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 Watch List: Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist
Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, the oldest African-American Christian Science congregation in Texas, constructed its modernistic building in 1941 across from Emancipation Park in the heart of the Third Ward. The group was organized in 1914 and acquired the property at 2202 Elgin Avenue in 1940; Houston architect Henry D. Frankfurt designed the building with clean, modern lines and a distinctive octagonal lantern atop the sanctuary.
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?