Mid Century Modern Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright Kraus House in Kirkwood, Missouri

Posted by RGVMOD in Mid Century Modern Architecture, Modern Architecture, United States on May 5, 2015

I think every person remembers very well the first time they visited a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house. We visited this house during a recent trip to St. Louis, Missouri. If you are ever in that area plan ahead and visit. Visits are strictly by appointment. No photos were allowed of the inside where all the furniture was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Great News for Bauhaus

Posted by Nydia Tapia-Gonzales in Mid Century Modern Architecture, Modern Architecture, World on December 11, 2014

This past month of August, I had the privilege of visiting the Bauhaus Archives and Museum in Berlin. If you love modern architecture like I do, you can understand why this was the highlight of my trip. The building’s architecture which was the source of fierce criticism back in the late 70s when Walter Gropius – founder of the Bauhaus – designed the edifice located today in a central and easily accessible location. Most hop-on-hop-off double decker buses make a stop at the Bauhaus. It was amazing to see how modern architecture is recognized and the museum a gathering place for locals and visitors alike. The décor is from the original promotional and educational materials which are still so relevant and hip today. The staff is very strict, and no one is allowed inside with backpacks or coats. I was wearing a light sweater, and as I attempted to remove it inside the gallery, I was immediately ordered to put it back or wrap it around my waist. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed, so the pictures I am sharing are only exterior shots. At the time, they had a fabulous exhibit by artist and Bauhaus professor Wassily Kandinsky. I wanted […]

Brownsville MCM Fan Shares her Former Dallas Home with RGVMOD

Posted by RGVMOD in Blog, Mid Century Modern Architecture, Modern Architecture on July 11, 2014

Facebook friend Esther A. Siller shares photos of the midcentury modern home she left behind in Dallas, Texas when relocating to the Rio Grande Valley. Having lived in Dallas for 30 years, Esther spent the last 6 years in this midcentury modern house near White Rock Lake in Dallas where she tells us MCM homes abound. This house Esther misses so much was built in 1959. The house sold, and according to Esther the new owners have gutted the kitchen to make room for a brand new one that we can almost attest will have granite counters and stainless steel appliances. We have noticed that many folks confuse midcentury modern with new and contemporary modern styles. According to Esther the original owner – who built and designed this house plus three others – was not an architect, but a petroleum engineer who appreciated good architecture. His name was John E. Garrett Jr.. Esther tells us that Mr. Garrett built the kitchen and office cabinets himself, as well as the built-in shelves in the children’s room. This is one of those homes many MCM aficionados call an atomic ranch style. The innate characteristics of MCM design are present throughout this house […]

Antonio Cisneros, Jr., House, Brownsville, 1955, and Dr. George Narro House, McAllen, 1957, John G. York & Associates

Posted by RGVMOD in Brownsville, McAllen, Mid Century Modern Architecture on March 2, 2014

John York designed modern houses in Río Viejo in Brownsville for the gasoline wholesaler Antonio Cisneros, Jr., in 1955 (York also designed a series of gas stations for Cisneros). In McAllen he designed a home for for Dr. George Narro in 1957 (top photo). The Narro House, and an adjoining York-designed house for Dr. Rafael Garza, were on the edge of, but not in, the elite Anglo neighborhoods just east of S. 2nd Street. Photos and text by Stephen Fox

Clarke & Courts Building

Posted by RGVMOD in Harlingen Commercial, Mid Century Modern Architecture on January 25, 2014

Clarke & Courts Building, Harlingen, 1951, Cocke, Bowman & York An example of Cocke, Bowman & York’s ingenious pragmatism is the Clarke & Courts Building in downtown Harlingen of 1951. Rather than conventional brick-framed display windows, the street front of the building became a single display window, shaded from the southern sun by an aluminum outrigger brise-soleil that also shaded the sidewalk in front of the building. Text and top Photo by Stephen Fox.

The Animated Midcentury Ideal

Posted by RGVMOD in Mid Century Modern Architecture, Mid Century Modern Lifestyles on January 21, 2014

The home of Bob and Helen Parr in “The Incredibles” is one of the finest examples of midcentury modernism in all of animated cinema. Thanks to Pixar’s skilled artists and miraculous CGI, every detail in the architecture to the furniture to the decor can be an idealized depiction of an American suburban residence in the ’60s. Cheers to production designer Lou Romano and art director Ralph Eggleston for giving fans of this style so much eye candy. We highly recommend to read the entire post by Stephen Coles published by midcenturymodernist.com, and you will marble at all the details that were created for these super heroes’ home. There is also an update on the same post with large snaps featuring chairs from this film you will certainly enjoy.

