2025 Good Brick Tour

Visit four outstanding historic homes during Preservation Houston's 12th annual Good Brick Tour on Saturday and Sunday, November 8 and 9. The event showcases notable preservation projects in a variety of Houston neighborhoods to increase awareness of the quality of historic preservation in the city and to share the histories of these unique properties.

Lin Chong and Mariam Hejazi are chairing this year's tour.

2025 tour locations

All tour locations will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 8, and Sunday, November 9. Visit them at your own pace, in any order you choose.

1507 Alamo Street, First Ward
First Ward, one of Houston’s earliest neighborhoods, was once lined with modest bungalows like the one at 1507 Alamo, built in 1921 by grocer Jacob Valenti. Later owned for decades by the Dissen family, the house reflects the area’s working-class roots and immigrant history. A recent rehabilitation by FW Heritage preserved its welcoming front porch and woodwork while updating the kitchen and dining spaces for modern life. A carefully scaled rear addition contains a primary suite, allowing this classic First Ward bungalow to remain a comfortable home while retaining its historic character.

2018 Kane Street, Sixth Ward
In the heart of the Old Sixth Ward, the 1906 Lighthouse House is a neighborhood landmark long known as the “Queen of Sabine.” Architect Olle Lorehn designed the two-story residence for brickmaker William H. Lighthouse, showcasing honey-colored brick, stone accents and an imposing double-height porch. A recent renovation by designer Marisa Janusz added a discreet primary suite, connected by a copper-and-glass bridge, that allows the house to meet changing needs while preserving its stately presence. Today, the Lighthouse House remains one of the Sixth Ward’s most distinctive homes.

9 Shadowlawn, Museum District
The 1961 Todd House is one of Houston’s most acclaimed works of modern residential design. Architect Anderson Todd, a longtime Rice University professor, created the steel, brick and glass residence as a study in how modernism could serve family life. With its terrazzo floors, walnut-paneled core and walls of glass opening to landscaped courtyards, the house was praised in Architectural Record and earned an AIA award soon after completion. More than 60 years later, careful stewardship has kept the house remarkably intact. Today, it remains both a pioneering modern design and a comfortable home.

Style in Steel Townhomes, 4158 Meyerwood Drive, Southwest Loop
Built in 1968, the Style in Steel Townhomes were a bold experiment in modern living. Designed by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson — the same firm behind the Astrodome — the three connected townhomes were commissioned by the American Iron and Steel Institute to demonstrate how steel could transform residential construction. More than 50 years later, they survive as rare examples of that vision. The center unit has been carefully restored, with ill-considered additions removed and original features like the shaded forecourt brought back. During the Good Brick Tour, all three Style in Steel townhomes will be open to the public as a group for the first time since 1969, offering a glimpse of space-age optimism in Houston architecture.

Tickets

General admission
Reserve your general admission tickets online for $25 per person through Thursday, November 6. Tickets will be available for $30 at any tour location during the tour weekend.

Note that your ticket will be valid for admission to all tour locations on both days of the tour. You do not need to reserve a ticket for the specific day you plan to attend.

Photo: 4158 Meyerwood Drive, a 2025 Good Brick Tour location / photo by Leonid Furmansky