Posted on 02/13/2008 12:46:40 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Besides being an ardent supporter of Barack Obama, she's a "precinct captain" and the co-chair of something called Houston Obama Leadership Team. We know she's Cuban by birth. And we know she idolizes Che Guevara. But now we know a few more things about her. She's apparently quite the local character in Houston:
The Che Guevara flag that is flying in the Barak [sic] Obama Houston Headquarters is no doubt the work of Maria Isabel, who I have talked alot about in this blog. She and her husband Barry Norman fought the historic preservation regulations that Old Sixth Ward residents were pushing hard for. They demolished the historic 1890 Valentine house...
I have seen the flag flying over their apartment on Washington Avenue. You can see it from Center street.
Apparently Maria Isabel made a few enemies of her neighbors who did not want to see the historic home torn down and replaced with a new house featuring a 50-foot "meditation tower" looming over them. Here's a blog post with excerpts from a Houston Chronicle story at the time.
Yes, the house's new owner, Barry Norman, told the city commission, he knew he was buying property in a historic neighborhood, the Old Sixth Ward. But he had no intention of keeping the little Queen Anne cottage that stood at 1814 Lubbock since 1885. In fact, he was applying for permission to tear it down.
On the lot, Norman and his wife, Maria Isabel, proposed to build an aggressively modern house out of concrete block, metal and Hardiplank siding. Isabel, an architectural designer, had drawn up the plans herself.
With its tallest point (a meditation tower) at 49 feet 9 inches, the new house would loom over its one-story neighbors, blocking their views of nearby downtown. Though the neighbors' porches hug the sidewalk -- the old-fashioned setback is only 10 feet -- the new house would hang back 17 feet and more, creating an unsettling gap. And to the pretty street, the house would present a blank face: a wooden fence and the door to a garage big enough to accommodate five cars and the couple's RV....
On Sept. 2, Norman and Isabel will be free to raze the house. "I want to get the neighborhood cleaned up," says Isabel, who likes the Old Sixth Ward for its proximity to downtown, Memorial Park and Buffalo Bayou. "Right now that lot is full of bums. People come and put trash there. Cleaning it up -- that's my thing. The historical movement, it's not my bag."
Now come on Ms. Isabel, that's no way to talk about the homeless. What kind of a Democrat are you?
Ms. Isabel apparently runs something called Isabel Design.
H/T: PJ-Comix
IOW, it’s a fashion statement.
good post
So why is she in Houston instead of Castro’s island paradise?
Sure she idolizes Che. The man sure made great omelettes, since he was’nt worried about breaking as many eggs are were needed.
He would had those filthy bums off the streets, pronto. And it would have only cost $.13/each. Who knows, maybe some of the winos might have had functioning corneas or kidneys worth harvesting. The Chicoms sure don’t let such valuable assets of the State go to waste.
She is in Houston because she is a limonsine liberal. Marxism is highly profitable. The rats have turned politics into a highly lucrative business. She probably will become rich after Obama wins.
Mr. Bob Carlquist
Executive VP & General Manager
The Houston Chronicle
801 Texas Avenue
Houston TX 77002
re: Zest story � There goes the neighborhood�
Lisa Grey printed a story that reads like an editorial with attacks to our character, both personal and professional. Without fully researching sources and facts, Lisa peppered the story with sensationalism including such statements as �monstrosity�, �McMansion on steroids�, �aggressively modern�, �defeating the principles of good architecture�, and even a quote by Texas Anderson suggesting us as an �obnoxious neighbor�.
According to British Historian Sir Banister Fletcher, the style known as �Queen Ann� merged with the Gothic in England in the 1860�s. It was characterized by segmentally pedimented windows, dormers, handsome brickwork, and imposingly grouped chimneys. Terra-cotta decorative details and Dutch gables were also part of the Queen Anne idiom, which became the hallmark of the London Board Schools designed in the 1870�s. This �little Queen Ann cottage� built in 1885 was originally a modest two room home, built by the working class of it�s time, and does not contain any of those details typical of the Queen Anne style.
Over the course of history the footprint of this little house was extended to accommodate needs and requirements. These additions were made with no attention to a particular architectural style, and using lowest cost construction techniques and materials. One major addition includes a tin roof and shingle style siding. The last time this house was worked on it was created into a duplex for leasing purpose. Professional experts found very little historic architectural interest or value. In fact the house has six different floor materials and multiple floor levels, five types of base, five styles of windows, and six different door configurations. This little house has not been properly maintained over an extended period, with roof leaks leading to ceiling collapse, structural and floor deterioration. The house has been abandoned for years during which time it has been used as a refuge for vagrants and as a dump. This careless treatment has led to the extensively damaged condition in which it�s found today.
In regards to the statement "he knew he was buying property in a historic neighborhood, but he had no intentions of keeping the little Queen Anne Cottage"; when we contacted Karpas Properties, Wendy the agent handling the account for the Taylor�s, informed us that the property was not available for inspection due to the hazards of structural failure. Our closing documents confirm this noting that "This property is being sold for lot value only". We purchased the property from outside the fence. Recently we found that the Taylor�s decided to sell the property because they could not afford to renovate the little house, and the commission would not approve demolition.
