I'll post a picture of this mansion when I find a good one. if you've been to kemah you've probably seen it driving through the nasa area. this article is from 1/13/07 but I just saw the story on the news today. link Endangered list grows Houston's preservation society has added yet another structure to its ever-expanding list of endangered buildings. The property it says is at risk for demolition: the historic James and Jessie West mansion along Clear Lake. In October, Hakeem Olajuwon bought the 17,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance mansion and its 41-acre site from the Pappas restaurant family. The property is to be sold in parcels. Though the estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, neither designation would prevent its demolition, according to the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. If someone were to save the building, however, its National Register listing allows for substantial federal preservation tax credits if the house is restored to high standards. "We had hoped that Mr. Olajuwon would use his resources to preserve this extremely important property as he did with his adaptive reuse of the Houston National Bank building on Main Street," said Ramona Davis, the group's executive director. The old Houston National Bank was purchased by the former Houston Rocket and turned into the city's first downtown mosque. A real estate broker marketing the West property said there have already been offers from developers of apartments, a hotel and a senior housing community. "There is interest in incorporating the house as a part of some of these development plans," said David Cook of Cushman & Wakefield, adding that parcels won't be sold until it's determined how the acreage will be divided. In the late 1920s, oil, lumber and cattle baron J.M. West Sr. commissioned architect Joseph Finger to design the opulent house, at 3303 E. NASA Parkway at Space Center Boulevard. The expansive site still includes the original tennis court with twin gazebos, swimming pool and changing rooms, a nine-car garage and a manager's house. The preservation group created the endangered list in an attempt to generate public awareness on historically significant properties threatened by demolition. Other recent additions to the endangered list include the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater and the Alabama Theater/Bookstop.
on the 11 news they said that the mansion is actually in pasedena, ironic, given pasedena's image. but anyway pasedena doesn't have strong historic preservation laws, like houston doesn't.
i drive by that mansion everyday its on clear lake on nasa road 1 and spacecenter.... right across the street from Nasa. and technically that part is pasadena the mansion is kind of out of place considering its surrounded by a lake, busy road, apartments and Nasa.
