Authors in Architecture

Before Houston’s skyline was dominated by glass towers and its suburbs littered with mega-malls, the city enjoyed an architectural golden era with Art Deco courthouses and movie palaces, Art Moderne public buildings and Modernistic industrial sites. As tastes changed, so did the popularity — and survival rate — of the buildings. Some were altered, some were demolished, and others fell into obscurity. Happily, conservationists/authors Jim Parsons and David Bush, both members of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, set out to photograph the buildings before they were lost forever. The pair will be reading from their book Houston Deco: Modernistic Architecture of the Texas Coast during today’s Authors in Architecture event at the Central Branch of the Houston Public Library. They’ll discuss what they found once they started looking for Art Deco in Houston and what we can do to help save it.

The reading series is a new collaboration between the library and Architecture Center Houston, and more conservationists/authors will appear in the coming months. Jim Parsons and David Bush read today at 6 p.m. 500 McKinney. For information, call 832-393-1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org. Free. A book signing and reception with the authors follows the reading at 7 p.m. Architecture Center Houston, 315 Capitol, Suite 120. For information, call 713-520-5134 or visit www.aiahouston.org. Free.

Thu., Jan. 15, 6 p.m., 2009