The Pecan Park Eagle

Opening in 1949 as Weldon’s Cafeteria, the building at 4916 Main with the classic Frank Lloyd Wright lines has survived to see new life in Houston.

Once upon a time, Weldon’s Cafeteria on South Main in Houston offered the best plate of chicken ‘n dumplings in Houston, along with the full array of Southern Sunday Comfort Food that most of us used to eat after church on the weekends. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes with butter and gravy, and a slice of dessert that covered all the caloric ground that could ever possibly hang upon us as the fat of smiling devil’s food after being first served up as apple pie or peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream heaped on top. These sweet and mouth-watering delights were all part of the family’s, we’ve-just-fed-our-souls-and-now-we’re-ready-to-pig-out-on-happy-people-food inclinations back in the day.

The interior of Weldon’s offered upstairs dining as an option for agile tray carriers.

Weldon’s operated as a cafeteria on this 4916 Main site south of downtown until the early 1970s. The old building with the classic Wright lines was actually designed by MacKie & Kamrath Architects. MacKie & Kamrath did a lot of work in Houston based on the design principles of Frank Lloyd Wright, but much of their local work has either been destroyed by fire or owner alterations over the years.

Not so at 4916.

Almost completely hidden on the south side by a gas station that had been constructed on the south side of the old Weldon’d building, the old building classic survived, either by accident or divine plan. During the years the building served as home to Massey’s Business College, from the early 1970s into the 1990s, the vaulted interior ceiling was hidden by a dropped false ceiling at nine-feet – and the classic exterior lines were hidden by the gas station – that has since been razed.

Since 1999, 4916 Main has shone again as the home of Ray + Hollington Architects.

When Ray & Hollington Architects then restored the building to its original facade and interior design features in 1999, they also moved in to use the place as their home office and design studio. For their grand effort, the Houston Preservation Alliance congratulated Ray & Hollington with an important Gold Brick for their restoration efforts.

We once had a deserved reputation in Houston for tearing down classics for the sake of converting space for use as strip malls and parking lots. As we move into the 21st century, I can’t say that we’ve totally recovered, or ever will, from the forces of greed and quick profit-minded people, but we are getting better at standing up for art, quality, and the preservation of history.

Put the Weldon’s Cafeteria building in the “save” category for now. Just don’t ever take for granted that it will stay there unless the forces for project identification and preservation stay alive, kicking, and wired for action.