kelly Thompson Houston Archeological & Historic Commission
Donald Skipwith Old Sixth Ward Historic Neighborhood
Al Davis, Chairman Harris County Historical Commission
Donna Kristaponis City Planning Department
Advisory Board
Jane Ellen Cable Harris County Heritage Society Kay Crooker Houston Homeowners Association
Application Please enroll me as a member of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance . My contribution for the following category is enclosed.
David F. Beale President Elect
Ex-Officio
Nancy C. Brainerd Downtown Houston Association Newsletter Design and Layout by Martha Alexander Printing Costs were Partially Underwritten by Bob Bailey Studios, Inc.
Vicki McIntosh Past President
Franklin Denson Texas Limited Lee M. Ellwood University of Houston, Downtown
Edwin A. Eubanks Eubanks, Bohnn Associates
Janet Landay Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Emilio Sarabia Tejano Association for Historic Preservation,Inc.
Stephen Fox Fellow The Anchorage Foundation
Truett Latimer Houston Museum of Natural Science
Vince Ryan Houston City Council
James E. Furr, F.A.I.A . Hoover & Furr - 3D/I
John Logan Christ Church Cathedral
Barrie Scardino Preservation Services
Jim Greenwood Houston City Council
Louis Marchiafava Houston Public Library
Linda Sylvan Rice Design Alliance
Guy Hagstette Houston Downtown Management Corporation
Stewart Morris, Jr. Stewart Title Company
Eleanor Tinsley Houston City Council
John T. Hannah
Martha Murphree American Institute of Architects
Betty Wardwell Houston Proud
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Margie Elliott Editor
The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance 712 Main Street Suite 110 Houston, Texas 77002-3207
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