Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix brag about their collections of fashionable midcentury modern buildings: goofy Googie coffee shops, sleek International Style high-rises, revived ranch-house neighborhoods and groovy office buildings. [...] as renewed love for the genre spreads in Houston, and buildings from that era receive the TLC and recognition they deserve, it's becoming clear that our stock of mid-century modern architecture rivals and, in many cases, beats that of other cities. Houston may have the best collection of midcentury architecture in the country, says Anna Mod, author of the very satisfying book Building Modern Houston Our population was exploding during that era, so we built a lot of buildings. In their black-and-white photos, I expect to see Model Ts, scamps in knickers, women in hats: Among groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, "historic" is usually defined as 50 years old or older - meaning that this year, it's anything built before 1962. Since its founding, the group Houston Mod has fought to preserve the city's best mid-century stuff. [...] this month, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance's Good Brick awards included the Oak Forest Library, a sleek 1961 building whose recent upgrade and expansion - handled by the design team Natalye Appel + Associates, Architect Works Inc. and James Ray Architects - takes its cues beautifully from the original building's groovy modern style. Just think about icons such as Miller Outdoor Theatre (1968), the Tennessee Gas Building skyscraper (later known as Tenneco, and now El Paso Energy, 1963), the Alley Theatre (1969), the Neiman Marcus at the Galleria (1969), or the Contemporary Arts Museum (1972).
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