The Texas Legislature is again working to diminish the ability of counties, municipalities and community associations to protect the character of cities, towns and neighborhoods across Texas. Preservation Houston is asking its members to write or call their representatives in Austin to oppose House Bill 70, which would overturn local tree ordinances and void existing deed restrictions that protect trees.
Apollo Mission Control restoration moves forward
Preservation Houston is helping NASA reach its goal of restoring Apollo Mission Control Center at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, which will be commemorated on July 20, 2019. Mission Control is a designated National Historic Landmark, but deferred maintenance and unrestricted access led the National Park Service to categorize the facility as "threatened."
Continuing threats to historic River Oaks Shopping Center
Weingarten Realty Investors has submitted requests for certificates of appropriateness to demolish one portion and significantly alter another section of the historic River Oaks Shopping Center. The Art Deco complex is a designated City of Houston Landmark, so proposed changes to the buildings must go before the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission (HAHC). The affected buildings at 1964 and 1973 West Gray Avenue (1948, Raymond H. Brogniez) were constructed during a post-World War II expansion and complemented the modernistic design of the original shopping center (1937, Nunn & McGinty).