We hope you and your families are safe and healthy. In times like these, we learn to appreciate the value of continuity and the comforts of familiarity. Although our staff is working remotely, Preservation Houston is continuing its efforts to protect the historic buildings you care about and the neighborhoods that make Houston home.
PH offers to fund documentation of important Fort Bend County site
Preservation Houston’s Board of Directors has voted to fund a project to document the Arcola plantation sugar house, or purgery, in Fort Bend County. Site owner Johnson Development is considering the proposal. Pending the developer's approval, a team from Texas A&M University’s Center for Heritage Conservation will conduct the work in February.
About the West Mansion demolition
By now, you've likely seen the news that the James & Jessie West Mansion on Clear Lake has been demolished. The house was completed in 1930, was designed by Joseph Finger and for many years housed the Lunar Science Institute (later the Lunar and Planetary Institute). Its architectural and historical significance was never in doubt, so how could it be torn down?
Chevron's demolition of historic Shelor Motor Company Building downtown appears imminent
With permits in place and the site fenced off, Chevron is moving forward with the demolition of one of the last remnants of downtown Houston's automobile row of the 1920s. Architectural historian Stephen Fox has written an article for the Houston Chronicle's Gray Matters explaining why the energy corporation should preserve the former Shelor Motor Company (1928), 1621 Milam at Pease. Preservation Houston has contacted Chevron encouraging the company to halt the demolition.