Historic Houston Street Signage

[Subdude]

Mosaics in Heights are saved from ruin

Alert resident tells councilman of project snafu

By TOM MANNING

Chronicle Correspondent

An observant Heights resident and the quick work of a Houston city councilman saved the day recently when a construction crew assigned to rebuild a number of curbs in the Heights for wheelchair access almost destroyed the mosaic street signs along those curbs.

Heights resident Sheila Survari said she was walking her dog the evening of Jan. 25, when she noticed work crews tearing up the sidewalk at the intersection of 8th Street and Harvard Avenue.

"The intersection was all torn up and I noticed that the mosaics had been torn up with it," Survari said. "I talked to the supervisor at the scene and he said, 'We're supposed to do it.' "

A subcontractor hired by the city for the job, which was set to include about 75 intersections in the area, did not receive direct instructions from the city's Public Works Department to preserve the mosaics. But those mosaics, which were added to streets in the area in the 1920s, were not something Survari wanted to see become a construction casualty.

"I started making phone calls and sending out e-mails," Survari said.

One of those Tuesday morning phone calls went to Councilman Adrian Garcia's office.

"When we heard about it, we went out to investigate," Garcia said. "Luckily, we were able to intervene. In their defense, the contractor was unaware that they were doing anything wrong, and they were apologetic. They just knew they had a job to do, and they had no knowledge that they were supposed to save the mosaics."

Said Survari, "Somebody from (Garcia's office) high-tailed it over here, and fixed the problem. We've had wonderful support from the councilman and this was another example of that."

Randy Pace, Historic Preservation officer for Planning and Development, also arrived at the scene of construction to make sure the mosaics were preserved.

Garcia said he contacted the city's Public Works Department to tell them that future contractors need to be aware of the aesthetics of a community when working on city projects.

A city repaving project that had recently been completed on Studewood was one in which contractors received specific instruction from the Heights community to preserve the mosaics.

"A lot of times the community is aware of the projects that are coming to the neighborhood, and they have a chance to discuss some of these issues," Garcia said. "This time around, we had two projects going on very close to each other, so I think this one slipped through the cracks. Luckily, we were able to catch the problem in time."

David Bush, director of programs and information for the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, said residents need to keep aware of the projects that are coming into their neighborhoods.

"The neighborhood around the Studewood project was very involved, so they made sure those mosaics were preserved," Bush said.

"People just need to be aware. You can say that mosaics are a small issue, but issues like this can have a cumulative effect.

"It's the little things that add up, then next thing you know, the personality of the neighborhood is gone."

And the link.

[Guest danax]

Way to go Ms. Survari and Councilman Garcia. Those mosaics, which I believe are actually what was called "terrazzo" are such beautiful touches of a more artistic time. I know of one in the Heights on, 11th I think, that says "The White House" and there are several on Main DT.

[jm1fd]

Those mosaics, which I believe are actually what was called "terrazzo" are such beautiful touches of a more artistic time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, they're just tile mosaics. Terrazzo is small random colored stone chpis in a mortar/slurry that are poured out on a floor, allowed to set, then ground down smooth.

http://www.ntma.com/02__terrazzo_info.php

[MidtownCoog]

I tried to save one in Midtown, but the builder took it before I could get to it. I wanted to use one from Jackson St. for my garden.

It was a shame.

Many are cut in half and patched together with new cement, and the Midtown Lofs are the worse offenders. Check out a Midtown Loft and see for yourself.

That's the problem when the city lets the Perry Homes and Midtown Lofts of the world do what they want with street cutting and sidewalk building.

What about those cement sticks with street names. I think those are even older than the tiles.

Check out Elizabeth Baldwin Park for a prime example. It's a little crooked, but still standing.

[Guest danax]

Actually, they're just tile mosaics.  Terrazzo is small random colored stone chpis in a mortar/slurry that are poured out on a floor, allowed to set, then ground down smooth.

http://www.ntma.com/02__terrazzo_info.php

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, sure, the mosaic street signs imbedded into the curbs! I was thinking of the terrazzo remnants from the art deco era scattered around town. It would be neat to do an inventory of them.

[Heights2Bastrop]

What I miss are the 4

[Astro]

I didn't realize those curb mosaics dated back that far, to the 20's... I believe they must have been continued to be installed on new streets into the 40's-50's though, since I seem to recall seeing them in some newer neighborhoods like Oak Forest, and in the Braeswood area in the SW section of the loop.

