Trying to save a cool mod house

The owner of this MCM house bought it, along with another one next door, with the intent of tearing it down and subdividing the lot to build a couple of new builds. The neighbors have been gently pressing him to try to save the house and with the slower economy we have been able to get him to agree to at least try to market the house for a short while to try to save it. Formikahini has seen this one in the flesh and can attest to how cool it is. I don't have a lot of time to work with on this one, so if anyone is in the market to salvage one....

It sits in a great location with good schools, very close in, on a large lot. All characteristics that typically lead to destruction and new builds in Houston. It is going to kill me to see this one meet the wrecking ball.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=7919636&backButton=Y

what a beautiful home!

Kudo's for trying to save a house as cool as this one!

my god that house RULES!

no kidding my house wishes it was that cool when it grows up!!!!!

There are a couple of better pictures on this thread from the Houston Architecture forum:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php?showtopic=18168

I'm telling you though, in person, the house really rocks. the pics just don't capture it.

I'm in for five bucks... who's with me?

It's a killer home, but $695K?! Oy...

On 2009-02-23 08:48, TheBigT wrote:
It's a killer home, but $695K?! Oy...

And that's pretty much for the dirt. Being on a 15,100 sf lot is what drives the price up and makes saving it more difficult.

That house RULES!

It is worth every penny!

.... wish I had more pennies.... :wink:

[ Edited by: Dartin Menny 2009-02-24 13:38 ]

A great opportunity to restore. I will spread the word to my Houston architecture fiends (err, friends) and hope a sensitive (and dedicated) soul will take this one under wing.

GK

Amazing house...You might want to look into DOCOMOMO organization to spread the word.

http://www.docomomo-us.org/chapters/north_texas

Robert is not kidding, folks. This house is The Bomb. The second set of pics starts to do it justice - but not really. The storage, the ceilings, the two built-in bars (the back one, not pictured, in a room MADE to become a tiki lounge), the pool - I could go on. The whole neighborhood, where tons of my friends live, is full of Mid Mods. I bought in a different neighborhood before I knew of these gems, many of which are extremely affordable. You can't spit without hitting a killer Mid Mod there. But this one is special.

Alas, my teacher's salary.

I all but begged the owner not to tear it down,

I hope somebody pulls this out of the dumpster, that would be a beautiful thing. My fingers are crossed.

The price is a little steep $$$, BUT what potential with GREAT built-ins. The pallet awaits the Tiki Makers Hand! Thortiki

I had a photographer go out and posted much better pics on the link now. If you have looked at it before, check the link again as the photos do a lot better job of "capturing" it now. I am on borrowed time with this one.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=74755534&backButton=Y&Address=3611%20Tartan

[ Edited by: txmod 2009-05-11 20:40 ]

whata RAD house .

I am just sure that was Gene Kranz, former mission control director for the Apollo missions home!

"Tiki On Garth!"

Barring a miracle, I am afraid this one is one for the loss column. No buyer has been found and the owner has people interested in new construction, so.....

Maybe I will have better luck with the next try.

I have one in Memorial Bend, great mod area, but being assaulted by the McMansions. the larger lot (by Houston standards) puts this one in semi-peril, but hopefully things will work out better.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=24493215&backButton=Y&Address=423%20Isolde

Who in their right mind would tear this house down and do new construction ?

It's beautiful.

In LA, this would go for a premium.

Are they putting stupid pills in the water down there in texas ?

Jeez :x

I can't believe how many people just HAVE to have the new construction - bleck! I live in one of these cookie cutter homes and they fall apart pretty quickly. Not like the good old fashioned construction of yore. Hell, within a year of moving in we were all informed we had that wonderful LP siding on our homes. A couple years later - new roofs. Within the first year half the pressure gauges on the waterlines blew and the hot water tanks were all doing the same. I say you're better off with an older construction home and these two are fantastic!

When my wife and I stared looking for our first house in 2001, I told her my only request was that we get something that was a bit older, with some personality. She didn't get it, she thought newer was better. So we went to all sorts of neighborhoods, new construction, cookie cutter, and then some classic Florida ranch neighborhoods. After 50+ home viewings, we moved into a 1970's split plan ranch, in a neighborhood where no two houses are the same. She now sees what I was talking about. My only regret is the house isn't another 20 years old or so.

