The Test of Time

Just a little bit of long standing street art in the First Ward that has lasted quite a long while.

Making Old New Again

Recently opened, the new Houston Permitting Center has taken residence in a renovated rice warehouse at the end of Washington Ave. During the renovation, the city also allocated funds for new art works to adorn the interior, as well as, exterior of the building. The Houston Arts Alliance chose Mary Margaret Hansen to lead 12 local artists to complete the task.

Dick Wray used this exterior elevator shaft as his canvas for this dynamic piece, which also happens to be his only piece of public art.


On a more historical note, this building is located near the original site of the Houston Infirmary which was founded soon after the end of the Civil War in 1874 to provide medical care for railroad companies during the 1870s and 1880s.

There Goes the Neighborhood

Several “statement” pieces have popped up throughout the First Ward waxing philosophic of the slow gentrification of the area. Neighborhoods change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much.

This work is from the Mission Year Arts Team, a group of people who have moved into this urban district from other parts of the country with the hopes of bettering the area. The group DOES make a difference, but somehow this seems out of character from their mission statement.

If it were me? I might have gone with a “Remember Goliad” theme… but maybe that’s a Texas thing.