I'm curious also about how far back those concrete stakes were installed too.

It angers me to see the mosaics and the stakes destroyed by developers or utilty workers who have no regard for them. I remember when the "Roseland lofts" were built on Roseland near Colquitt and they broke the bottom part off the stake at the corner and pulled it out of the ground. Then they did put the stake back in but they put it in the wrong direction so the street names were facing the wrong streets! I believe it's still like this last time I looked.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Astro, the concrete posts and tiled street names could have been done in the same time period. The tiled names would have been placed on curbed streets and the posts on streets with ditches.

[Parrothead]

I love those curbside street mosaics. How sad they aren't protected or restored in some way.

[ssullivan]

Exactly! Those ditches make Houston looks so rural. The ditches are also the primary targets of trash. I drive along Rogerdale Rd. every day and the ditches along it are always littered with trash. I often notice workers manually picking up the trash. It must also be costly to regularly maintain the grass along those ditches. Moreover, the stagnant water in the ditches is a big attraction for mosquitoes.

That section of Rodgerdale is a remnant of back before Westchase was developed and that area was rural. Why it has not been widened between Westheimer and south of Richmond where it goes back to four lanes before now is an obvious lack of city oversight. However there is good news. City Council last year approved that section of Rodgerdale to be widened to a concerete street with four lanes, curb and gutters, and the open ditches to be replaced with storm sewers.

I understand the complaint about open ditches but there really aren't that many streets in the city like that. There are some obvious ones like Rodgerdale in Westchase (and Old Westheimer just west of there but it's currently being rebuilt) and some in the Heights and some low income areas of town.

[westguy]

I think they were installing those mosaics at least well into the 40's. I think there're some at the University of Houston, and I don't believe any of the buildings were there before the late 40's.

[kzseattle]

That section of Rodgerdale is a remnant of back before Westchase was developed and that area was rural. Why it has not been widened between Westheimer and south of Richmond where it goes back to four lanes before now is an obvious lack of city oversight. However there is good news. City Council last year approved that section of Rodgerdale to be widened to a concerete street with four lanes, curb and gutters, and the open ditches to be replaced with storm sewers.

I understand the complaint about open ditches but there really aren't that many streets in the city like that. There are some obvious ones like Rodgerdale in Westchase (and Old Westheimer just west of there but it's currently being rebuilt) and some in the Heights and some low income areas of town.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, when I think about it, you are right there arent many streets in the city along open ditches. Since I drive on Rogerdale everyday and it's is the first and last thing I see each day, it seems to me that ditches are every where. I am not sure if they need to widen Rogerdale though. Its more of a back alley and isnt heavily traveled. Also, there doesnt seem to enough space for additional lanes.

By the way, you forgot one important road that runs along an open ditch. It's Memorial Drive and thats kind of strange since it runs through very high income areas. Some sections of the road need to be resurfaced/repaved as well.

[ssullivan]

Well Rodgerdale can get pretty busy at times. I think a lot of people avoid it because it is such a HORRIBLE street in its current configuation. At least the city has repaved it. Before they did that last summer it was in horrible condition -- you had to drive very slowly in some parts of it to avoid being bounced by a pothole into the ditch.

There actually is enough room to widen the street if the ditches are taken into account. By replacing the ditches with storm sewers under the street it will work fine.

You're right about Memorial. Part of the issue is local opposition to widening the street, especially in the two lane sections that run through the Memorial Villages, where the street is not in the city of Houston. There were efforts to rebuild Memorial through the villages to a concrete, four lane divided with curb and gutter street like it is east of Chimney Rock in the 1980s but those were dropped because of the opposition to the expansion. From what I understand, the section of Memorial between San Felipe and Briar Forest that is four lanes was only built that way in the mid 1980s and it was quite a struggle to get that done. Before that link through the Villages was completed, that segment of Memorial was the same curving, two lane, open ditch street that exists elsewhere in the Villages, and there was no modern, wide street running east and west in that area between Westheimer and the Katy Freeway.

I have often wondered why the city hasn't expanded Memorial west of Gessner where it is back in the Houston city limits though. It is four lanes but definitely not up to the standard of most major thoroughfares in the city.

