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B R E W S T E R M C C LO U D , H o u s t o n ( 1 9 7 0 ) : R o b e r t Altman's dark comedy riffing on the tale of Icarus takes place in and under the Astrodome and stars birdlike Bud Cort (Harold and Maude), Sally Kellerman (M*A*S*H), and a Texas treasure, C HESTER AND LORINE NAGEL HOUSE, Austin (1940-1941): Chester Nagel, a student of Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius at Harvard, built his own family home along Shoal Creek. It's believed to be the first International Style house in Austin and marries the revolutionary notions of Bauhaus Modernism with the vernacular architecture of Nagel's hometown, Fredericksburg. D R. JOHN BIGGERS, Houston (1924-2001): As founding chairman of the art department at Texas Southern University (then known as Texas State University for Negroes), Biggers developed a signature painting style that expressed the rich cultural heritage and identity of the people in his community. His early work portrayed social realism, but after a trip to Africa, his paintings became more abstract, often depicting stylized shotgun houses (inspiring Project Row Houses), churches, or railroads, all symbolic of Black culture, spiritual rebirth, and migration. Watson Jr. was the last private owner, and along with his partner in business and life, Robert Wayne Garrett, they designed the interiors of the Driskill Club at Austin's historic Driskill Hotel and UT's Littlefield Home. The Chateau was the scene of salons for the design elite and parties for Austin society, as well as a gracious refuge for the then-closeted gay community. After standing empty for 15 years and making Preservation Texas' 2022 List of Most Endangered Historical Places, UT has begun the process to determine preservation viability. C IBOLO CREEK RANCH, Marfa (circa mid-1800s): In 1988, third-generation Texan, entrepreneur, and preservationist John B. Poindexter began acquiring the historic Big Bend Milton Faver Ranch, which was named for its founder, the first cattle baron of Presidio County. He then meticulously restored the ranch's three crumbling forts, filling them with Spanish colonial, Mexican, and Western artifacts, art, and antiques, giving what is now a luxurious resort an authentic 19th-century atmosphere. The 30,000-acre ranch had been scrub- choked, the unwitting result of over-grazing. Ongoing habitat restoration has returned the land to its pre-pioneer condition, a lush, waving carpet of buffalo grass ("cibolo" means buffalo). Indigenous species were reintroduced, and the buffalo again roam. the late Shelley Duvall (The Shining, Popeye). The climactic scene features McCloud taking flight from an upper level of the stadium in his homemade contraption and experiencing the thrill of flight. Temporarily, at least. Now-vanished swaths of 1970s-era Houston play a surreal supporting role. Significant features include a flat roof, continuous bands of windows, and a nod to the Hill Country with its street-facing wall of rough limestone block. The Nagel House appears in the 2024 book Home, Heat, Money, God: Texas and Modern Architecture. Dr. John Biggers' The Cradle, 1950 Nagel House, 1940-1941, Austin COLLECTION MFAH © JOHN T. BIGGERS ESTATE LICENSED BY VAGA AT ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NYC IMDb Cibolo Creek Ranch, Marfa FROM THE BOOK AUSTIN: ITS ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURE (1836- 1986) (AUSTIN CHAPTER AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS) 105