Demolition of the historic Kirby Mansion resumed Monday, days after work was halted over permits. Neighbor James Fuller said he noticed a crane tearing at the partly demolished building in the South End neighborhood. Fuller said several others called the city to stop the work. A city inspector red-tagged the building and cited a lack of a demolition permit, according to Fuller's account.
Another neighbor said the current owner did have a permit, which allowed the demolition to continue. Activists said the mansion was a historic landmark that several icons and world leaders, including presidents George H.W. Bush and Franklin D. Roosevelt, had visited. Preservationists held a vigil the night before, organized by Mister McKinney's Historic Houston, to try to save the 19th-century building.
ABC13 sent a photographer to the site on Monday, who described the scene as "not much left." ABC13 said it had tried to reach the property owner about the plans for the building and had not received a response.