[kzseattle]

You're right about Memorial. Part of the issue is local opposition to widening the street, especially in the two lane sections that run through the Memorial Villages, where the street is not in the city of Houston. There were efforts to rebuild Memorial through the villages to a concrete, four lane divided with curb and gutter street like it is east of Chimney Rock in the 1980s but those were dropped because of the opposition to the expansion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now, why the heck would those living in Memorial oppose IMROVING the main thoroughfare that runs through their area? At least the ditch could go. Do they think of it as a beauty thing or what! We all talk about modernization and progress in Houston while its wealthiest residents retain such backward mentality. Memorial Drive could be our version of Sunset Blvd.

Widening the road is one issue, but it could at least be resurfaced. I drove on it yesterday and the section west of Chimney Rock to San Felipe is a pretty bump ride. At one point, about half the lane is sunken. The section between Briar Forest and Gessner has similar conditions.

Apparently, there is an opposition to almost any change in the city. We have opposition to zoning, opposition to gentrification of depressed neighborhoods, opposition to improvements of the roadways, opposition to light rail, opposition to subway, opposition to cameras on traffic lights, opposition to new high rises... did I leave anything?

[ssullivan]

The residents in the Memorial Villages don't want it to become a major street with lots of cut through traffic. I think those who live along Memorial like it being a narrow, more residential street as opposed to a divided boulevard. I don't get it either, but I used to work for a couple who lives directly on Memorial just east of Voss and every time anything has ever come up about improving that street they get up in arms about it. I even remember them once saying that there would be no traffic tie ups on the street in front of their house if the people who didn't live in the villages wouldn't use Memorial to cut through the neighborhood. They'd rather put the blame on the rest of us trying to get home on one of the few direct routes between West Houston and downtown that doesn't involve a freeway than accept any responsibility for the street's deplorable condition that causes the congestion.

I've always thought the Memorial Villages tend to try and view themselves as totally separate from the Houston area at large. I don't think they see any reason to improve a major thoroughfare that runs through their cities if it would benefit people who live in Houston as opposed to one of the villages. My old employers were very vocal about their opposition to the Metro Solutions plan when it was up for election a year ago, and I remember him saying that he wished Hunters Creek Village (where they reside) was not part of Metro at all, to which she responded "But the bus on Memorial is needed because how else would all of the housekeepers get to work?" God forbid either of them ever hop on the 70 Memorial bus for a trip downtown. But that's just very typical of the attitude many people have in that neighborhood.

[NYC Texan2]

My family lives on a street with ditches in the Heights. We really miss having sidewalks, although if the sidewalks were installed per city guidelines we would lose most of our front yard. The infrastrusture represented by curbs and sidewalks really should distinguish an upcoming city neighborhood from a rural one. The city's investment in rebuilding the streets in the Heights would generate great returns as the improved attractiveness of the neighborhood encouraged further new construction.

That said, the pace of construction in the area is really amazing.

[NYC Texan2]

It's would pretty poor public policy to let areas inside Metro opt out -- so what will all the people who have to use Metro to get to the Villages do when their service is cancelled? They will drive. They will drive through the rest of the city to get to where they are going, adding to congestion along the way. It becomes an externality that the rest of the city is forced to absorb. Bad idea, albeit that Delay and Culberson are probably all for it.

[westguy]

I thought that Rogerdale was going to be completely rebuilt. It'll probably take 20 or so years like the Kirkwood rebuilding, though. Another brilliant example of city-county cooperation - the Westpark tollway sits directly on the ROW that should connect north and south Kirkwood. The bayou stream complicates matters further, yet the city has plans to connect the two segments somehow. It looks impossible to me, but necessary because Kirkwood has special status as a major thoroughfare.

[Astro]

There are many neighborhoods in Houston with open ditches instead of curbs and gutters...

Personally I like the "rural" effect of the open ditches and I think many of these areas are very beautiful the way they are. I'm sure many of the residents in these areas feel the same way... That's why they want to keep it like that.

[Lowbrow]

There are many neighborhoods in Houston with open ditches instead of curbs and gutters...

Personally I like the "rural" effect of the open ditches and I think many of these areas are very beautiful the way they are.  I'm sure many of the residents in these areas feel the same way...  That's why they want to keep it like that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats interesting. I've never really asked other peoples opinions on it. I have one friend that specifically sold his house because he hated the open ditch irrigation in the Heights. He had also just adopted a kid and there was a big storm sewer near by that scared him quite a bit.

