Pix of The Day
It's an historic day in Houston as first Texas Medical Center building is declared a landmark
In a city where just about every old building is torn down to make way for a gleaming new edifice, something unusual happened on Friday.
Politicians, medical officials and historians gathered to declare the Roy and Lillie Cullen Building at Baylor College of Medicine a recorded Texas historic landmark. The building, which was the first completed after the medical center was established in 1947, is known for its bas-relief sculptural panels on the front, executed by Edward Z. Galea. A fountain and porte-cochere were added by Ray Bailey Architects in 1982, according to an account in Cite magazine.
“We have a lot to be proud of in the state of Texas, especially our history. Part of that history is this building."
Baylor College of Medicine board member Corbin J. Robertson Jr., grandson of Roy Cullen, for whom the building is named, and other members of the Cullen family beamed as an official Texas Historical Commission marker was unveiled in a short ceremony.
“Today is about the people that those buildings attract, including doctors, trainees and researchers,” Robertson said. “Their shared knowledge will continue to be beneficial to us all. The quality of life we all enjoy is because of the work of the people at Baylor and others. As the Cullen family, we are happy to be a part of this.”
BCM president Dr. Paul Klotman, former Texas Gov. Mark White, former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Dr. William Butler, chancellor emeritus at Baylor, who was instrumental in acquiring the designation, and Dr. Edward C. “Ed” Ming Chen, representative of the Harris County Historical Commission, were among the dignitaries who took part in the ceremony.
“We have a lot to be proud of in the state of Texas, especially our history. Part of that history is this building,” said Dewhurst. “The Cullen family’s love of Houston and the Texas Medical Center has impacted us all.”
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