As we've heard from Gregg and Margaret in their personal "Reflections,"
much of what is most endearing about Houston lies in the realm of the
everyday-block by block between work and home, with one's neighbors, and
in the rhythm of life on the Gulf Coast. That's made possible to a
large extent, I'd say, by the ease of getting around, the comfortable
logic of the tree-lined streets, and the defining character of each
neighborhood. While those deeper, longer experiences of Houston won't
be available to us in our scrambling from panel to meeting to reception,
I would recommend the following favorite glimpses into some less-know
places in town. In themselves, they represent more the everyday than
the three star, publicized attractions of the city's cultural mainstay.
(See Mark and Jon's Houston Preview #5.) Shared with a colleague,
they're bound to seal the memories of your conference.
The Live Oaks Friends Quaker Meeting House. If we had to pick enclosed
space, I would this Houston's top attraction, edged out possibly by the
Rothko Chapel. If you can make a viewing of the James Turrell
installation, open at twilight on Fridays, I can almost promise a
subtle, but breathtaking experience. More to come on this.
On the way there, a slow drive through the streets of The Heights will
reveal the quiet, comfortable, neighborly character of a
turn-of-the-century middle class quarter, where real estate is now much
in demand. The Heights is also home of the ArtCar Museum, which will
win the hearts and smiles of the even the most serious
classically-minded art lovers.
On the other side of the tracks-literally-troll through the River Oaks
section of town, to see what dizzying heights of architectural
expression money can buy. River Oaks was founded by the Hogg Family
around a country club, and here, among the elaborate landscaping and
sweeping boulevards, you will find the American decorative arts
collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, at Bayou Bend.
In between these two neighborhoods is the West End, where you can visit
find the stellar Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery. The art is world
class, and perfectly displayed, in an simple, elegant wooden space
surrounded by gardens. A little further west, look for the new metal
houses among the modest frame cottages. Cameron Armstrong is one of the
architects putting up these practical, eye-opening dwellings. Through
his built work and written word (http://www.cameronarmstrong.com)
Cameron will test your notion of "vernacular" architecture.
Across the street from the venerable Museum of Fine Arts Houston, look
for the metal exterior walls and exciting exhibitions inside the
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The CAMH is strictly a Kunsthalle,
with thoughtfully assembled and documented work by living artists. Here
too, is a space one experiences with the lungs as much as the eyes.
At the periphery of the city are the refineries and chemical processing
plants that put and keep Houston on the map. You can schedule a tour of
the turning basin, to view the harbor up close. From the bridge over
the ship channel (the canal that connects Houston to the Gulf of
Mexico), drivers behold an unimaginable stretch of industrial might. At
night this is most amazing, with flares torching above a thousand
cracking towers and smokestacks. Eerie, and frightening, but it's where
your gasoline, your plastic, and your household solvents begin their
lives.
Less famous than the big institutions, but only in Houston, look for the
Funeral Museum, the Museum of Printing History, a fireman's' memorabilia
museum, the Orange Show, the Beer Can House, and Howard Hughes' burial
site. Freedman's Town is an area just west of downtown built by former
slaves, on land reclaimed by the bucketful after 1865. The nearby
Project Row houses also retain the character of ways of life
disappearing amid the gentrification of most of Houston.
Houston is famously (and infamously) abundant in water. The city's
fountains will refresh all your senses: look for them at the Williams
Tower near the Galleria Mall, the Tranquility Fountain downtown, and at
the Houston Medical Center.
A day's shared car rental, or participation in one of the Conference
tours, will surely bring you to some or all of these places. Review the
tour list at
http://www.arlis-txmx.org/arlisna2005/programSearchResults.php?programSe
archType=category&cat_id=8&showDetails=yes .
- John Hagood
(Sixth in a series of occasional Previews of Houston, from the ARLIS/NA
2005 Conference Committee)
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