I used to live over near washington and tc jester and I hated my ditch but it also was not very nice looking. It was dirt instead of grass and was usually full of standing water and trash. I was always cleaning it out. Some of the stuff I found down there haunts me to this day.

[ssullivan]

Rodgerdale is about to be rebuilt - it's in the city's capital improvement budget for either this year or next - I kind of think it's for next.

27, I'll give you a little history on those sections of Westpark and Kirkwood you mentioned. Westpark west of the Metro facility at Wilcrest to Old Westheimer, and Kirkwood between Westheimer and Westpark were both built with the development of Royal Oaks. Five years ago Royal Oaks had barely started construction and those streets didn't exist. The shopping centers on the south side of Westheimer between Woodland Park and Old Westheimer didn't exist either. Meadowglen dead ended half a block west of Woodland Park between the Camden Woodland Park apartments and the storage place. All of that huge block of land before mid-1999 was Andrau Airport, a privately owned airport. However, the airport took up only a small portion of the land. The rest was nothing but trees. The Andrau family had been pressured to sell the land for years but never had; their airport did a booming business with flight schools, several executive charter companies, and general aviation because of it's close location to Westchase and Uptown. However in 1999 the Andrau family finally sold out for millions, closed the airport, and development of Royal Oaks began. Meadowglen, Westpark, and Kirkwood were extended but did not open until some time in 2002. The shopping centers along Westheimer - at first just the HEB, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart - began opening in 2002 (or maybe late 2001). At first Kirkwood was two lanes between Westheimer and Richmond, but shortly after the shopping areas there really started to develop it was widened to four lanes.

At the time the extensions of those streets were opened, traffic was extremely low. The area has grown tremendously in the last three or four years and traffic, especially on the two lane section of Westpark, is really picking up. I doubt it will be very long before the city does start to widen those two streets - especially Westpark. However, there's only so much money, and lots of improvement projects are always going on. I don't think the city intentionally neglects rebuilding streets; it just does what it can with the resources available, and that means some projects have to wait. Richmond just west of the beltway is a pretty bumpy ride, but it's far better than some other streets in town and that's why it hasn't been totally rebuilt yet. It's actually better than it was five years ago because the city has replaced some of the worst sections of concrete on it. And it's no where near as bad as Wilcrest was between Harwin and Westheimer when I first moved to Houston.

I'm not trying to totally defend the city here, but there's a lot of infrastructure that needs improvement - much of it is over 25-30 years old - and only so much money to fix it with. Downtown and midtown streets were pretty awful before the now nearly complete transit streets project. San Felipe is also in the running for rebuilding and widening of the sections west of Fountainview that still have not been rebuilt. There are many more. The city is working on a lot of improvement projects but there's just not the money to get it all done at once.

[ssullivan]

As for certain incorporated areas inside the Metro area not wanting bus service, they should be able to have a public vote to decide.

There is a way that cities can opt out of Metro. I know Humble tried to do it several years ago.

As for the Memorial Villages, it wouldn't make all that much difference. Metro's tax revenue comes from sales taxes, and most of the villages have very few businesses in them. The state caps sales tax at 8.25% and the biggest chunk of the sales tax is mandatory and goes to the state. There are hardly an incorporated areas of Texas where the sales tax isn't at the maximum 8.25% so even if one of the villages opted out of Metro their city council would likely up the sales tax rate back to 8.25% and the city would get that revenue. However, considering there aren't too many businesses in most of the Memorial Villages (Hedwig is the main exception, with a strip of businesses along the south frontage road of the Katy Freeway) it wouldn't really increase the city coffers all that much.

As for it saving the residents of the villages money, it wouldn't save them a penny. They'd still be doing most of their shopping in areas that fall in the city of Houston where the Metro portion of the sales tax would still be collected.

[Hunter]

Oh, sure, the mosaic street signs imbedded into the curbs! I was thinking of the terrazzo remnants from the art deco era scattered around town. It would be neat to do an inventory of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You will find some of these on the south side of town in the neighborhood bordered by Park Place Blvd and Broadway. They are slowly vanishing but you can still see some of them here and there.

I once tried to save one of the old Harrisburg signs myself but when I got the construction site the crew had already torn it all up. I guess some people just do not see history the way the rest of us do!

[Guest danax]

You will find some of these on the south side of town in the neighborhood bordered by Park Place Blvd and Broadway. They are slowly vanishing but you can still see some of them here and there.

