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Houston & Texas
Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas by David Bush and Jim Parsons / Buy this book
Using a host of vibrant images, Preservation Houston staff members David Bush and Jim Parsons’ Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas captures the essence of the Art Deco style of architecture as represented in the Hill Country of Texas. Hill Country Deco explores how the rich history of these structures collides with progressive notions of historic preservation for remodeling buildings and restoring façades. This collection of historical and modern photographs will encourage a newfound appreciation for Art Deco as seen in Central Texas.
Houston Deco: Modernistic Architecture of the Texas Coast by Jim Parsons and David Bush / Buy this book
When Houston's Gulf Building opened in 1929, the city's planners were eager to align the growing metropolis with the dynamism of the American West, and art deco buildings proliferated: courthouses, schools, even car dealerships had sleek, modern designs, and movie palaces incorporated art deco murals. This book grew out of efforts by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, begun in 2006 to save some of these structures. The authors, who also did most of the color photography on every page, went through the city and its environs to chronicle existing structures. Some were well preserved, others in disrepair. (Publishers Weekly)
Last of the Past: Houston Architecture 1847 to 1915 by William Scott Field / Buy this book
Last of the Past not only offers information on historic structures, but also a look at downtown before many large-scale restoration projects were undertaken. Some of the structures featured in the book, including the Pillot and Kiam buildings, are shown before they were restored; others, such as the South Texas Commercial National Bank and the row of buildings on the west side of Market Square, have been demolished since the book was published. Last of the Past is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Houston's architectural history. Published in 1980, the book has been out of print for years, but for a limited time, you can buy a first-edition, as-new copy from Preservation Houston's archives.
America's Treasures at Bayou Bend: Celebrating Fifty Years by Michael K. Brown / Buy this book
This overview of the collection of American decorative arts at Bayou Bend, the former home of Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg, includes an illustrated essay detailing the history of how the collection was formed followed by a brief showcasing of 100 of the collection's masterpieces.
Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945 by Jay C. Henry / Buy this book
This book is the first comprehensive survey of Texas architecture of the first half of the 20th century. More than just a catalog of buildings and styles, the book is a social history of Texas architecture. Jay C. Henry discusses and illustrates buildings from around the state, drawing a majority of his examples from the 10 to 12 largest cities and from the work of major architects and firms, including C.H. Page and Brother, Trost and Trost, Lang and Witchell, Sanguinet and Staats, Atlee B. and Robert M. Ayres, David Williams, and O'Neil Ford. Nearly 400 black-and-white photographs complement the text. Written to be accessible to general readers interested in architecture as well as to architectural professionals, this work shows how Texas both participated in and differed from prevailing American architectural traditions.
The Campus Guide: Rice University by Stephen Fox / Buy this book
This guide takes readers on an insider's tour of Rice University in Houston. It presents an architectural walk of the campus, revealing the stories behind the historic and contemporary buildings, gardens, and public works of art. Rice University's neo-Byzantine campus, created by Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, also includes modern buildings by James Stirling and Michael Wilford, Ricardo Bofill, Cambridge Seven Associates, John Outram and Antoine Peacock.
Cinema Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex by David Welling / Buy this book
Cinema Houston celebrates a vibrant century of movie theatres and moviegoing in Texas's largest city. Illustrated with more than 200 historical photographs, newspaper clippings, and advertisements, it traces the history of Houston movie theaters from their early twentieth-century beginnings in vaudeville and nickelodeon houses to the opulent downtown theatres built in the 1920s and on to the multicinemas and megaplexes that have come to dominate the movie scene since the late 1960s.
The Country Houses of John F. Staub by Stephen Fox / Buy this book
This ambitious study of Staub's work goes beyond a description of Staub's houses. Fox analyzes the roles of space, structure, and decoration in creating, defining, and maintaining social class structures and expectations and shows how Staub was able to incorporate these elements and understandings into the elegant buildings he designed for his clients. In the process, he contributes greatly to a fuller understanding of Houston's emergence as a premier American city. With color photographs by Richard Cheek.
Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues by Roger Wood / Buy this book
Houston blues was and is the voice of a working-class community, an ongoing conversation about good times and hard times, smokin' Saturday nights and Blue Mondays. Since 1995, Roger Wood and photographer James Fraher have been gathering the story of the blues in Houston. In this book, they draw on dozens of interviews with blues musicians, club owners, audience members, and music producers, as well as dramatic black-and-white photographs of performers and venues, to present a lovingly detailed portrait of the Houston blues scene, past and present.
Ephemeral City: Cite Looks at Houston by Barrie Scardino, William F. Stern and Bruce C. Webb /Buy this book
Since 1982, Cite: The Architectural and Design Review of Houston has explored the nature of Houston's evolution as an urban place by publishing commissioned articles by nationally known writers and architectural historians and high quality photography. This volume brings together 25 exceptional articles from Cite's first 20 years, along with 224 black-and-white photographs, maps, and plans. With a diversity of voices and a selection that includes both narrow and broad topics, the volume constitutes a collage that captures the essence of a remarkable place — inchoate, patchwork, full of youthful vigor, favorable to private enterprise, and one of the world's most fascinating cities.
The First Texas News Barons by Patrick Cox /Buy this book
Newspaper publishers played a crucial role in transforming Texas into a modern state. By promoting expanded industrialization and urbanization, as well as a more modern image of Texas as a southwestern, rather than southern, state, news barons in the early decades of the twentieth century laid the groundwork for the enormous economic growth and social changes that followed World War II. This book investigates how newspaper owners including William P. Hobby and Oveta Culp Hobby of the Houston Post and Jesse H. Jones and Marcellus Foster of the Houston Chronicle paved the way for the modern state of Texas.
Historic Texas Courthouses by Michael Andrews with photos by Paul Hester and Lisa Hardaway /Buy this book
This handsome catalog of Texas' historic county courthouses, with stunning color photography of each, was written by former U.S. Rep. Mike Andrews, who is a member of GHPA's Advisory Board. GHPA staff shared their architectural and preservation expertise during the editing process. Historic Texas Courthouses is an essential addition to the bookshelf of every fan of Texas history or architecture.
Houston's Silent Garden: Glenwood Cemetery, 1871-2009 by Suzanne Turner and Joanne Seale Wilson with photos by Paul Hester /Buy this book
Glenwood Cemetery has long offered a serene and pastoral final resting place for many of Houston's civic leaders and historic figures. In Houston's Silent Garden, Suzanne Turner and Joanne Seale Wilson reveal the story of this beautifully wooded and landscaped preserve's development—a story that is also very much entwined with the history of Houston. Accompanied by the breathtaking photography of Paul Hester, this book chronicles the cemetery's origins from its inception in 1871 to the present day.
Philip Johnson & Texas by Frank D. Welch /Buy this book
This remarkable work catalogs Philip Johnson's long list of work in Texas, including landmark projects in Houston such as Pennzoil Place and the University of St. Thomas campus. Illustrated by Paul Hester photographs and with an introduction by Johnson.
The Portable Handbook of Texas by Roy R. Barkley and Mark F. Odintz /Buy this book
This is a condensation of the six-volume New Handbook of Texas. It features historical information; biographies of 560 men and women who helped shape the state; more than 25 articles on the peoples of Texas; essays on more than 30 topics such as agriculture and health care; and more. This is a must-have for anyone interested in Texas and its history.
Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans by Bill Harvey / Buy this book
From the simplest slab of weathered stone to the most imposing mausoleum, every marker in a Texas cemetery bears witness to a life that — in ways small or large — helped shape the history and culture of the state. Telling the stories of some of these significant lives is the purpose of this book. Within its pages, you'll meet not only the heroes of the Texas Revolution, for example, but also one of the great African-American cowboys of the traildriving era and the first woman in Texas elected to statewide office.
Texas Houses Built by the Book: The Use of Published Designs, 1850-1925 by Margaret Culbertson / Buy this book
Culbertson gives a history of Texas homes built from published plans, tracing the development of that type of architecture from the mid-19th century through the Victorian era, the heyday of house-plan catalogs, and into the 20th century. The book is an invaluable look not only at this unique and fascinating field, but also at Texas residential architecture in general in the 1800s and early 1900s.
