The Houston Business Journal reported that the Texas State Hotel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently in the building is Club Quarters Hotel, but they weren't mentioned by name in the brief article even though the company applied for the register listing. The Texas State is a the corner of Fannin and Rusk and opened in 1929. Joseph Finger was the primary architect, and the cast terracotta detailing he often......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor sanctamonius who gives us this classic, retro view of City Hall. City Hall was built during 1938-1939 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Did you know that City Hall was one of the first air conditioned buildings in the city? If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 420 of Houston's......

Houstonist noticed about a month ago that something was missing near the corner of Bissonnet and Mt. Vernon streets, just west of Montrose Blvd. The house didn't seem to fit in, but it sure caught our eye - unfortunately it was recently demolished by the current owners. The house was located at 1 Waverly Court and was designed by Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects and built in 1999 to replace a beaten-up 1950s contemporary home by......

GHPA Walking Tour: Old Sixth Ward In perfect timing with last week's City Council designation of Old SIxth Ward as Houston's first and only Protected Historic District, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance will hold it's monthly walking tour this afternoon in the historic neighborhood. On the second Sunday of every month, GHPA presents a docent-guided walking tour of an architecturally and/or historically significant area of Houston. $10 per person ($7 for GHPA members). Reservations are......

This morning, Houston City Council designated Old Sixth Ward as the first and only Protected Historic District in the city. This new status will enable the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission to prohibit the demolition of historic structures within Old Sixth Ward's 33.8 acres. There was only one dissenting vote for this measure, which came from council member/real estate broker Michael Berry. As far as actual limitations on properties within the district, the Greater Houston......

Harry James, the builder we wrote about yesterday, demolished the Doyle house at 945 Heights Blvd. earlier today. KHOU captured an aerial video of the demolition, which comes the day before a protest that was scheduled for tomorrow from 5-6 pm at the house. The house was over one hundred years old and had been owned by the Doyle family until local builder Harry James purchased it for demolition. Even though several buyers had apparently......

Here is a big, big Houstonist "heads up". The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will re-open this weekend with some fantastic fanfare and events. This event is from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. this Saturday, it is FREE to attend and beer and wine will be available with proper I.D. (have we got your undivided attention, yet?). This marks a re-opening celebration of the Orange Show - plus (so proud of our Orange Show!!!)......

Yesterday, Mayor Bill White announced a new plan for Old Sixth Ward - the Chronicle stated that "[Mayor White] proposed creation of a special district within the neighborhood west of downtown with design guidelines for construction and renovation, along with financial incentives to discourage demolition of historical houses." Historic, indeed: according to the Old Sixth Ward Historic District site, the neighborhood has the largest amount of Victorian homes in this region (except for Galveston,......

This historic mansion on 3303 E. NASA Parkway was designed by Joseph Finger and built for publisher and oilman James Marion West in 1929. His son, "Silver Dollar" Jim West, Jr., was known for his offbeat way of tipping (well) with silver dollars. This mansion is an important piece of architecture because it is the only remaining intact residence of the West family, and it is a rare example of a "great 1920s country......

The Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission will meet at 2:30 this afternoon to discuss possible steps to take in order to help save the River Oaks Theater and shopping center. The main discussion will be whether or not to try and designate the theater and shopping center as historical landmarks. While the National Register of Historic Places provides historic recognition, it does not protect a building from being demolished by its owners:Listing in the National......

In somewhat of an anticlimax to months of speculation, HISD announced yesterday that there aren't any graves on a district-owned plot of land at West Gray and Taft after all. The seven-acre parcel is supposed to one day be home to a new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and a new Gregory-Lincoln Education Center. But when the district acquired the land through eminent domain and leveled several dozen houses that stood there,......