What Happened to John Houghton's Mansion in Austin? 

I am sorry Mr. Stokes was ever born.

Absolutely agree and have agree the parking garage is an eyesore

@@maggiea6766 mr stokes was vandal. What’s wrong with little old ladies trying to preserve something beautiful for future generations to enjoy, if only from the exterior.

It's BEYOND tacky. It's UGLY. If it still stands, No one will mourn its loss when it meets its doom.

@@maggiea6766 "eysore" is the right word. That thing is hideous and rather dystopian. I wish I could "unsee" it.

your correct

Nashville in the last 20 years has demolished a huge majority of its historical structures because of the GREED of its Government Officials and Developers.

Love San Antonio’s preservation. I live amongst German mill owners’ mansions built in the mid-late 1800s.

Well-stated. I could not possibly have said it better.

@@twistoffate4791 Thank you 😊

We're already losing that general battle.

That's true, I remember that. They would "relieve traffic congestion and parking problems and modernize downtowns". People thought they were being so modern. But the car parks brought their own problems. Poorly built - one in my state partially collared. Plus crime - a good place to get mugged.

@@SMtWalkerS It all seemed so exciting at the time. To somebody.

Beautiful house, yes. Yet, we all understand, its not the "Paradise" she was singing about.

I've toured the Bishop's Palace several times in Galveston. It's also called the Grisham House, after the family who built it. It's much grander than the Houghton House was, but sadly, it too has been neglected and is in need of a lot of work.

Yes, Preserved and Beautiful and Public Tourist Attractions.. So is the Moody Mansion..

HGTV should bring back "If Walls Could Talk!" I remember that show and of course "At the Auction!"

I've hears the "Houghton" name pronounced several ways, but the way you indicated is prevalent. Thanks for pointing that out.

That is a shame. I don't know much about the cost of refurbishing an old home, but I'm starting to figure out the developers are not just worrying about what it takes to restore the building, but the future money they will lose out on if they don't turn it into a commercial enterprise. My family got lucky in Tulsa. My grandmother sold her home on 51st, close to Yale. It was grand. It was built by the Bouhle family in 1923. An accounting firm bought it to use as office space. It's been modified for that purpose, but it still stands. The front yard is a parking lot, but the very large backyard and huge elm trees are still there. Everything else around it has been razed to make room for multifamily housing, restaurants, gasoline stations, and convenience stores. I feel so fortunate it wasn't torn down.

@@imhere653 that’s awesome that it is still there. I always hate hearing about an old historic structure being lost. Another example is here. From 1868-1894, there was an active military fort here called Fort Supply. Mostly a Calvary supply fort and frontier outpost for Indian Territory. The fort was closed in 1894 due to the area being opened up to settlement. The site sat unused until 1908, when the fort was converted into the first state run mental hospital in Oklahoma. Sadly, with progress, they tore down many of the original fort buildings to build newer brick buildings for the hospital. When the fort closed in 1894, there were 92 buildings standing, only one of which was brick. Today, only 5 of those original buildings remain, including the brick Guard House that was built in 1892. Now we are still working on restoring the remaining buildings back to their original state (they had been so modernized over the years, that we’ve had to basically go in and gut them to take them back to their original look, and preserving them as part of the Fort Supply Historic Site.

Because people believe the Civil War was fought Solely because of Slaves, which was horrible, I admit, everyone gets all upset and don’t want to hear Any discussion about anything during that era. But there was some beautiful homes and other buildings built during that time. Some were built at least in pat by Freed Black Men, some white men (remember not all whites were rich, and yes, some by slaves. But I would think that no matter their station in life they should be proud to have participated in creating something of such Beaty. Maybe I’m being Naive and I mean no disrespect at all, after all some of my ancestors were Native Americans and they were treated as the worst things on earth. I hope that someday we will All be able to settle our differences and see each other as humans…no colors, and no “something American”, just Proud Americans, or Humans. God Bless us All.

@@bettynewton6160 no disrespect at all. My ancestry also has Native American heritage (Cherokee). Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful day.

It seems he was ticked off over losing money. When I heard his reported insults ("the only people who want to save it are a bunch of old women") it did not surprise me that he went back on his word and demolished it. The land was worth more with a parking lot on it. 😕

Yes Austin has changed in many ways …….none for the better.

Allow? He did it on purpose.

Hahaha! I agree! Developers in my town built a neighborhood and made lots of $$, but did not put in the side walks, drainage, easements, as required and agreed Then they leave, dissolve, reform under another name and can't be found to be sued or forced to remedy the problems they left. Quite a racket.

Liberals. The leftists have taken over the place.

I'm in Columbia, Missouri, and much of the same has occurred here. Makes me angry and sad.

Yes some thing in mascoutah ill tore down half of the old buildings on main street nothing hardly left now

Oh my!

I had to go back and look at the floor plan. That is weird. I wonder if that was the original design. Normally, there would be a door (or pass thru) from the butler's pantry into the dining room, so the food could be plated for serving. I almost wonder if the bathroom and pantry labels are reversed in error. I love these old house puzzles. Definitely disappointed it's not still there so we could find the answer.

Ours is 109, a modest craftsman described as a "hand-built French style country house." The homes across the street were bought out around the turn of the Millenium to build a shopping center.

Also, in Texas and Austin, it's "Gwad-a-LOOP."

Thankyou for the clarification, cheers!

The land was worth more as a parking lot. There are cities in Southern California where wonderful mid-Century homes on large lots are bought and demolished to fill the lots to the property lines with big modern mansions.