Endangered Architecture
tesy of Jane Manus
Photos of Manus House, c. 1960s: Cour
The Manus House
The Manus House, located at 144 Wells Street in Palm Beach, Florida, was designed by
Alfred Browning Parker and is at risk of being torn down and replaced with a two-story British
Colonial-style house. Parker designed the house in 1960 for Allen and Adele Manus. On June
9, the Town Council voted to defer its decision regarding granting a demolition permit for 60
days, to allow preservations a chance to plead their case to owner Peter Cohen. Check back
here for updates and keep your eye on the Palm Beach Daily News, which has been following
the story. www.palmbeachdailynews.com
Update, October 15, 2008. Wednesday was a sad day for modernist architecture. The
Manus house was razed after preservationists gave up trying to save it. Architect Alfred
Browning Parker, 92, hoped to salvage some materials, but an 11th-hour attempt fell through.
Time had run out, and subcontractor Cushing Demolition cited liability reasons for the denial.
“The owner has had his bullheaded way,” Parker said of Cohen.
The House of Formica
In the 1960s, salesman Larry Stephens hatched a
plan to present Formica to interior designers and
other potential customers as a luxury product;
he built a home to showcase the versatile mate-
rial. Located at 5103 S. Braeswood in Houston,
Texas, the house features both plain and vibrant-
ly patterned Formica. The material covers not
just the floor and kitchen counters, but also the
walls, doors and ceiling. The home is currently lot’s value — the house comes free. Visit
in foreclosure and in need of costly repairs. The http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/
Formica Company is offering $5,000 in products arts/gray/5918346.html to read an article
to anyone willing to save the house. The asking about the property. For additional infor-
price of $304,900 is the bank’s estimate of the mation, contact www.houstonmod.com.
www.modernismmagazine.com 117