New Walking Tour: Turner Addition
2 p.m., Sunday, May 6, 2012
Tour meets in front of The Jung Center, 5200 Montrose Boulevard

The May Walking Tour is being held one week early to avoid conflicting with Mother's Day.

When Nathaniel P. Turner platted Turner Addition in 1871, the subdivision was located more than two miles outside of Houston’s city limits. The neighborhood became a desirable residential area in the early 20th century thanks to its proximity to Hermann Park, Rice University and the new Museum of Fine Arts.

Over the years, Turner Addition’s gracious 1920s and 1930s homes and apartments gave way to denser development including some of the city’s early modernist townhomes. Today, the variety of architectural styles represented along the neighborhood’s tree-lined streets provides a lesson in Houston’s 20th century urban development exemplified by the work of some of the city’s most talented architects, including J.T. Rather, William Ward Watkin, Howard Barnstone and Carlos Jiménez.

Please note this is an exterior architecture tour only. The tour will not go inside any of the houses. The walking tour will last about 90 minutes and cover about one mile. There are no restrooms along the tour route.

Tickets go on sale at 1:30 p.m. in front of The Jung Center, 5200 Montrose Boulevard [map]. Reservations are not required. Admission is $10 per person ($7 for Preservation Houston members and students with valid ID). Children 11 and under are admitted free, and tour participants who walk, bike or ride public transit to the tour will receive a $2 discount on admission. The tour’s starting point is a short walk from MetroRail’s Museum District Station.

Street parking is free in the neighborhood; please observe the posted signs.

J. Virgil Scott House (1924, William Ward Watkin)
Photo by Jim Parsons