Celebrating Our 75 Years
Celebrating 75 years of architecture in Houston has been a dizzying ride. We've engaged hundreds of volunteers in a series of "largest ever" events and touched thousands of Houstonians with the power of architecture to shape their world. We've had television and radio interviews, newspaper features, and requests for consultation from several public bodies. We've developed new partnerships with non-profit organizations and strengthened existing relationships. Last year AIA Houston won a national Component Excellence Award for its public affairs program, and we had not done any of the anniversary events. This year we should try to retire the trophy.
None of this could happen without the extraordinary leadership and commitment of the Board, committee chairs, volunteers, and support from the army of consultants, contractors, and suppliers that work with architects. Our new Affiliate Firm program has begun well; you see their names listed in Perspective and can find them in our growing electronic industry data base on the web.
The work of some of the leaders of special events is described in the Honors section: Joe Webb led the committee that planned the whole year; Marie Hoke chaired Box City; Leonard Lane produced the Home Tour. Gerald Moorhead and Yolita Schmidt made extraordinary contributions to the second printing of the Houston Architectural Guide, and Stephen Fox described about 200 additional buildings for that new book. Gerald also curated the fine exhibition, 75 That Made A Difference, now on view in Two Allen Center with two other locations waiting their turn. D/G Houston created the 75th anniversary logo and designed the exhibition. Walter P. Moore joined the Houston Architecture Foundation as a major underwriter of the exhibition. Tom McCarthy led the Sand Castle Committee in the largest event ever. And Jim Furr planned a fine birthday party in March with great food, wonderfully nostalgic pictures, and a cameo appearance of someone who said he was Frank Lloyd Wright coming to see what really happened to the Shamrock Hotel.
The beauty of all of this is that it doesn't end at the stroke of midnight on December 31. The guidebook is in bookstores all over town (and will be under numerous Christmas trees). The exhibition will travel, and we are examining ways to convert at least the time line into portable, paper form. The teachers are replicating the Box City experience on their own in classrooms across HISD. The 2000 Home Tour and Sand Castle committees are already at work. Planning for what we do for an encore is underway. 1999 was a very good year and the future looks bright.
Martha Murphree, Hon AIA