After the closing we launched a tremendous investigation effort to discover the actual historical value, the materials and architectural details, and the condition of the building. We met with historic commission members and associates, including JD, Bart, and Lynn to assess and discuss the possibilities for refurbishing, and or relocation. We met with four local builders, including Doug Smith who has a column in your paper, and two craftsman to establish renovation costs. From Oct 9th, 2004 till March 11, 2005 we continued our research. We found that the actual cost to meet city code, and refurbish the home, in addition to the lot investment, would set the property outside market value. Due to Lisa�s lack of research and knowledge about our case and our efforts to save the little house, she failed to post in the article that we are offering a $5,600 incentive to help with the moving expenses.
In the story, it is erroneously stated that (he) �in fact was applying for permission to tear it down�, when in fact the original application form to the planning committee on March 11, 2005 was to �relocate�.
Regarding "aggressively modern", the materials were carefully chosen to mirror elements existing in the neighborhood. Our intentions as stated in the application to the planning committee were to encompass inspired modern style concepts, developed during the Victorian period from the 1860�s through the 1920�s by Norman Shaw, Mackintosh, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The dimensions of the proposed structure are incorrectly stated. The actual height of the proposed two level home is 29�, in scale with similar two level Victorian �like� houses in the area. On the southeast corner of the building we created a small 14-foot square exterior space, a Widows Walk, which rises above the main house to a total height of 37�, not 49�9�.
Preservation of the 30 year old Palm and other trees in the front of the property are the source for �the setback� of this plan. Alternating the placement of houses in consecutive lots on any given residential street allows the side windows of the homes to gaze at the neighbor�s garden landscape, a clever �architectural principle� used in urban communities where properties are often close in proximity. Concerning the adjacent neighbors, Maria on the west side has become a friend, she is excited that we are building a home for our family and chasing the bums away, eliminating the dump site that now exists, cleaning up the standing water that harbors pests and odor. She also expressed her concerns about the teenagers in the area using the abandoned house for unmentionable activities. The property on the east side is a parking lot for the business next door. Our back neighbor Mark, facing Kane Street, has a two level home with the typical gable roof, and in the rear of his property stands a two story dilapidated, rusty, dented, metal, non Victorian building he calls �the apartment�. By the way this apt is encroaching on our property by one foot. I also have established a relationship with Mary across the street. She is looking forward to �viewing� something nice from her front porch. A few weeks ago Maria and I were attending an Astros game, and she called to let us know that our gate was open and she suspected trouble. We have made it a point to know our neighbors and let them know our intentions.
The garage entrance is a typical two-car size and set back 17� as per code. The size and design of the interior of the garage space is personal. Perhaps Lisa and the commission would prefer we keep the RV and other vehicles outside the fence on the driveway or street. The proposed driveway is made up of stone tiles, set on a sand bed, and framed with dwarf grass. We are also planning a garden outside the fence and around the culvert.
We would like to invite Lisa for a visit to the property at 1814 Lubbock, to look at our proposal for new construction, and to walk our street and meet the neighbors. We believe that if she were to do so she could see for herself that our proposed home is carefully designed, will be an asset to the neighborhood, and that the real �monstrosity� is the dilapidated homes in the sixth ward, some of which are owned by members of the HAHC and OSWHA.
Committed to the Revitalization of OSW,
Barry Norman and Maria Isabel
1518 Washington Ave, Apt H
Houston TX 77007
713-542-0681
maria@isabeldesign.com
http://www.offthekuff.com/movable_type/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=5771
Hey she’s got 5 cars and an RV?
what about carbon footprint?
She also neither watches or reads the news.
She can afford five cars and an RV? Her hero Che would have moved her to the front of the line to shoot her in the head as a capitalist enemy of "la revolución".
Wright and Mackintosh were geniuses.
This broad is a no-talent hack.
The complete idiocy and hypocrisy of people like this is so totally lost on them. They just don’t get it at all. Unfortunately, there’s so many of them.
Very strange. What Cuban in America idolizes Che, unless they were sent here by Castro for nefarious purposes? Like that spy at the Pentagon. If you are a Che lover and admirer, believe in what he stood for, why not remain in Cuba? Or why not return to Cuba? Wonder what her opinion is about murderers and assassins.
It wouldn’t be a stretch in reasonability to ask whether the Cuban government weren’t trying to directly influence the Hussein campaign.
You fly a Che flag, and you are Cuban, then you have no excuse for not knowing what that represents, which is to say that you are pro-Castro, pro-Communist, and pro-Totalitarian oppression of the Cuban people.
Quite a different thing to see a Che shirt on some patchoulli stinking, granola liberal, hippie-chick on some campus like Kent State (”Can’t READ, Can’t WRITE, KENT STATE!!”).
Something that the FEC should probably, but won’t, take a look at.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.