A Renovated Midcentury Modern Gem in Austin, Texas

Posted by RGVMOD in Blog, Mid Century Modern Architecture on January 21, 2014

We are so envious, but so pleased to see midcentury gems being restored so professionally. Take a look at this home featured on Dwell this month. They call it the “Butterfly House” because of the roofline which is set on top of glass clerestories on a transparent central volume. Our point; Austin is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, so our summer heat should not prevent us from enjoying our lush tropical landscapes. Modern technology and good design can make this happen regardless of the project: renovating or building a new home inspired by MCM architecture. This Austin home is simply wonderful! Take a look, and you will certainly agree. Send us your comments – they are always welcome. RGVMOD is looking for stories like these, of people who have renovated a MCM home in the RGV, and it does not have to be a major renovation, there may not even be a renovation yet, but stories that can tell us about remodeling projects, current or future. Let’s start the conversation!

Matamoros’ Midcentury Legacy

Posted by RGVMOD in Matamoros, Mid Century Modern Architecture on January 18, 2014

Across the border from Brownsville, Texas, is Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Brownsville’s sister city just a short walk across the “Puerta Mexico” bridge. Stephen Fox wrote about the city’s midcentury modern residences during a recent lecture. Casa Manuel Cavazos Gutiérrez and Casa en Calle 8a y Bustamante, Matamoros, c. 1950, Arq. Enrique León de la Barra Architects moved to Matamoros for the first time since the 1860s. Enrique León de la Barra of Ciudad Victoria was one of the newcomers. He designed neo-colonial chalets for Matamoros’s cotton elite in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. Casa Amador Garza González, Colonial Jardín, Matamoros, 1950, Arq. Augustín Reyes Escobar The most prolific of the newly arrived architects was Augustín Reyes Escobar, who was from Parral, Chihuahua. Reyes designed one of the largest houses in Matamoros for the cotton merchant Amador Garza González in 1950. It was built in the city’s new elite neighborhood, Colonia Jardín, developed in 1945 along the road leading from the center of Matamoros to the Gateway International Bridge. In 1951 Time magazine reported that “Along the flowered streets of Matamoros’ El Jardín district, there are so many new and luxurious houses that one awed American mumbled: ‘This is […]

Salomé McAllen and William Scanlan House

Posted by RGVMOD in Brownsville, Mid Century Modern Architecture on January 18, 2014

During a recent lecture for the LRGV-AIA, Stephen Fox presented the following about this Brownsville Home Salomé McAllen and William Scanlan House, Brownsville, 1940, Frank E. Torres The house of Salomé McAllen and William Scanlan in Brownsville of 1940 was designed by Frank E. Torres, an architect born in Matamoros and trained at the University of Texas, who had worked in Mexico City from 1933 to 1938. The Scanlan House registers Torres’s awareness of the 19th-century Border Brick style. It marks the first Regionalist evocation of the 19th-century vernacular architecture of the Tamaulipas-Texas border region. An alternative to the Regionalist effort to rationalize the use of historical models, involved the rejection of all historical models in favor of an architecture shaped by the processes of modernization. Function, the materials and techniques of construction, and response to site conditions and climatic contingencies were the constituents of this alternative—modern architecture….

Midcentury Modern: Our House, Bauhaus and Beyond

Posted by RGVMOD in Mid Century Modern Architecture on August 23, 2013

It was an optimistic time. World War II was over. Science and technology seemed to hold unbound promise for the future. In a 1954 issue of Popular Mechanics, Carson Kerr wrote: “Suppose it’s a sunny Saturday in 2004 A.D. and you’re on your way to visit the Smiths in Atomville, one of American’s new—completely new—communities. A supersonic airline is taking you there and in an almost unbelievably short time, it approaches the Atomville airport.” While real examples of Kerr’s predictions are hard to find—the name “Atomville” stirs up images of Chernobyl and commercial supersonic transport died a decade ago—we do have many welcomed reminders of his cheery confidence in the architecture, furniture and designs that are all around us. Functional beauty The era is generally labeled “midcentury modern” and it is epitomized by a style of architecture that is both beautiful and functional. While some trace its roots all the way back to as early as 1933, it wasn’t until the mid-1950s that the label “midcentury modern” was attached to the style. Sometimes this mid century style is easiest to recognize by example and typical design elements. Think of the mid century homes that you’ve seen with flat, or […]