I love the house posted in this thread.

[ Edited by: dewey-surf 2009-06-30 19:05 ]

[ Edited by: dewey-surf 2009-06-30 19:06 ]

People luv 'em some new construction. the "problem" with the Tartan st. house is it sits on a 15,000 sf lot, which invites redevelopment. Some of the neighbors are real mod fanatics and worked on the owner to at least try to get someone to save the house, and to his credit, he did give it a shot.

Memorial Bend has been hit REALLY hard with the McMansions. This one too is on a large lot, so I am hoping it will be okay. it is a little too high for the builders I think. Many of the mod areas in town, Memorial, Meyerland, Braeswood, have been hit HARD with the builders.

In my area, Glenbrook Valley, we have started the petition drive to make it Houston's first post WWII historic district. Of course it is on the "wrong side of town" for most of the McMansion builders. Which is fine with me.

What a beautiful home.......ug, let us know what happens.

Since the link on the Tartan house is now dead, here are some pics of that one on death row. (in case you missed it)

So hopefully the William Floyd designed one in Memorial Bend (below) will fare better

This is really unfathomable to me!

As an "about-to-graduate" urban planning grad student, I am sickened when people tear these beautiful homes down. When you tear down beautiful examples of your historical culture, you throw away more than just a few building materials -- you throw away your heart.

SOOOOOOOOO sad!!! That would just be an awesome home to live in. :(

Amen, there have been efforts to preserve the moderns in Memorial Bend, although the area is increasingly under siege. The moderns there have been documented on http://memorialbendarchitecture.com

Unfortunately, tear downs like this are fairly rampant, as shown by what happened to this house:

http://www.movemodern.com/tag/houston/

It looks like Ren Clark's (of "Ren Clark's Polynesian Village") house in Fort Worth is undergoing a remodel - at least of the Tiki Bar room inside. Contents were just sold. Take a look at the original bar and decor in situ:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=33018&forum=12&16

Quite an amazing home bar.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-07-07 15:17 ]

Depressing stuff. Given the number of mid-mod fans clamoring for good houses in Dallas, I cringe every time I see ones in high-lot-value areas pop up for sale, fearing the buyers will be of the "this house does not have room for our bathroom sofas!" ilk and end up leveling the place for some zero-lot-line McMonster.

I'm working on my 1960s house now, trying to bring it back to something approximating its original state prior to a coupe of decades of neglect and some unfortunate 1980s decorative modifications. Although I am going for more of a mod look, there will be the requisite tiki room - and the house has good bones and character to play up the Asian/Tiki/Modern theme. Unfortunately, one of the prior "modifications" included hacking off the once cool projecting rafter tails. Ugh.

GK

Of the two mods talked about above, the latter one in Memorial Bend did end up in sympathetic hands. Not sure the fate of the other one and I don't want to drive by and even look, too afraid.

My next one to try to find the right person for is more of a full throttle tiki-asian style 50's or early 60's vintage modern in Glenbrook Valley. I don't have pictures yet but it has the projecting beams coming off the eaves and the flared corners of the roof. The geometric asian fretwork under the eaves, lava rock accents, and a round window with an asian patterned screen on the front. It has the big drive through port-a-cochere (I have no idea how to spell that) with the circle drive. The interior has flagstone floors throughout the living areas and kitchen area & an asian style room divider off the living room. It is about 3,000 sq ft on one level with 3 bedrooms and just one living area, so the rooms are huge. Some repairs have to be done first, but I can't wait to get that tiki palace polished up and on the market.

I just hope I can get someone who loves that instead of "ewww, look at THAT! Can we rip it all out and do an UPDATE to Tuscan?"

[ Edited by: txmod 2009-09-07 14:58 ]

That is a very cool house and it's exactly the house I'm looking for but not in Texas. It's overpriced for the area because you can get a house for almost the same price in Thousand Oaks, CA an Eichler neighborhood.

The Memorial Bend one sold. The bigger one was 3,600 sq ft on a 15,000 sq ft lot. The price was barely over lot value. That is why it is so feasible to tear it down.