PaperCity Magazine

PaperCity Houston March 2023

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transformed it into a luxury boutique hotel for a who's who of globetrotters and Houstonians alike, making international headlines during the '80s for its Oil Barrel Special: dinner for the price of crude. In 2021, the hotel was integrated with Hines' 34-story luxury tower dubbed The Residences at La Colombe d'Or; the sleek high-rise by Muñoz + Albin dialogues with the historic home in a splendid marriage of progress and the past. Interiors throughout both properties are by Rottet Studio. FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS NATIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICT (circa 1870s): The railroad arrived in Fort Worth, and the stockyards became the end of the trail for cowpokes and a place for them to bathe, sleep, and dine. Once the country's largest livestock market through its peak in 1944, the iconic destination synonymous with Texas made the National Register as a Historic District in 1976, with numerous buildings and recorded landmarks contributing to the listing. Significant public and private funding continue to be directed to this important heritage and tourist asset that today boasts the new Hotel Drover and the historic Stockyards Hotel, as well as shopping and dining destination Mule Alley. FRAME/HARPER HOUSE, Houston (1960, restored 2007): Before abandoning residential work for more lucrative commercial commissions, Harwood Taylor designed one of the finest examples of mid-20th century domestic architecture in Houston. He worked in close collaboration with owners Gloria Klein and David Frame and their idiosyncratic Memorial- area lot, with its steep slope to the bayou. The house was published in House & Garden several times and received the Texas Society of Architects merit award. Artist Dana Harper commissioned Stern and Bucek Architects to restore the home and grounds. TRIA GIOVAN WENZEL FRIEDRICH'S ROCKING CHAIR (circa 1880-1890): This uniquely Texas chair was crafted by German-born Friedrich (1827- 1902), who emigrated in 1853 from Bohemia and settled in San Antonio as a cabinetmaker. In 1880, he began making horn furniture, no doubt due to proximity to the great cattle ranches of South Texas. These innovative works received awards at national industrial expositions and were sold throughout Europe to patrons including Queen Victoria, Otto von Bismarck, and Kaiser Wilhelm I. This gem in the MFAH Bayou Bend Collection was gifted by late patron William J. Hill. MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON F U LTO N M A N S I O N STAT E HISTORIC SITE, Rockport (1877, restorations 1976-1983, 2008, 2017-2019, and ongoing): Standing alone above Aransas Bay and surrounded by live oaks, this stately French Second Empire mansion is notable for its advanced mechanical systems and hurricane-proof engineering. This highly ambitious Texas villa had successfully survived eight hurricanes before Harvey's direct assault on August 25, 2017 — which destroyed metal roof and chimneys and devastated interior collections, carpets, and plaster walls. The mansion reopened in 2019 after the Texas Historical Commission led fundraising and repairs. TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION GALLAGHER HEADQUARTERS RANCH, Helotes (1833, expansion 1850s, 20th-century restorations): Just three years before his temporary victory at the Alamo, Santa Ana commissioned Irish immigrant Peter Gallagher to build a munitions supply depot outside of San Antonio. After independence, Gallagher expanded the site into a hacienda-style compound walled with two-foot-thick, hand-cut limestone and rifle slits for fending off Comanche attacks. In the 20th century, the property became Texas' first dude ranch. In the first two decades of this century, it was sensitively restored by architect, preservationist, and developer Chris Hill into a 19-bedroom mansion with 22 original fireplaces. GAULT AVIATION HANGAR, Corpus Christi (1961): One of the original light aircraft storage facilities for Corpus Christi's then-new airport complex, the hangar designed by Joe L. Williams (senior architect of LAURENCE PARENT Fondren Mansion / La Colombe d'Or Hotel Frame/Harper House Fulton Mansion (Continued) 75 TEXAS DESIGN ICONS 46

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