Lars Bang, the architect responsible for many of the gorgeous and endangered mid-century modern homes in Houston, passed away last Friday, October 17th after a brief illness. He was 87 years old. As recently as last year, Bang was still active and spry despite being in his mid-80s. He made one Meyerland homeowner very happy when he personally came to visit her home after a neighbor suggested that her mid-century modern home was designed by......

We took a trip over to the Heights today at lunch to see how the historic neighborhood was faring five days after Hurricane Ike. The Heights, like many other older neighbohoods in Houston, was badly battered by the high winds and tornados that Ike produced. The incredible wealth of beautiful old live oak and pecan trees in the neighborhood only gave Ike additional fodder during its destructive rampage. Driving down I-10 towards the Heights, the......

We're not entirely sure what to think about this week's shelterporn home, a contemporary North Montrose model. Is it a house with a beautifully clean and modern exterior? Why yes — but what's inside is even more interesting, not least because it features (gulp) shiny black ceilings. No, really. The shiny ceilings, it turns out, are ebonized maple which, for better or worse, matches the floors in most of the house. It's good, in......

Do you enjoy this majestic, sweeping vista? It could be yours! Read on... City Centre, on the site of the old Town & Country Mall off I-10 and Beltway 8, is one of many mixed-use developments cropping up around Houston that are trying to take advantage of the new trend towards satellite "city centers" (spelled the American English way here, since we do -- after all -- reside in America) or "town squares" outside......

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here: The highly-anticipated grand opening of the Caroline Collective takes place this Saturday, June 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. as Houston finally welcomes a coworking home of our own. The mission of the Caroline Collective is to provide a stimulating work environment for anyone who doesn't have a traditional office setting, but still wants to participate in a communal workspace and have a base of......

While the golden days of espresso and gelato with friends on the giant wooden deck at Dolce & Freddo are long behind us, the vacant building at San Felipe and Voss that once housed the popular Italian coffeehouse has stood neglected since its closure several years ago, a sad reminder of days past. Similarly, the wood-paneled, mid-century modern office buildings nestled around the former Dolce & Freddo slowly became abandoned and shuttered, blending into......

Have we told you how much we like the work of John Staub? Well, if we haven't, consider yourself told (and if you look at Stephen Fox's new book on Staub, you'll be a fan, too). It's not every day that a Staub-designed house shows up on the market — especially not one as grand as the 1924 D.D. Peden house in Shadyside. The Peden house actually predates Staub's career as an independent architect:......

Yeah, yeah, we know — Shelterporn has slacked off, and in recent weeks you've had to look for your own dream real estate listings. We're awfully sorry to have put such a burden on you and are making a Chinese New Year's resolution to be more regular. We'll do better at keeping up with Shelterporn, too. All of which brings us to the home we couldn't ignore: the Frame house, located off Memorial and......

Ah, the sweet smack of gentrification strikes again -- this time targetting the ever-quirky and loveable Super Happy Fun Land. Their current building (2610 Ashland St.) has been sold in order to make room for more condominiums, which some apparently delusional real estate-type creature has decided our fair city is lacking. Super Happy Fun Land will be moving on out by the end of January 2008 to locations currently unknown. Have an idea for a......

Last week the AIA hosted their annual home tour, and tomorrow the Downtown Houston Alliance is giving folks a chance to see residences in some of Houston's most historic and moneyed buildings. The Live Downtown Home Tour is from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, November 3rd. Stops on the tour include Commerce Towers, The Beaconsfield (not the Savoy across the street!), the Four Seasons, Hogg Palace (no, not this place), and several other loft properties.......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

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......

695 Rocky River - Tanglewood This week, the almost 5,000 square foot mid-century Tanglewood home designed by Ralph A. Anderson, Jr. (of Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson architects) met its demise - one in a series of many large (and large-lotted) unique mid-century homes in this close-in treed area to be replaced by even larger Mediterr-uscan-Spani-French style homes. According to the Houston Architectural Guide,The full impact of the Eisenhower era is visible here [in Tanglewood],......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......

We were hoping that the nearly posthumous landmark designation and demolition-delaying rain spells might have given Weingarten Realty that last little bit of time to ruminate over their plans to demolish the River Oaks Shopping Center - unfortunately, according to Cherry Demolition, the bulldozers move in Tuesday to begin the demolition and make way for the big box anchor Barnes and Noble plus a four story parking garage. We were sad to see places like......

9602 Moonlight Drive, located in Meyerland at the intersection of Braesheather Drive, is one of our all time favorite mid-century homes in Houston. It was designed and built by Robert Cohen in 1964, and he and his wife lived in the home until 2004 when it was sold to John M. O'Quinn - yes that O'Quinn. From the smell of it, O'Quinn (who lives in River Oaks) let the house sit for three years and......

