A lot has happened since the Allen brothers founded Houston in 1836, and there is no one who loves telling her story more than the folks at Preservation Houston. Their perpetually-sold-out architecture walks delve into the city’s oldest and most interesting neighborhoods and landmarks, giving participants lessons in history, architecture, culture, and even highlighting a scandal or two.
“Preservation Houston has been offering walking tours since 1979. The tours were one of the first programs we launched, because we’ve always believed that it is important to give Houstonians a way to learn more about and connect with the history and architecture around them,” Jim Parsons, director of programming and communications, tells CultureMap. “When we understand the city’s past, we appreciate how important it is to remember it.”
Recently, this author attended a tour of Avondale, one of the city’s oldest residential neighborhoods. While we won’t be giving away too much from this highly-recommended tour, one neat fact is that one of Avondale’s original residential east-west streets, Hathaway Avenue, is what Houstonians now know as the very commercial Westheimer. In the 1870s and 1880s, most of lower Midtown was the Texas State Fairgrounds (it moved to Dallas in 1879) and ballpark — who knew?!
Tour sizes tend to vary, depending on the location and terrain, but they stay fairly quaint. The Avondale tour had approximately a dozen people and one very adorable longhaired dachshund named Alfie, which made a perfect little party. Questions are encouraged, which helps with any initial awkwardness.
“Come as strangers, leave as friends,” is most decidedly applicable here. Several stops along the tour — 29 stops in total — are recipients of Preservation Houston’s esteemed Good Brick Awards, including The Marlene Inn, which readily hosted half of the tour group for impromptu, post-walk refreshments. “Leave as friends,” remember!
It’s important to note that these are all exterior architecture tours — there is no interior access to any of the homes or buildings. It’s best to think of the architecture walks as just that, a walk through a neighborhood. Only, on these particular walks there, it’s led by someone who knows just about everything there is to know about the neighborhood and points out fun and interesting things that people may not usually notice on their own — like remaining hitching posts outside some of the homes. Many of the stops are clustered together — think two or more neighboring houses and one across the street. So, while 29 stops may seem like a lot, it’s a very relaxed walk that covers five short blocks.
“What I like most about the walking tours is getting to tell the stories behind the neighborhoods — how architectural styles developed and adapted to Houston, who the people were who built the houses and buildings we talk about,” says Parsons. “We focus on history and architecture, but we also add in social context and some offbeat stories to keep things engaging. Our docents are all great storytellers, so they do a fantastic job of interpreting a lot of information and making it accessible.”
From June to September, architecture walks move to the much more summer-appropriate time of 6 pm. Otherwise, they are usually at 2 pm (save, one or two), and no tours are offered in December. The tours often sell out, so buying tickets early is highly recommended.
If architecture and Houston history is something of a continuous interest, get on board with a Preservation Houston membership. The benefits are fantastic, and it’s a great way to meet likeminded folks.
“Annual memberships in Preservation Houston start at $60 for individuals and $100 for couples,” explains Parsons. “All our memberships include free or discounted admission to PH events, including walking tours, as well as news and updates on preservation-related issues and invitations to members-only events (which are almost always in interesting historic places!). One of the biggest benefits of membership, though, is joining a community of people who love Houston.”
Join an upcoming tour:
- Saturday, May 23, 10 am: Glenwood Cemetery Part I: Houston Before Oil
- Sunday, June 14, 6 pm: Market Square
- Sunday, July 12, 6 pm: Rice University
General tickets $15; PH members & student tickets $10; children 11 & under may attend for free.
Private tours are also available for groups of almost any size — just ask!
