A group gathered Sunday outside the Kirby mansion in Houston's Midtown neighborhood for a candlelight vigil. The event followed a partial demolition that began Friday, according to preservationists. City officials later stopped the work over permitting issues, the preservationists said.
A city inspector posted a red-tag stop-work order, citing a lack of the proper demolition permit. A neighbor told ABC13 the property owner has obtained the required permit, which could allow the work to resume. Neighbor Jason Fuller said he saw the demolition Friday and tried to stop it. Preservationists said lumber businessman John Henry Kirby bought the home in the 1890s and remodeled it into its current form in 1926.
Local historian Mister McKinney organized the vigil through his group, Mister McKinney's Historic Houston. He said he hopes to work with the property owner to save what is still standing. ABC13 reached out to the property owner for comment and had not heard back.