Admit it: At one point or another, you've sat back and thought to yourself, "You know, I really wish I lived in an embassy." And sure, it would be fun, but who wants to deal with all those pesky diplomatic staffers? Well, we have good news: There's a pretty embassaic home available in River Oaks, and the only people who'll live there with you are the ones you invite. (Did we mention that we're looking......

More on Hines' proposed 47-story downtown skyscraper: The Chronicle has some details about the building and its design, and it looks like it really could be something different for the CBD. Plans call for the 630-foot building to be clad in glass, with the west facade featuring projecting vertical glass fins to shade offices from afternoon sunlight. Near the top of the building, on its east side, will be a notched opening that'll shelter......

Did you protest the taxes on your home this past year? If so, we hope you did your research on your neighbors’ appraisals already. If you didn’t, you’re out of luck. Thanks to a new law passed by the state, the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) was forced to pull their property appraisal database from their website this week. Don't get out your walking shoes yet – the information can't be obtained from the county......

Tuesday, August 7 at 2pm is the last chance for the public to speak about the pending historic landmark status of the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater, Alabama Shopping Center, and Alabama Theater in front of City Council. Members of the public must sign up to speak by 12pm Tuesday by calling the City Secretary Anna Russell (713-247-1840), and people who have already spoken to City Council on this issue may not do......

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......

Trammell Crow, Co. has announced that their project at the former HISD Headquarters at 3830 Richmond Ave. will start immediately, just short of a year after the demolition. The project, called "Greenway Commons," includes a 164,000 square foot Costco to be topped with an LA Fitness health club. Three years ago, HISD accepted Trammel Crow's bid of about $38 million for the site, which included the administration building, annex, and Will Rogers Elementary. We were......

Everywhere we turn, we see new homes being built in the inner-city. Unfortunately, many of these are new homes (or townhomes, in many instances) where some historic houses and bungalows once sat. However, if the latest news in real estate holds true for the rest of the year, we may finally see a dramatic slow down in new homes being built. The Chronicle is reporting that new home sales have fallen 18 percent in the......

So here's something interesting for people who keep track of abandoned downtown buildings: The Houston Business Journal reports that Omni Hotels has plans to revamp the old Sheraton-Lincoln into a luxury suite hotel. The 28-story hotel at 717 Polk Ave. opened in 1962 and closed in 1986; according to the folks at the Houston Architecture Forum, the nearby Hyatt Regency bought the building in the late 1990s for a proposed expansion, but that deal fell......

As we noted yesterday, the Doyle house on Heights Boulevard is no more — and Harry James, the man who had it demolished, is pissed off that anyone tried to save it. In an e-mail to the Chronicle, James said the house was beyond repair: "This house is not a historic mansion, as is being classified in the media by my opponents. It sat in disrepair for 35 years, without any occupants and with major......

More information in the story of Sonoma, the giant mixed-use development being planned for a two-block site in the Rice Village: The Chronicle reports that the city has released the appraisals for the 2400 block of Bolsover Street, and there's a little bit of variation between the two — about a half-million dollars' worth, to be specific. The appraisals — for $913,171 and $1,460,340 — pertain to Lamesa Properties' plans to buy that stretch of......

The Doyle House was built in 1906 by William A. Wilson, an important person in the early growth of the Heights and who was the developer of Woodland Heights and Eastwood. The house is located at the southwest corner of Heights Blvd. and 10th St., and was recently acquired by local builder Harry James who has been constructing and rehabbing homes in inner Houston, with a recent concentration in the Heights. James plans on demolishing......

Earlier this year, we talked about the downtown real estate boom: One Park Place, the apartment tower under construction at the edge of Discovery Green; Houston Pavilions, the retail and office complex being built on Main Street; and a few skyscrapers in the planning stages. Well, the Houston Business Journal reported on one of those proposed new buildings Friday: a 47-story skyscraper being planned by Hines in the 800 block of Main Street. There......

A reader e-mailed us because he was upset that we didn't have a shelterporn last week — more specifically because we missed the chance to feature the West Mansion, which was sold a few days ago to a real estate development firm that plans to preserve the historic house. And yes, we did drop the ball on that one, we suppose. But don't worry: Here's an even larger house for your consideration, and unlike......

Hotel ZaZa Opening Party Every once in awhile we like to take you into the world of the social elite in a little feature we call Social-ist (we know, we are so clever with those -ists!). Last week we attended the preview party of the new Hotel ZaZa. We had been hearing a lot about this swank tank, and we were looking forward to checking it out. Seeing as the old Warwick's transformation into a......