War Zoned

It's a Thursday afternoon and Robert Searcy stands in front of an indoor prayer nook in his Glenbrook Valley home. The realtor is excited to show off the details of his mid-century modern residence, and this miniature worship center is one of the many unique features.

Marco Torres

Robert Searcy argues that Glenbrook Valley's throwback essence cannot be protected if the historic-district application fails.

Marco Torres

Leticia and Joe Ablaza have alleged that Searcy and his crew used racist tactics during the petition process.

Details

READ MORE
SLIDESHOW: Houston Mods: Inside the Historic Homes of Glenbrook Valley
BLOG POST: Cover Story: Glenbrook Valley's Historic Preservation Fight
BLOG POST: Glenbrook Valley, Our Recent Cover-Story Subject, Becomes a Historic District

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More About

• Joe Ablaza
• Houston (Texas)
• Robert Searcy
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"A lot of these homes had somewhere where you got drunk or somewhere to ask for forgiveness," says Searcy about the southeast Houston subdivision that was largely constructed between 1953 and 1962. Searcy is just the second owner of a 2,626-square-foot home that was originally occupied by one of the many Italians who settled here during the onset of Houston's space age.

When Searcy moved to the neighborhood that's loosely bordered by Sims Bayou, Telephone Road, the Gulf Freeway and Hobby Airport, he was shocked to find what he calls "an area that sits almost untouched, like a time capsule."

For Searcy, a lover of a bygone architectural style that fused Frank Lloyd Wright's principles with European Bauhaus sentiments, Glenbrook Valley, which a majority of Houstonians have never heard of, was something worth preserving. Along with abstract furnishings, Searcy's home showcases an originally intact bathroom, complete with Pepto-Bismol-colored tile, that's featured on the Web site Save the Pink Bathrooms.

For the past three years, Searcy and a number of his fellow mid-century modern fanatics have been on a quest to historically designate the neighborhood. Last June, local pro-preservationists handed in a historic-district application, which has jumped through all but one of the necessary hoops, to the City of Houston. If successful, the 1,254-structure subdivision would become the first post-World War II historic district in the state of Texas.

However, during the process, Glenbrook Valley has turned into what residents call a "war zone" between those for and those against the pending designation.

Friendships have been destroyed, "Yard of the Month" winners are afraid to answer the door and if somebody walks into a local restaurant and sees a person "from the other side," he'll turn around and leave. The situation has become so ugly that some residents who have lived in Glenbrook Valley for 20 years say they are considering a move because they fear for their safety.

The people in favor of the designation, scheduled for a June 29 vote in City Council, say that the honor will increase property values, prevent future destruction of unique homes and bring positive attention to the neighborhood that's smack-dab in the middle of urban blight. Houston is currently home to 15 historic districts, including Heights East, Heights West, and Old Sixth Ward, but none can boast as many mid-century modern dwellings as Glenbrook Valley.

Opponents, meanwhile, weren't necessarily against the designation until a self-proclaimed "poorly organized" mutiny uncovered, in their opinion, deceit, trickery and civil-rights violations used during the petition process. They're also claiming that city officials pulled a bait-and-switch following the passage of a new historic-preservation ordinance. As a result of the latest measures, Glenbrook Valley, an area that's already protected by rigid deed restrictions, is bound to even stricter rules.

Searcy admits that the landmark designation makes proposed modifications more difficult for homeowners. In one case, an area resident and former friend of Searcy's who loves mid-century modern as much as the realtor tried to change his front door, only to be told that his proposed design was too mid-century modern.

Complicating the battle-zone-like essence is a longstanding feud between the openly gay Searcy and a longtime Glenbrook Valley dweller who once displayed Halloween tombstones with homosexual slurs. Add in a population of Hispanics, Vietnamese and African-Americans who deeply care about their property rights — a subject that's always tricky, according to a historic-preservation consultant — and the neighborhood has become a tinderbox.

According to Searcy and Glenbrook Valley homeowner Maverick Welsh, who once served as chief of staff on City Council, much of the drama can be blamed on what Welsh says is a "certifiable insane" couple who have filed complaints with the city's Office of Inspector General against pro-preservationists.

Instead of praying, Searcy spends time working on his campaign and denying allegations of throwing dead cats into people's yards.
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Joe Ablaza stands over a map of Glenbrook Valley that's lit up with pink, yellow and green highlighter. Wearing a dress shirt that's tucked into khaki pants, he points to the kitchen table, where the blueprint-sized diagram curls at one end. By his calculations, Ablaza, a clean-cut financial adviser who calls himself the "Seething Republican," thinks the historic district efforts being pushed by Searcy are flawed at best.

Before mid-century modern became an industry that spawned trendy magazines and boutiques, a young Ablaza, like many Houston natives, visited Glenbrook Valley to look at the often over-the-top holiday lights displays. Less known, even today, were the accomplished people who lived in the Italian-settled area. At one time or another, the founders of Mandola's Deli and Carraba's, jazz musician Steve Tyrell and the late professional wrestler Paul Boesch could call Glenbrook Valley home.

Between Ablaza's holiday visits and his move to Glenbrook Valley in 2000, the area suffered through the economic decline kick-started by the 1980s oil bust, which caused aging residents to abandon once-charming homes that would eventually fall into disrepair.