Candlelight vigil held for historic Kirby Mansion after partial demolition

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Sunday, a group gathered outside the historic Kirby mansion in Midtown and hosted a vigil for the building.

This follows a partial demolition that began on Friday, before city officials stopped the work over permitting issues, according to preservationists.

"Everybody knows this, you know, it's the Kirby mansion. Nobody knows the address, but they know the Kirby mansion," neighbor Jason Fuller said.

Fuller said he saw the demolition on Friday and tried to stop it.

"The claw was going up and down, and it was moving its way up," Fuller said.

Neighbors told ABC13 they contacted the City of Houston after seeing demolition crews tearing down the home.

"I was having a heated conversation with the supervisor, and he kept saying, 'Get off the property, get off the property,'" Fuller said.

A city inspector later posted a red-tag stop-work order, citing a lack of the proper demolition permit. However, a neighbor told ABC13 the property owner obtained the required permit, which could allow demolition work to resume.

Preservationists said Texas lumber tycoon John Henry Kirby originally purchased the home in the 1890s and had it remodeled into its current form in 1926.

Local historian Mister McKinney organized this vigil through his organization, Mister McKinney's Historic Houston.

He told ABC13 the mansion has long been considered a significant piece of Houston history.

"The house itself has history, being a place where folks like FDR were inside these walls," McKinney said. "Margaret Thatcher came here; famous Houstonians have been in the space. There's so much history here."

McKinney said that while the damage is already done, he hopes they can work with the property owner to preserve what's still standing.

"We're hoping to save this in some capacity," McKinney said. "Even if we're not successful in saving it, it is a spark that is going to light preservation, real preservation, activism in the city. That's our hope and goal."

ABC13 reached out to the property owner and asked what the plans are for this property and why the mansion wasn't preserved. We're waiting to hear back.

While part of the building is gone, supporters said the history is never forgotten.

"It's an opportunity to say goodbye, to see one last time, you know, a Gilded Age mansion, but really to sort of see what we should be doing as a society to work towards better preservation and have property owners and preservationists all work together," Fuller said.