I once tried to save one of the old Harrisburg signs myself but when I got the construction site the crew had already torn it all up. I guess some people just do not see history the way the rest of us do!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are you talking about the mosaics or actual terrazzo? Park Place was definitely happening in the 20s-40s but I haven't seen any terrazzo. There is a piece of history over there in the form of the Park Place Pharmacy, an Art Deco drug store that looks virtually untouched, on the outside anyway, from the 30s. I have a picture of it that I will post as soon as I get the film developed.

[ssullivan]

Thanks for the info. I knew that Andeau Airport used to be there, but I just assumed that Kirkwood had always been there, and was just a considered a private road that was renamed to Kirkwood when Andreau was sold.

I never realized how young my neighborhood is - thanks!

You're welcome! There was a two lane concrete road into the airport from Westheimer that crossed Richmond. The developed part of the airport was south of Richmond, north of Westpark, and about where Kirkwood between Richmond and Westpark now sits and just east of that point. That road connected to Westheimer just east of the intersection with Kirkwood - it would have run right through the HEB parking lot and building. Until construction of that new nursing home on Richmond started you could still see a tiny remant of the airport road kind of behind where the Walgreen's at Richmond and Kiirkwood now sits. I think most of the remaining segment of the airport road that was left after the HEB went in and Meadowglen was cut through was destroyed when the Walgreen's went up last year.

I remember when they were clearing all of that land for Royal Oaks and the other developments that were built on the old Andrau Airport property. For several months there was a mass exodus of wildlife from the previously undeveloped property. We had deer, rabbits, possums, and all kinds of other critters roaming the neighborhood for a while as they tried to find new homes. A good portion of the landscaping at my apartment complex was consumed on a nightly basis by rabbits that would come out for dinner around sundown.

[Hunter]

Are you talking about the mosaics or actual terrazzo? Park Place was definitely happening in the 20s-40s but I haven't seen any terrazzo.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually to tell you the truty I really do not know the diffrence between the 2. never had it really explained. if some oen coudl can you please post a picture of then the 2 diffrences look like?

Thanks

[ssullivan]

The curbs in Houston are all mosaics, not terrazzo. Mosaics are designs made with small square tiles -- like the curb street signs. You'll also see good examples in front of some old buildings downtown in their entrances.

Terrazzo, according to the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association's website is:

Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and all treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both. Terrazzo is cured, ground and polished to a smooth surface or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface.

Terrazzo is similar, but is totally smooth - there are no grout lines like you have with mosaics, and is made up of multiple materials. There are lots of terrazzo floors around. It was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s as a flooring material in commercial and public buildings (as were mosaic floors during the 1890s-1920s) and has recently made a comeback. There are new terrazzo installations all over Intercontinental Airport, including pretty much all of the new FIS/IAB building that just opened last month.

[stolitx]

I can't stand littering!

If you see someone throw something out of a car window you can report them to TXDot. Go to the Don't Mess with Texas website and look for a link at the bottom called "report a litterer".

With the license plate number they will send a letter out to the litterer. Even though it's against the law, they can't issue a ticket unless they see it. But it gives me great pride to report the many (at least once a week) cigarette butt litterers I see.

On the subject of ditches, I personally liked them when I lived in the Heights.

[Hunter]

The curbs in Houston are all mosaics, not terrazzo. Mosaics are designs made with small square tiles -- like the curb street signs. You'll also see good examples in front of some old buildings downtown in their entrances.

Terrazzo, according to the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association's website is:

Terrazzo is similar, but is totally smooth - there are no grout lines like you have with mosaics, and is made up of multiple materials. There are lots of terrazzo floors around. It was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s as a flooring material in commercial and public buildings (as were mosaic floors during the 1890s-1920s) and has recently made a comeback. There are new terrazzo installations all over Intercontinental Airport, including pretty much all of the new FIS/IAB building that just opened last month.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If that is the description then there are a whole bunch of then in the neighborhood located between Park Place Blvd and Broadway.

[TheShadow]

I have been wondering about this for years. In The Heights/Oak Forest area(and elsewhere), I have seen mosaic street names/numbers on curbs, as well as old stone columns with the street name and number carved on them.

How far back do those go? Did Houston have metal street signs to supplement them, or were they the replacements for the above?

Thank you.