Out with the old, in with the new

With the last remnants of the old building in a final pile of debris to be hauled away, work on the new facility will begin soon.



The topsoil has been flattened and the backwall has been painted. Today, crews worked on building a gutter system on the back wall of the shops on Westheimer.


Also, a barrier was placed around the largest oak tree and the soil inside was topped with dirt. The water drainage system installed in the new facility will collect rainwater to feed the surrounding landscape.

1415 California Street Transformed

This week at the construction site crews transformed the jagged back wall of the shops on Westheimer into a smooth wall, leaving no evidence that the old building once shared the wall with those shops.

The wall, being worked on last week.

The wall today. No graffiti, like the walls of the new building will look with the help of graffiti-resistant paint.

In addition to work on the back wall, crews dug into the ground in search of more concrete debris. After all, there was once an indoor pool on the property. Check the August 9th entry for a full history of 1415 California Street.

Do you have memories from the old building? Please comment to share!

A Legacy in the Making

After being converted from a school for children with Cerebral Palsy to a United Cerebral Palsy Center, then to restaurants, night clubs and a video store, the old building at 1415 California is no more.
The building is gone but the Legacy of care will continue.

Today, workers started work on the back wall of the buildings on Westheimer.

Thursday, August 12

Today, demolition crews worked on taking down the last of the old building.


From about 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 a thunderstorm moved into the area, but it didn't stop the workers who continued cleaning debris in the rain.

The Cleanup Continues

The half-demolished structure to the right of the excavator in this picture is all that remains of the old building. Today crews worked fast to continue loading dump trucks that would arrive one after another.

Rght as this one above was leaving another one came and backed into the same spot for loading.

Keep checking the blog for more updates!

A Bigger, Better Building

Cleanup continued fast today thanks to the help of a second excavator.



Under the rubble of the old building, Legacy Community Health Services will build a bigger, state of the art facility with the parking to accommodate it.

Some things to anticipate in the new facility:

• 40,000 square feet of usable space, almost doubling the currently used space at 3 different locations
• Housing 8 specialty clinics, 10 social service programs, 4 health education programs and more
• Dental clinic with 4 chairs
• Eye clinic with 4 exam rooms
• Pharmacy located on ground level
• Over 130 parking spaces
• Over 25 exam rooms
• Courtyard with seating
• Saved 3 large oak trees, each of them nearly 100 years old
• LEED approved green building
  

The Walls Come Tumbling Down

The walls of the building that once stood on the grounds of the future Legacy building were demolished today.

History of What Once Stood

The building was originally built in 1947 as a school for children with cerebral palsy and eventually became United Cerebral Palsy serving children and adults with all disabilities. The building had classrooms and therapy rooms, some decorated with popular children’s animated characters like Pluto, a cafeteria and even a swimming pool.

After the school closed in 1998, the building sat abandoned for a few years. In 2000, Theatre New West under the direction of Joe Watts, began staging productions of mostly gay-themed plays, including their most successful production – "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told." In the early 2000s, the upstairs auditorium became Sonoma Restaurant and later 1415 Bar and Grill. After the restaurant closed, the upstairs auditorium and large deck became Club 1415, a Montrose dance club.

The downstairs classrooms and therapy rooms were all repurposed. Your Body Center, a yoga studio, took advantage of several large classrooms and nonprofit organizations, including PRIDE Houston, used former classrooms and offices as their home base. The area that was once an indoor swimming pool was filled in and became a video rental store specializing in gay and lesbian themed movies. Prior to purchasing the property in 2007, Legacy Community Health Services hosted their annual Miss Mint Julep fundraiser at Club 1415 for two years in a row. In fact, Legacy’s Executive Director Katy Caldwell got the idea for purchasing the property and converting into a new clinic at the annual drag show fundraiser.

Rooted in the Community

Legacy is preserving three magnificient oak trees that will remain untouched during the building process. This is one of the majestic oaks that will provide shade and natural beauty to the new facility.

The trees symbolize what Legacy Community Health Services is all about. Legacy started as a tiny seed and began to grow many different directions with many unique branches. It continues to grow but is strongly held together with deep roots in the community.

As Alexander Smith once said "A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity." We hope to Build a Legacy that will benefit many generations to come.

With or Without You...

A lot of debris clearing was done today. A hollow building makes a tall pile of concrete and brick!


The elevator to nowhere!


A Graffiti artist had U2 stuck in his head. But don't worry, the new building will have graffiti-resistant paint!

Wednesday, August 4th

Today the excavator crawled around piles of debris and continued to take down walls.



A little interesting piece of art from the old building, Disney's Pluto the Dog!


What will be part of the many parking spaces that will be available across California Street at the new facility...


Keep checking for this blog for more updates on the demolition!

The Walls Keep Coming Down

A lot of progress has been made these past few days. With every wall that goes down the great size of the coming building is made more apparent.


There was one of the demolition crew that was spraying around the excavator's scoop at all times. This process keeps dust to a minimum, fortunately.


This picture shows a view east, parallel to California Street (taken under the shade of one of three magnificient oaks that will remain untouched during the building process.) Here, several downtown buildings are visible in the distance...


...Here, the red brick building at the bottom of the picture is the Slick Willies on Westheimer.


...But for a bird's eye view, the site located at the little "A" on this map.

Building On Our Legacy

What you see here is the new site for Legacy Commmunity Health Services!
The new facility was made possible through the generous support of so many in our community. Legacy's history is rich, and its mission is noble.

In 1978 the Montrose Clinic was founded primarily for screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases primarily for gay men. In 1982, The Montrose Clinic initiated PACE (Program for AIDS Counseling and Evaluation), marking the first effort of this kind in Houston. In 1994 the Montrose Clinic consolidated its programs into one facility at 215 Westheimer and just two years later began the operation of women's health services. In the decade after The Montrose Clinic and the Assistance Fund merged to become Legacy Community Health Services and opened several satellite locations. By 2007 Legacy Community Health Services was granted full status as a Federally Qualified Health Center offering primary care services to Houston's uninsured and underinsured. Today, with the support of the community, the generosity of our donors, and the dedication of all those who work with us and for us, we start again to Build on Our Legacy.



Approximately a year from now, on this site, your support, your enthusiasm and your commitment to what Legacy has provided to the community in the past, what it has grown to become, and what it will evolve into, will be realized in a facility that the entire community can be proud of.

Our work continues, as we serve as a healthcare home by building a network of community clinics where people will feel welcomed and respected while receiving the highest quality healthcare services, regardless of their ability to pay. We believe that quality comprehensive healthcare is a fundamental human right that grounds an individual physically, emotionally and spiritually. This right promotes balance and stability for our patients, which results in a healthier and more productive community. We value our diverse communities. We engage and respect everyone.

Today, demolition crews continued to carefully take down walls of the old building...