The Pecan Park Eagle

Times Square
“Crossroads of the World”

An Overdue Honor

Patrick Lopez
At Home in Galveston
2013

For many of us, Patrick Lopez, now of Galveston, is both our fellow SABR  member and the brilliant artistic illustrator of our recently published work, “Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961.” For others of us who have come to know him better, he has also only grown in our eyes from the experience as an incredibly modest,  giving, creative, and valuable good friend – and a person who never seems to place the recognition for his own gifts above the goal of the larger group purpose.

In our SABR book case, we have done all we know how to do express our appreciation for Patrick’s invaluable  contributions to our Houston baseball history book,  but that doesn’t always happen in “larger purpose” projects, as our friend also knows from personal experience. Fortunately, an egregious omission of credit given to Patrick Lopez for his considerable contributions to New York City’s “Times Square, 1984″ project.”

The gist of it is this: From 1984 to 1989, Patrick Lopez was one of the total 550 architects and artists who submitted design ideas and plans to the management group that handled the several ideological and technical problems that arose during the lifetime of the project. Those who made contributions to the final outcome were then honored by the inclusion of their graphic work for display in the new Times Square Museum that opened in 2013.

One of the several drawings that Patrick Lopez submitted that were credited with helping correct some small, but important design issues with changes in the Times Square Tower work were placed among these major examples of architectural contribution in the new museum. The problem was – there was no credit extended to Patrick on site with the display.

Patrick wrote the powers-that-be and, after the passage of some time, he received an apologetic notice that the omission had been corrected to include the name of Patrick Lopez with the drawing on display. It is also added that some, if not all, of the other Lopez drawings will be added to the display at some point in the near future and fully credited to him as well.

And that’s pretty fair redemption for someone whose earlier life work included illustrative input to the design and construction of the Sears Tower in Chicago and the ITEL Building in San Francisco.

Times Square, 1984

“The Times Square, 1984” from the start was about putting an end to the seedy decline of that big window neighborhood on the world views New York City, but it was never an easy go. At one point, the project ran into trouble for moving too antiseptically with their ball for change and people protested that cleaning up Times Square should not extend to destroying its character as the center of light in the city of light. Somehow, they worked it out for the sake of not not losing their investment in healing the biggest sores of prostitution, pornography, and other street crimes that had taken over the area. On that score, we are not in position from Houston to know how well they have succeeded, but we hear that things are now better and far more attractive than they were in 1984. Further detailed discussion of the Times Square project goes beyond the scope of what we could ever hope to cover fully in a single day’s column, but you may check out this link to The Skyscraper Museum to see what something of what the buzz was all about what the deeper buzz was all about:

http://skyscraper.org/home.htm

Who The Man Is

All Saints Little League Team
~ Houston, TX, 1950
~ Patrick Lopez, 2 players to the left in your view of the coach in the white shirt.

Patrick Lopez & Friend

Patrick Lopez is a true Renaissance man – and we simply are grateful for his association and contribution to our history of baseball in Houston. Born in Houston at St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1937, Patrick Lopez grew up in his native hometown, cutting his teeth of interest in baseball as a kid fan of the Houston Buffs and an “often as possible” member of the crowd at Buff Stadium on game day. He graduated from St. Thomas High School in 1955, a year before me, and then went on to study architecture at the University of Houston. He and his lovely wife, Barbara, have been married since 1960 and they three grown children: – son Patrick and daughters Claudia and  Sarah. The senior Lopez couple now lives in a quiet historic Galveston neighborhood.

Patrick Lopez is only semi-retired. People like Patrick Lopez have too much to give to ever shut down the roaring fire of creativity and their aim to give of themselves.

Pictures Worth Far More Than a Thousand Words

Five of the Patrick Lopez Drawings for the Time Square Tower Project
~ “B” is the one on display with credit now extended to the artist.

A SINGULAR SHOT OF LOPEZ DRAWING “B”
~ THE ONE WHICH FIRST WENT ON DISPLAY UNCREDITED IN NYC, BUT NOW IS SHOWN AS THE WORK OF PATRICK LOPEZ.

“Buffalo Watching”
~ The original piece that Patrick Lopez did for me by request.
~ Thanks, Forever, Patrick!

Have a nice Thursday, everybody. There’s a seminal lesson or two for us all in this brief story of Patrick Lopez, if we are ready to receive it.

Meanwhile, thank you again, Patrick Lopez, for being both a genuine and generous soul. You give of yourself above the appetite level of the personal ego, but you are also strong enough to stand up for yourself if people sometimes take advantage of your gentleness by accident or design. The world could use more people like you.

Tags: PPatrick Lopez's Contribution, Times Square Project

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