Why Stop?: A Guide to Texas Historical Roadside Markers by Betty Dooley Awbrey / Buy this book
This guide to more than 25,000 Texas roadside markers features historical events; famous and infamous Texans; origins of towns, churches, and organizations; battles, skirmishes, and gunfights; and settlers, pioneers, Indians, and outlaws.
Caring for Your Old House: A Guide for Owners and Residents by Judith L. Kitchen / Buy this book
In this well-illustrated handbook, Judith Kitchen provides comprehensive advice and guidance for old-house owners on researching, repairing and maintaining an old residence to avoid making any irreversible changes to the historic integrity of the house. Potential old-house owners will find valuable recommendations on finding that old home. Included are inspection and maintenance tips with overviews on repairing problems in foundations, roofs, paint, mechanical and plumbing systems and other areas of the house.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs / Buy this book
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great American Cities has, since its first publication in 1961, become the standard against which all endeavors in that field are measured. In prose of outstanding immediacy, Jane Jacobs writes about what makes streets safe or unsafe; about what constitutes a neighborhood, and what function it serves within the larger organism of the city; about why some neighborhoods remain impoverished while others regenerate themselves. Compassionate, bracingly indignant, and always keenly detailed, Jane Jacobs's monumental work provides an essential framework for assessing the vitality of all cities.
Historic Building Façades: The Manual for Maintenance and Rehabilitation by William G. Foulks / Buy this book
A complete reference manual for building owners, architects and contractors for maintaining and rehabilitation of walls and facades that call for a thorough understanding of the forces that cause deterioration, knowledge of the properties of building materials, up-to-date inspection tools and methods, and a solid command of renovation and repair techniques. With chapters by recognized experts, the book provides state-of-the-art information and methodologies for the inspection, maintenance, and restoration of historic buildings of virtually every period, style, and material.
Historic Preservation Handbook by J. Kirk Irwin / Buy this book
The author ... attempts to weave the individual details of historic building analysis into the larger fabric of time, place, and form ... He claims the book will help teach the new generation of architectural historians and preservationists how they can "achieve the New Urbanist goal of increasing density by making it both livable and appealing," while at the same time the author explores with the reader the "heart and meaning of preservation in the twenty-first century." Libraries with historic building and architectural history collections will want to add this important work. Most readers using general collections who are interested in historic preservation will find this work a good place to start studying the field. (Ralph Lee Scott)
Illustrated Dictionary of Architectural Preservation by Ernest Burden / Buy this book
A handy compendium ... hard to put down, and can provide the reader with a comprehensive introduction and review of the field. (American Reference Books Annual)
The unique, visual approach to restoration, convenient A-to-Z organization, and extensive cross-referencing make this must-have volume as easy to use as it is indispensable. Readers will find abundant information and examples on adaptive reuse, the creation of designated historic districts, structural restoration of landmark buildings, and cleaning and preserving great works of architecture.
The Preservation of Historic Architecture: The U.S. Government's Official Guidelines for Preserving Historic Homes Buy this book
From removing graffiti in Manhattan to rebuilding a hops barn in Oregon, the National Park Service-a part of the Department of the Interior-has faced just about every problem an old structure can encounter. Here for the first time is a collection of their hard-won know-how and official guidelines, written by the top experts in their respective fields of preservation.
Forty-two fully illustrated chapters cover all aspects of preservation, from repairing historic materials to restoring vintage signs.
Preserving the World's Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis by Anthony Max Tung / Buy this book
Tung, a former New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, has written an innovative historical and theoretical study of architectural and cultural preservation efforts in 20 cities across the world. Tung visited each of the 20 sites himself and relies on exhaustive archival research. He presents difficult problems fairly such as whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece despite Athenian pollution, the battle over air rights in Manhattan, and whether the reconstruction of Warsaw has destroyed the history of its destruction during the war always attempting to find a solution that relies on common sense, historical integrity and balancing practical needs with preserving heritage. This is an important contribution not only to the literature of urban studies and city planning, but to architectural history and sociology.
Repairing Old and Historic Windows: A Manual for Architects and Homeowners from the New York Landmarks Conservancy / Buy this book
Written for homeowners, architects, builders, engineers, and preservationists, Repairing Old and Historic Windows is the complete and authoritative guide to window maintenance and repair. Chapters focus on window problems, including deterioration, weather damage, paint problems, and condensation; window maintenance, including cleaning, weatherstripping, and installing shutters; and window replacement, including design, fabrication, and installation. The complete primer on window repair and maintenance.
Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes by George Nash / Buy this book
For those who love to live in old houses or want to invest in one, this completely revised and updated book leaves no stone unturned. From evaluating a property to making foundation repairs to adding on a porch, it's a comprehensive guide to every aspect of making renovations and repairs — whether you already live in, or are contemplating buying, an older home. Over 450 color photos and drawings are featured.
A Richer Heritage: Historic Preservation in the Twenty-First Century by Robert E. Stipe / Buy this book
Surveying the past, present, and future of historic preservation in America, this book features fifteen essays by some of the most important voices in the field. Contributors include preservationists, local-government citizen activists, architects, landscape architects, environmentalists, an archaeologist, a real-estate developer, historians, a Native American tribal leader, an ethnologist, and lawyers. A Richer Heritage is an essential, thought-provoking guide for professionals as well as administrators, volunteers, and policymakers involved in preservation efforts.
Built mostly during the first quarter of the 20th century, bungalows have been experiencing a kind of renaissance amongst today's homeowners-especially the first-timers. In this celebration of the architectural form, Maddex visits 75 bungalows throughout the country, including L.A., Seattle, Chicago and D.C. Hers is a warmly told history which guides the reader from neighborhood to neighborhood and introduces them to the bungalow's many architectural styles, from Federal to Arts & Crafts to Spanish. Beautiful photos enable the reader to fully experience the quaint charm of the bungalow exterior and the warmth of the its wood-detailed interiors and light-filled kitchen nooks. (Publishers Weekly)
The Elements of Style: A Practical Encyclopedia Of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley, editors / Buy this book
This magnificent volume covers more than 500 years of architectural styles from Tudor to Post-Modern using more than 3,000 drawings and engravings and 1,400 photographs. Compiled by a team of experts headed by Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley, The Elements of Style is the first book on architectural styles that is comprehensive, incredibly thorough, and accessible in its presentation of individual details.
A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester / Buy this book
The Field Guide offers a chronological, style-by-style look at American domestic architecture, identifying key features of styles and giving plenty of examples of each. It's an invaluable resource for the amateur or the professional.
How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built by Stewart Brand / Buy this book
Brand splices a conversational text with hundreds of extensively captioned photographs and drawings juxtaposing buildings that age well with those that age poorly. He buttresses his critique with insights gleaned from facilities managers, planners, preservationists, building historians and futurists. This informative, innovative handbook sets forth a strategy for constructing adaptive buildings that incorporates a conservationist approach to design, use of traditional materials, attention to local vernacular styles and budgeting to allow for continuous adjustment and maintenance. (Publishers Weekly)
Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography by Douglas Keister / Buy this book
Stories in Stone provides history along with images of a wide variety of common and not-so-common cemetery symbols, and offers an in-depth examination of stone relics and the personal and intimate details they display-flora and fauna, religious icons, society symbols, and final impressions of how the deceased wished to be remembered. Keister has created a practical field guide that is compact and portable, perfect for those interested in family histories and genealogical research, and is the only book of its kind that unlocks the language of symbols in a comprehensive and easy-to-understand manner.
A Visual Dictionary of Architecture by Francis D.K. Ching / Buy this book
A Visual Dictionary of Architecture is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind compendium which uses a combination of textual definitions and hundreds of superb line drawings to illuminate a comprehensive body of essential terms in architecture, including important interrelationships between building components. Grouped by themes ... all terms have their visual complement and can be readily accessed in a number of different ways. ... An authoritative source of information for anyone tracking down an elusive word, and a delight for simple armchair browsing. (Midwest Book Review)
What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture by John C. Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers and Nancy B. Schwartz / Buy this book
Designed for easy identification of buildings on the road or at home, What Style Is It? gives a unique overview of America's architectural styles. Individual chapters on 22 of the most important styles provide a concise look at the history and appearance of each.
This slim, pocket-sized guide, with its many photographs and illustrations, should be of value to anyone interested in identifying and enjoying the architectural assets of a building. … What Style Is It? concisely gives the details and design features needed to identify a building's style. (The New York Times)
