Gentrification is a top concern, with some wondering if these mural-covered buildings will make way for high priced condos or townhomes.
HOUSTON — Demolition in the Third Ward has removed a portion of what’s become known as the Ennis art block. Murals, including one of George Floyd, are now just rubble and some worry that this will further erase the community’s history.
At the height of the 2020 protests, the building at Elgin and Ennis drew visitors and artistic talent. And for some, it’s a shock to see it gone.
This week’s demolition is a dismantling of talent and history if you ask neighborhood historian Naomi Carrier. She’s worked in the Third Ward for 35 years and just learned that the piece of community artwork is gone.
“I was ready to cry,” she said. “Because as a preservationist, what’s left to say what this community once looked like.”
In June of 2020, after George Floyd’s murder, a collection of about 35 artists came together to create murals on this building.
Carrier says for art students who often have limited access to such a large canvas, it provided a new level of experience while building on the community’s culture.
“It’s a project of erasure,” Carrier said. “Give me two years and that’ll be two or three to four-story condo on this block.”
Days ago, in the shadow of the old Riverside Negro Hospital, private demolition crews got to work tearing the building down. Carrier is concerned about what will take its place.
“Preservation helps us know what came before us,” she said. “When I give tours up and down Emancipation Avenue, I have to talk about buildings that are no longer there. I have to talk about businesses that are no longer there.”
Gentrification is a top concern, with some wondering if these mural-covered buildings will make way for high priced condos or townhomes.
“Dedicate some funding to the preservation of the history of this community before it all goes up in smoke, down in rubble,” Carrier said.
KHOU 11 reached out to the company listed as owners for the property to ask what the community can expect to see in its place. We’re waiting to hear back.