Preservation Houston’s 2025 Good Brick Tour kicks off this weekend (Saturday, November 8, and Sunday, November 9), giving Houstonians the chance to discover tales, craftsmanship, and design particulars from a choice of the town’s Good Brick Award recipients, which reward excellence in historic preservation. Now in its twelfth yr, the tour has grown right into a celebration of Houston’s wealthy architectural heritage, distinctive neighborhoods, and the work that goes into restoring and sustaining a few of the metropolis’s most treasured locations.
“Preservation Houston’s Good Brick Tour celebrates not solely the houses and landmarks themselves, however the tales of the individuals who take care of them,” mentioned Jennifer Kapral, government director of Preservation Houston. “Every cease on the tour reminds us that preserving our metropolis’s historical past is an act of neighborhood, one which connects Houston’s previous, current, and future.”
This yr, occasion chairs Pei-Lin Chong (whose house is featured on the tour) and Mariam Hejazi, together with over 150 volunteers, invite the general public into 4 houses that supply a glimpse of the distinctive kinds that contribute to the architectural vernacular of the Bayou Metropolis. It’s additionally value noting that, whereas the tour gives entry to 4 houses, one location — Fashion in Metal — is a set of three unbiased townhomes that haven’t been open collectively since their unique debut in 1969.
Simply in time for the tour, CultureMap has gathered insights from every location’s house owner(s) in order that contributors can preserve a watch out for the little issues that make every considered one of these houses so particular. Discover every perception slightly below the historical past of every house.
2025 Good Brick Tour Areas
Valenti-Dissen Home 1507 Alamo Avenue (First Ward), 1921
Constructed by Sicilian immigrant and grocer Jacob Valenti, this Craftsman bungalow displays the First Ward’s early variety. Over the a long time it welcomed a mixture of tenants, from a printer and an accountant to members of Houston’s Greek neighborhood, capturing the spirit of a working-class space the place many cultures met. In 1934, the property was bought by Della Settegast Dissen, whose well-known Houston household had deep ties to the town’s improvement. When FW Heritage acquired the house in 2021, they discovered a construction in want of main restore however wealthy in unique particulars. A cautious restoration, guided by Grayform Structure, revered the house’s proportions whereas updating it for contemporary residing. The venture obtained a 2024 Good Brick Award.
“The home was initially a two-bedroom, one-bath house and served as a rental for near
100 years earlier than I purchased it in 2021,” says house owner and occasion co-chair Pei-Lin Chong. “I’m truly the primary house owner to ever stay right here, which makes it much more particular. One among my favourite options is the built-in china cupboard between the kitchen and eating room; it’s such a considerate unique element. Through the restoration, we found outdated wallpaper beneath the sheetrock. I requested my demo crew to rigorously take away them and I’ve framed two samples as keepsakes. It is a small piece of the house’s lengthy historical past.”
William Henry Lighthouse Home 2018 Kane Avenue (Previous Sixth Ward), 1906
A two-story Classical Revival residence constructed for brick maker William H. Lighthouse is among the many Previous Sixth Ward Historic District’s most outstanding landmarks. Architect Olle Lorehn designed the house with honey-colored brick, stone trim, and a hovering double-height portico — a becoming showcase for the fabric that made Lighthouse’s fortune.
When altering well being circumstances made stairs more and more troublesome, the house owner turned to architect Marisa Janusz of Janusz Design for a strategy to stay within the house he loves. The ensuing one-story addition gives accessible residing area on the bottom ground. Set again and decrease in peak, it connects to the principle home through a copper-and-glass bridge that meets the historic construction with a light-weight contact. The venture was honored with a 2025 Good Brick Award for demonstrating how considerate design can adapt historic structure to trendy life with grace and care.
“The brick inside partitions are what make this house actually stand out — sturdy and filled with character,” explains house owner Jason Johnson. “Paired with the historic exterior partitions, that are three bricks thick, and considerate trendy updates, it’s an area I hope guests admire for each its design and its story.”
Anderson Todd Home 9 Shadowlawn (Museum District), 1961
Designed by architect and Rice College professor Anderson Todd for his household, this steel-framed pavilion balances privateness and openness via a sequence of courtyards and light-filled areas. The steel-framed, brick-and-glass pavilion is organized round a black-walnut-paneled core. Polished terrazzo flooring, a rhythm of uncovered columns, and an unbroken ceiling aircraft completed in white-painted plaster replicate Todd’s disciplined craftsmanship and his view of structure because the measured interaction of sunshine, type, and materials.
Fashionable in type but understated in presence, the Todd Home enhances its neighbors within the Shadow Garden Historic District via scale and workmanship. The home is listed within the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations and is a Metropolis of Houston Protected Landmark. As a result of the house has by no means undergone any renovations, it has by no means been nominated for a Good Brick Award. As an alternative, Anderson Todd Home is taken into account a wonderful instance of how considerate stewardship can preserve a landmark house livable immediately.
“Our home was an exquisite home for kids. There was so little furnishings that we might
bicycle indoors,” says Emily Todd. “It continues to be an exquisite home as an grownup, equally snug for a quiet dinner or a vigorous cocktail celebration. I’m very fortunate to have spent nearly all my life on this home. Residing right here has been a privilege.”
Fashion in Metal Townhomes 4156, 4158 and 4160 Meyerwood Drive (Southwest Loop), 1968
Designed by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, the agency behind the Astrodome, the three Fashion in Metal townhomes stand amongst Houston’s most elegant expressions of late trendy design. The homes debuted on the 1969 Nationwide Affiliation of Residence Builders’ exposition, showcasing the flexibility of metal in residential design. Architects Talbott Wilson and Hal Weatherford paired precision with heat, combining metal with terrazzo, travertine, brick, and cedar in open, light-filled houses organized round courtyards landscaped by Fred Buxton.
The present homeowners of the central townhouse undertook a meticulous restoration with architect Rodolfo R. Fabre, reversing years of alterations to disclose the readability of the unique design and incomes a 2024 Good Brick Award. Collectively, the three homes — all Metropolis of Houston Protected Landmarks — signify Houston modernism at its best, sustained by considerate stewardship and care. This yr’s Good Brick Tour marks the primary time the Fashion in Metal houses have been open to the general public collectively since 1969.
“My favourite area in the home is the entrance courtyard, which all the home is designed
round. It’s magical the way in which mild filters in and casts patterns on the partitions all through the day,” householders Philip and Mandy LeBlanc clarify. “We benefit from the courtyard every day for lunch, work, or just soaking within the daylight. It connects each a part of the house. The design transitions superbly from public to non-public areas, with intentional glass and metal parts that make the house each useful and stylish. Inside, our mid-century furnishings assortment, gathered from native property gross sales, enhances the house’s trendy aesthetic and ties the whole lot collectively. From a design standpoint, there’s actually nothing else prefer it in Houston; it’s an area that connects historical past, mild, and on a regular basis life so seamlessly.”
Tickets
Advance tickets, legitimate for admission to all 4 houses each days, are $25 on-line via Thursday, November 6. Tickets will probably be $30 on the door through the tour weekend. Single-site admission can even be out there for $10 per location. Hours for each days of the tour are 12-5 pm. Proceeds from the tour assist Preservation Houston’s advocacy and academic packages.
