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#modTEXAS is crowdsourcing midcentury design across the state

Nostalgia by the Numbers

#modTEXAS is crowdsourcing midcentury design across the state

Crowdsourcing images of old architecture is one way to spread awareness on the importance of preservation. (Screenshot of @modtexas Instagram)

Inspired by Oklahoma City’s Okie Mod Squad, a new group of midcentury modern architecture lovers is documenting the leftover treasures from 50 years ago in Texas. modTEXAS, an Instagram crowdsourcing campaign started by Amy Walton and several statewide preservation organizations, is using the hashtag #modtexas to collect content centered on mid-20th-century nostalgia. 

Launched in January, the campaign has thus far garnered over 2,000 posts with a range of images featuring famous architecture such as the Johnson Space Center in Houston, to a not-to-miss modernist church in downtown Dallas with a spiral exterior staircase. Even old signs and interior decor are popping up.

Walton changes the theme of photographs that can be tagged each month as well. For example, August’s theme in multi-family, and a former photo editor at the Dallas Morning News took a shot of Paul Rudolph’s Brookhollow Plaza. 

 

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Building 30 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of the recently restored Mission Control Center 🚀🌔 📸: @army.arch via @flickr 📸: AP Photo / Michael Wyke

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To cull together support for the campaign, modTEXAs is working with some major groups on the project including Preservation Dallas, the Texas Historical Commission, the North Texas and San Antonio chapters of Docomomo, and the American Institute of Architects chapters in Corpus Christi and Dallas. As Walton gleans information on the documented projects from various posts, she’s sharing stats and geotags with the groups for their own conservation efforts.

D Magazine reported that a real estate site called Candy’s Dirt has also joined the campaign and has created a map of where photographs are taken. Of course, many people are hashtagging images of architecture in more metropolitan cities around the state, so it’s unclear what treasures might be threatened in rural areas if more awareness isn’t built on their existence. 

 

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The June theme for our Mapping Mod Challenge is Car Culture (share what you uncover using #modtexas). Built in 1947, the Pike Drive-In Theater in Lancaster featured a massive cowboy mural accented by neon lighting. 📷: @fortworthhistorical. #modtexas #fortworthhistorical #fortworthinsta #fortworthtexas #fortworthhistory #docomomo #modernist #ilovetexasphoto #texashistory #texasphoto #texasphotography #texasphotographer #texas_ig #texasarchitecture #texasarchitecture #midcentury #midcenturyarchitecture #postwarmodernism #modernism #midcentury #midcenturydetails #docomomous #texasarchitect #midcentury #midcenturyarchitecture #modernistarchitecture

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