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70 doors along the continuous length of the wall, providing an expansive view of the garden; this first-floor section contains the main bones of the house: kitchen, dining, and living areas. Moss provided a private entry and stairs hidden from the street, tucked into the inside junction of the two intersecting elements. The entry doors lie at the end of a long walkway hugging the garden, fitted under the protective cantilevered upper level roof. From the entry, the kitchen is placed in the corner, with the open-concept dining and living area beyond. The DeLafosse House was successfully designed to be hurricane proof, with a tilted steel A-frame structure made from recycled oil-field pipe clad in concrete. Exterior walls facing the southeast direction of hurricane winds are sloped inward with brick at the ground level and shingles at the upper- level wall/roof. Although Moss used angles in all his buildings, here the sloped walls serve the purpose of affording less wind resistance and storm surge from hurricanes. Moss' design was providential, for the DeLafosse House has never suffered substantial damage from the many hurricanes since construction. The structure was possibly influenced by Bruce Goff's much publicized Hopewell Baptist Church, 1947-1951, in Edmond, Oklahoma, known as the TePee. The church was built by parishioners using recycled oil-derrick pipe for the external structural frame and has been somewhat tornado proof. I saw the DeLafosse House over 20 years ago, when it was still in its prime. I recently revisited the property, and unfortunately, it seems to be abandoned after Hurricane Harvey and is now in slowly decaying condition. My field trip to San Leon last summer revealed a home in tremendous need of upkeep. Curtains, glimpsed through the windows, hung in tatters, while an HVAC aluminum tube snaked through the backyard; the drive bore a derelict car. There was no sign of an owner, and clearly the property had not been inhabited or maintained for a considerable amount of time. The structure and exterior walls and windows all look to be in good condition, but there is an indication of water damage on the ground level. I believe the house can be restored with a reasonable amount of expense and be inhabitable for many years to come. I can only hope that someone will rescue this architectural treasure. THE SURVIVOR: THE MOSS HOUSE One extant Arthur Moss property is immaculately maintained and owned by the family of its original clients: the Moss House, 1959, designed for Arthur's brother, Phil, and his wife, Stacey. Phil passed away in 2013, but Stacey still lives in the home in West Houston, which benefits from the gardening services of son Gary Moss of Moss Landscaping. The successful youngest son, Philemon Moss, and the equally Greek-pedigreed Anastasia Tsamisis (she graduated from the elite women's school Finch College in Manhattan a decade before Tricia Nixon) were married in New York City in 1957 and moved to Houston to set up house in the La Fonda Apartments. A few years later, on the advice of Phil's father, they bought property in the new development of Briarbend. There was no question whom the architect would be. Phil and Stacey commissioned Arthur to design their dream house in what was then, the late 1950s, a far-flung Houston suburb. In a neighborhood surrounded by undistinguished houses, the Moss House is an exuberant expression of the individuality of the brothers. Stacey relayed the tale that Phil fought with the homeowners' association to have a two- story house and eventually won. The house features an L-shaped plan, similar to the DeLafosse House, which intersects with a tilted A-frame structure. The most memorable exterior elements are the staggered undulating wood shingle sea-wave roof, a medieval- inspired element also known as an English roll roof, and the pointed metal eyebrow covers that punctuate the façade above diamond-shaped windows. Although the house is two stories, from the street it is disguised as one story, with no second-floor windows facing the sidewalk. At the first floor, tucked in under the corner-tilted A-frame, are the dining room, kitchen, breakfast area, and pantry. The entrance, also within the tilted A-frame, begins with the first- floor living room and segues into three bedrooms, two baths, a library, TV/ family room, and stair. On the second floor, still within the tilted A-frame, is one large multipurpose room, flanked by bedroom and bath. Arthur Moss' design acumen and risk- taking carry over into the interior details. The foyer is set with polished flagstones and rimmed with built-in planters for the tropicals that still fill the house. The façade's distinctive diamond- s h a p e d w i n d o w s punctuate the adjoining library. The kitchen and bath countertops display blue or green Italian-glass mosaic tile, each piece set by hand. The front edges of the kitchen countertops were specially designed with the cook in mind: They slope down so that, as Stacey Moss said, "You can lean onto the counter comfortably." Between the living room and family room is a large wood-burning fireplace open through to both sides, set into a wall of Pennsylvania stone. The master bedroom, more conventional, features a raised platform for the king- size bed with a large sunken sitting area. Unique to this house is the curved interior entry wall, which bears a sloped window with an almost Tudor feeling, encircled by planters. It is the only curved element that I am aware of in all the buildings Arthur Moss designed. For more than 50 years, the Mosses entertained in the house, often with Arthur in attendance. Many occasions were celebrated including political gatherings.. Phil, active in the GOP, ran for Texas representative in 1964 as his party's candidate. Barbara and George H. W. Bush were in the house for social gatherings, as well as James Baker; the elder President Bush 41 and former Secretary of State both served as honorary pallbearers for Phil's memorial. Stacey Moss, a spry, elegant woman who worked in the jewelry and retail world after raising children, is now in her 80s. She is among the last Arthur Moss' DeLafosse House, San Leon, Texas, circa 1955-1956 (continued from page 66) (continued on page 84) 68