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79 collection, which exceeds 700, is one of the very few in the world that fi rst bore the word Tejas affi xed to a place. But this is not a museum without a curator, for Weems can recite details and tell tales about each maritime memento, map, and model. Plans are wisely in place for this extraordinary collection to go to the Houston Maritime Museum, which will keep intact the great private trove of nautical memorabilia and maps. The new museum is planned for east of downtown, on the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The $45 million campaign is expected to complete by end of the year. Weems will be honored in the museum's fi rst gala, Set Sail, Friday, May 17 at its temporary digs at 2311 Canal Street. American Royal Weems' family lineage is illustrious and long. In Texas, Carrington's father, Wharton Ewell "Warky" Weems, was an original partner in Vinson & Elkins, joining the white-glove legal bastion in 1924 as the fi rst native Houstonian to become a V&E principal; the Weems moniker was affi xed to its shingle, Vinson, Elkins, Sweeton & Weems. The Weems name continued to grace the fi rm until 1969, eight years after his father's death. Carrington's mother, Mathilde Booth Weems, was the genteel daughter of Texas railroad tycoon, Horace Booth. Signifi cantly, pater and mater Weems are buried in Glenwood Cemetery, another project Carrington has adopted, serving on its board for more than 40 years and steering the grand old gravesite for Houston's fi rst families. A Modernist Manse It's clear that Weems was trusted with sourcing an architect for CAMH because of his own architectural prowess. Weems recalls that during a party in 1963, soon after his own house was completed, both Howard Barnstone and Harwood Taylor were guests, when Harwood turned to Howard and said, 'Did you design this, Howard?' And he said, 'No, I thought you did.'" The outlier modernist gem, sited at the crest of a hill, takes advantage of its woods-like setting, with a sunny living room, sequestered at the back of the house, which looks out onto a landscape of tropicals and a private seating aerie. Whereas most of Weems' contemporaries resided in Staub mansions or a similarly classical house with fan lights, columns, pilasters, and crown molding, Weems' mid-century jewel-box and its interiors mirror his mind as a modernist and iconoclast. Its light-fi led interiors, fl oating modern staircase, and glass box paired with terrazzo fl oors and windows free of ornament make a strong statement. Carrington hands me a brochure about his architectural projects, including his own home, described here as "a crisp, modern, Texas colonial." And our conversation begins amidst this unexpected setting: a fi gurative sculpture from New Guinea, a bold Charles Schorre canvas resting beside a painted portrait by his female pal he's been stepping out with, the phalanx of family photos, and a collection of guitars that he's taken up again to play — and we're off. CARRINGTON CONFIDENTIAL In the beginning: a pedigreed history. I was born July 3, 1928. My dad was born in Houston November 30, 1889. Mom was born in Houston also, but she was seven years younger, so probably born in 1896. My parents were Wharton Ewell Weems and Mathilde Booth — that was her maiden name. My grandfather [Major B.F. Weems] who came here in 1858, served as the acting general to General John Austin Wharton in the Texas Rangers. My grandfather came here after the war and built a colonial house downtown at the corner of Jackson and Rusk, and he had Tiffany's come down from New York to decorate his house; it was a decorating company then, it wasn't jewelry. So then he met Mariah Nash Carrington, made her his bride, and brought her back to Houston to live in his house. They were very active with Christ Church Cathedral; my grandfather was on the vestry in 1873, and my grandmother was the second lady in the woman's guild there. That's my church. I love it. I think it was 1839 when it was built, the original building, either the fi rst or second church in Houston. I love this city. I was born here. I turned 90 last year; I can't believe it. I don't feel 90. I feel 20. We were talking about my grandfather's house that Tiffany's decorated. It's part of the Houston Center now, and back when they were creating Sam Houston Park downtown and getting all those historical homes, they contacted me. They wanted me to put that home in the Sam Houston Park. But it was torn down. It had an outside kitchen; back then, they put the kitchen outside so if it caught fi re, it wouldn't burn up the house. When I went and looked at the house, it had 12 apartments, and one of them had been the outside kitchen. This guy at the Houston historical group said, "Carrington, we'd like to put that house in the park," but they needed the money to do that, and I don't Weems designed his modernist home in 1963. An abstract painting by Mildred Wohl, and a sculpture from the Sepik River, New Guinea, in the foyer. The bar testifi es to Weems' love of all things maritime.