Milton Ryan archive and HELP! (San Antonio, Austin: for sale, home builder, neighborhood)

[Meg]

I've just signed a contract to buy a Milton Ryan house in Terrell Hills (yes, the one that's been on the market forever). I need help finding Mr. Ryan's archives i.e. plans for this house, and just help in general restoring this place. Any suggestions?

[PrettyHateMachine]

I dont know where you would get archives from, but if you need help restoring a Mid-Century Modern go to http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/ there will be lots of people that can help you do that and maybe even help you locate plans of the house. Did you buy the one going for 485K with the pool? If you did lucky you!! How hard is it to find a MCM in SA? Enjoy!

[googie2525]

Wow, love that house! I'm so glad someone who "gets it" bought it! I was thinking it was gonna go the teardown route, like so many other Ryan's in the neighborhood (I imagine you know about the row of Ryan's on Elizabeth that were amazing, and sadly, recently bulldozed). I've actually tried to track down info on Ryan years ago to no avail, as I was looking at purchasing a Ryan house in '99 (that weird glass house on the corner of Elizabeth...RIP. I passed since the owner "remuddled" that place beyond hope, or, actually, beyond my restoration budget).

The only time I've ever seen his name pop up was on a forum on Lottaliving.com. If anyone would know, it would be someone on LottaLiving for sure.

Good luck, and please post any info you find on ol' Milton, I would love to know more about the man and his work.

[googie2525]

I noticed that the Milton Ryan house on Elizabath is still for sale. Was this the house you were speaking of? If you don't mind me asking, what happened? I was really hoping an admirer of Ryan's work would grab it over some creep intent on doing the teardown/McMansion routine. BTW, I bought a rare 1952 architectural book from a fella at lottaliving.com last week, it has 3 pages on a specific Ryan-designed house, and I believe it's a Terrell Hills residence, I should be getting it tomorrow, can't wait to see what house the book spotlights.

[googie2525]

Well, bad news, I recently spoke to the owner of the house (trying to get him to lower the price a tad, well, actually to 400K, in which I would have bought in a hearbeat - he wouldn't budge). Anyway, he's currently (according to the owner) in negotiations with a dreaded developer. Looks like another Ryan teardown in Terrell Hills on the horizon! What's wrong with these developers? I mean, Ryan was a partner of Frank Lloyd Wright for cryin' out loud, and one of the very few noted modernist/cutting edge architects to emerge out of Texas (besides O'Neil Ford ). These homes are works of art, prime MCM architecture, and in a city like Austin, LA, Seattle, Chicago, etc., etc., these homes would be HIGHLY coveted (think Case Study Houses), instead we'll be treated to yet another gazillion square foot McTuscan piece of junk. UGH.

Say goodbye:

[wCat]

Googie.....please tell me they are not going to tear this down! Have you tried contacting the SA Conservation Society or the San Antonio Chapter of AIA about what's going on tearing down these living works of art? I know Terrell Hills is not in SA proper, but they might have some suggestions. Terrell Hills does have it's own city laws so it might wasted time. SOMEONE in Terrell Hills has got go "get it"!

Meg....as the original poster on this topic, did you ever find out anything about your house? I was researching a property much older some years ago and was sent to the SA Builders Association. They supposedly have "archives" or resources that have collected some of these old house plans. Also.....the San Antonio chapter of AIA might also point you in the right direction. Some of them are left in the attic! You'd be surprised at the stories I've heard. I saw some plans just this week of a home built in the early 50's that had been gutted and ruined inside! It wasn't in the home owners budget to restore it. So terribly sad!!!!

[MPinSC]

I HATE that developers come in and tear these midcentury homes down. What a terrible shame. They embody an era, in the same way that Craftsman homes embody theirs. People need to be educated that these are significant homes that are living history - and many won't realize it til they're all gone.

Crap. What a terrible waste.

[PrettyHateMachine]

What a way to start the day.

San Antonio doesn't get it. What a shame.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by MPinSC

I HATE that developers come in and tear these midcentury homes down. What a terrible shame. They embody an era, in the same way that Craftsman homes embody theirs. People need to be educated that these are significant homes that are living history - and many won't realize it til they're all gone.

Crap. What a terrible waste.

Here's the sad truth about Terrell Hills. In the "primo" areas of Terrell Hills the "land" portion has quadrupled in value just since 2002. I am not kidding. As in this particular home, the land is actually worth more than the "improvements", which is unusual for a lot that's about 1/4 of an acre. A custom home builder can buy the lot, build a much more grandiose home there are sell it for well over a million. It's all about money.

BTW - Tommy Lee Jones has his home on this same street....just a few blocks down. At least that's his San Antonio "homestead".....he has a huge ranch Northwest of Austin.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by PrettyHateMachine

What a way to start the day.

San Antonio doesn't get it. What a shame.

PHM....actually the AIA and Conservation society here very much "gets it". But this house doesn't fall into the SA jurisdiction. Terrell Hills is a high end area very close to the downtown area. It's a high stakes game in money making.

There are some great stories about how the Conservation Society has blocked "progress" to save some historical landmarks. Ironically, some people in other camps call SA "backwards" because of it! We just can't win for losing sometimes.