Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1180194
OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. C ourtlandt Place, one of the lo veliest streets of old Houston, thrives today due in no small part to Courtlandt Place Historical Foundation's mission to promote historic preservation. A neighborhood consisting of one street, Courtlandt Place was planned in 1906, and construction on the fi rst homes began in 1909. Gated on both ends, 15 of the 21 homes carry National Register of Historic Places plaques, and the street itself has been an NRHP since 1980. Far-sighted denizens kept razing of homes and commercial aspects at bay — deed restrictions were written to never expire, and the homeowners own the street itself. Notable a r c h i t e c t s commissioned to build homes included Birdsall Briscoe, Alfred C. Finn, Warren & Wetmore, and John Staub. For the fi rst time in nine years, Courtlandt Place homes will be open for a Holiday Home Tour Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8, 11 am to 5 pm, chaired by Suzanne Nimocks and Amy Taylor. Six homes and three gardens will be on the tour, which benefi ts Preservation Houston and Courtlandt Place Historical Foundation. The street will be closed during the tour, with vintage Packard cars on exhibit; Uber encouraged. Tickets $45 in advance, $50 at the door, eventbrite.com. HOLIDAY HISTORIC HOMES FOR THE I talian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992) might not be a househ old name, but her infl u- ence in the world of architecture, design, and publishing has been felt for decades. One of the few women in a fi eld dominated by men, she worked with architect and de- signer Gio Ponti in the early 1940s in Milan, where she was also deputy edi- tor of Ponti's magazine, Domus. Bardi opened her own architecture fi rm in 1942, at age 28, but relocated to South America after her studio was destroyed by bombs during WWII. It was in Brazil that Bardi's creative genius took root: She and her journalist husband, Pietro Maria Bardi, co-founded the infl uential art magazine Habitat, and in 1951, she designed and built her own home there, Casa de Vidro (Glass House), celebrated for its early use of concrete and glass. The house is now a museum and institute of study. In 1957, Bo Bardi established and began designing the São Paulo Museum of Art. She also designed cutting-edge furniture. Her most famous contribution is the 1951 Bowl chair, an adjustable semispherical form resting on a metal- lic ring and four legs — but the design was never introduced to the public. Bo Bardi's brilliance in art and design wasn't publicly recognized until after her death in 1992, when she was described by British architecture critic Rowan Moore as "the most underrated architect of the 20th century." Working closely with Bo Bardi's foundation, Instituto Lina Bo e P.M. Bardi, the Italian design fi rm Arper has reissued the Bowl chair in a limited edition of 500, including a black-leather edition and a fabric version in seven col- ors. Lina Bo Bardi Bowl chair by Arper, arper.com. Rebecca Sherman INFLUENCE WOMAN OF A vintage photo of No. 5 Courtlandt Place, completed in 1913, designed by Sanguinet and Staats A recent photo of Number 6 Courtlandt Place, completed in 1909 for Charles and Emilie Neuhaus, also designed by Sanguinet and Staats Vintage photo of No. 6 Courtlandt Place