Heights Restoration & Historical Meeting 02/04/10

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trdt1
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# Posted: 02/02/2010 19:31
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Restoration/Historical Committee
The next Houston Heights Association Restoration/Historical Committee meeting will be held at 1317 Arlington on Thursday, February 4, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Note that this meeting is on the first Thursday instead of the third Thursday; this is a permanent change in the committee's schedule.

What do you do with a 1950's gameroom/laundromat/washateria building across the street from Reagan High School to make it into a nostalgic home and artist studio for an engineer husband and an artist of national and world renown? Do you want to see what the Home and Garden TV Channel (HGTV) found so interesting when they filmed a property transformation in Houston Heights? Did you miss going on the Houston Heights Home Tour to visit this home in 1988? If these thoughts pique your interest to see a multi-year renovation from a one-story commercial building to a 1950's modern "Santa Fe funky box retro style two-story home," then this meeting is for you.

Meeting attendees will see first-hand the results of tearing up asbestos flooring then raising floors 6 inches to eliminate flooding and excavating a giant hackberry tree filled yard from tropical rain damage. Also punching holes thru asphalt to plant plants, drilling holes in concrete ceilings and walls to hang art works, using stucco in a Victorian neighborhood, and battling ferocious termites all were some of the challenges in this work of love. Then hear how nervous the couple were when they moved from a country club suburban home to a washateria building in a questionable neighborhood in the 1980's and how the captivating building with beauty and character unlike any other, demanded preservation.

This meeting will highlight a most unusual example of a one-of-a-kind home in the Houston Heights. Overall, meeting attendees will see what beauty and character can be maintained in the Heights historic neighborhood using modern construction techniques. Also, for those wanting to talk with a couple who recall their neighborhood and school memories, this will be a most enjoyable evening activity.

The Houston Heights Restoration/Historical Committee meetings are open to the public bimonthly to learn about history and restoration in keeping with an appreciation of the historic nature of the Houston Heights. Membership in the Houston Heights Association is encouraged, but not mandatory to attend these events.

Please let Dean Swanson know if you have a restoration project, historical structure under restoration, or historical information or photos pertaining to the Heights to share at future meetings. Dean can be contacted at swansonad@sbcglobal.net or 713-880-2832.