TOUR DAY 2011: Texas Tours

Join Mid Tex Mod for a guided tour of the landmarks, public artwork, and cultural landscapes of the first official world's fair in the Southwestern U.S. The story of HemisFair '68 includes controversy, engineering feats, and represents a complex history of preservation and urban renewal. Its theme, the "The Confluence of the Civilizations in the Americas," reflected the promise of a modern future and celebrated a shared cultural heritage of the U.S. and Latin America.

Admission includes walking tour of modern architecture and artwork of the park and a trip to the top of the Tower of the Americas.

The North Texas Chapter of Docomomo US will host a walking tour of a Dallas residential neighborhood that offers an illuminating look into the transitional 1930s, as Texas' residential architects moved from a tradition-based historic eclecticism to a distinct modernism, embracing a newly arrived, pre-war European influence.

We will view several homes (some from the outside, some from the inside) by several of Texas' most respected residential architects. Work represented will include the eclectic historicism of Hal Thomson, the pre-modern work of David Williams and O'Neil Ford (with later renovations by Frank Welch), and one of Howard Meyer's earliest Texas commissions, a small modern home clearly influenced by the International Style. In keeping with the tradition of past tours, hot dogs, burgers, and conversation will be served in the backyard of one of the homes (weather permitting).

For tickets and reservations contact docomomo.us.ntx@gmail.com

As a prelude to the tour, Houston Mod will host a panel discussion entitled, “Reflections on Modernism in Houston.”  Panelist include Anderson Todd, John Zemanek, Patrick Peters and Danny Samuels, with Rafael Longoria as moderator.  Each speaker is a current or former faculty member of the School of Architecture at the University of Houston or Rice University.
 

A significant amount of Houston’s development occurred during the post-war years.  As a result, the architecture of Houston was especially influenced by the modern movement.  The houses open for this tour pay tribute to Houston’s modern masters and reflect the different perspectives in which they worked. Featured on the tour are houses designed by Anderson Todd, John Zemanek and MacKie & Kamrath.