Documentation of the restoration of 4158 Meyerwood Dr. in Houston, TX — designed by Wilson, Morris, Crain, & Anderson in 1968.

4158 Meyerwood is the central two-story middle unit of the The Style in Steel Townhouses built in 1968 as demonstration houses for the 1969 National Association for Home Builders (NAHB) show at the Astrodome Astrohall.

Sponsored by the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI), Houston Lighting and Power (HL&P), and General Electric (GE), the houses were a promotional development intended to show the practicality and advantages of steel in residential construction. Steel is used throughout the house, not only in the structure itself, but in the furniture, equipment, and fittings. The townhouses received national exposure.

In 1969, they were selected as an outstanding example of residential design by Architectural Record magazine in its annual ‘Record Houses’ issue. The townhouses were also featured in the Summer 1969 edition of Architectural Digest, as well as the March 1969 issue of Professional Builder (as the cover story) and Brides magazines.

In 2007, the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission designated the townhouses as protected landmarks.

Renovations include the restoration of the forecourt cedar sunscreen and stucco, new landscape privacy walls, carport, sliding glass doors, drywall reveals and baseboards to reflect the original installation, the guest bathroom to reflect original finishes and layout and removal of the elevator installed in the 2000’s.

Photographs by Leonid Furmansky