03/04/2025
HAVE YOU HEARD? The North Shepherd District’s historic Sears pylon structure is SAFE. Months of advocating for the historic Sears sign structure and mature oak tree culminated in a win for the sign at two Houston Planning Commission meetings in February. The pylon sign structure is safe, and the neon letters will be donated to the North Shepherd District, which includes homeowners, business owners, residential civic club chairs, artists, church leaders, and more on both sides of North Shepherd Dr. The North Shepherd District’s Deborah Cranford, Betty Heacker, and former councilmember Sue Lovell advocated on behalf of the structure and its accompanying mature oak tree for months, collaborating with District H Councilmember for Hou Mario Castillo, Emily Ardoin of Preservation Houston, and Steven Curry of Houston Mod.
On February 6, Preservation Houston and Houston Mod presented the Houston Planning Commission with the historic and architectural significance of the Sears pylon structure. The structure, which Ardoin describes as “late Art Deco/Modern,” is one of the few remaining examples of mid-century street furniture in Texas, as documented in Kathryn E. O'Rourke’s 2024 book "Home, Heat, Money, God: Texas and Modern Architecture."
In addition to being a beloved landmark of the surrounding northwest Houston community, the Sears pylon structure is a relatively large commercial sign unlike any other on North Shepherd Drive. Current city codes prevent this style of sign from being built today, but as this structure predates that, it will be grandfathered in. This provides the new commercial client with the most eye-catching iconic sign on North Shepherd Drive. They’ve also garnered a great deal of good press from locals and from the preservation community.
So, how do we go from a closing department store, a memory of yester-year, to historical preservation?
It started in 2020 – after the Sears store closed, concerns turned to the preservation of the site, particularly the iconic Sears sign structure.
Deborah Cranford, a homeowner in the North Shepherd District, passed the property every day on her commute and felt it was important to pay homage to everything that Sears represents to generations across the United States. “I remember as a child, looking forward to the Christmas catalog,” Cranford says of the department store. “And I felt that the bus stop, the structure, the Sears letters, the sign, the tree – it was just unique. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Former councilmember Sue Lovell agrees with Cranford. “Just the sign evokes so many memories,” she says. “The corridor’s changing, and that’s a good thing… but you don’t want all of your memories to be wiped out.”
With the property being sold, re-development was inevitable but everyone wondered: what would become of the sign which had stood for over 75 years, shaded by an even older oak tree? Cranford introduced herself to the site supervisor, then the demolition crew, expressing the community’s desire to preserve an iconic sign structure and oak tree. This concern fell on friendly ears, and they both relayed the neighborhood’s wishes to the developer and owners.
Security was a big concern at the site at the time, ultimately culminating in an Easter Sunday homicide in 2024, but break-ins and graffiti had plagued the site for years. Having pledged support of Sears preservation efforts during his campaign, Councilmember Castillo’s office stepped in to assist. He, Director of Special Projects Sabrina Salts, and Director of Constituent Services Ty Kekoa contacted the new owner, recommending stronger security and requesting that the owners preserve the history of the Sears site as re-development moved forward.
When the site was fenced for community safety and to mark the demolition boundaries, the sign structure remained safely outside. Preservation advocates in the North Shepherd District began watching even more vigilantly at this point. Lovell credits Councilmember Castillo’s office for their strong support at this time, sharing that they were “instrumental.” Indeed, when demotion began, the demotion crew preserved both sign structure and tree.
A representative from Unicorn Service Solutions, representing the client, reached out to Cranford to discuss the North Shepherd District’s goals. In early 2025, a sit-down meeting was arranged between Heacker, Cranford, Lovell, Ardoin (Preservation Houston), and 2 representatives from the developers Fidelis. Spoiler alert: the meeting was a huge success. “It was just a true collaboration and partnership,” Cranford says. “Everyone was very openminded. It was very productive. We all knew why we were there, and then it was just, ‘How can we make this happen?’”
In February, interested parties spoke before the Houston Planning Commission in two separate meetings. The sign structure being grandfathered in as an older historical structure was a gamechanger, as well as Houston Mod’s confirmation that the structure is in excellent condition. Houston Mod’s Steven Curry examined the structure himself and shared his findings at the February 20th HPC meeting. While an engineer’s report was not yet available, it doesn’t need any structural work, though Curry adds it could use a good cleaning. “The bench, the pylon, the support structure, and the roof are all cast concrete, so it’s a sculptural object, essentially.”
Emily Ardoin of Preservation Houston pointed that the history of the structure is extremely compatible with the proposed new use of the property. Removing the structure would remove “seating, shelter, and shade,” not to mention the neighborhood history that would be lost. Preservation Houston urges the developer to utilize the major asset they already have on-site, which is “completely unique to this property and is perfectly sited for the new pedestrian-oriented landscape.”
The structure-and-tree advocacy process took years, and at every stage in this process, someone gave sign and tree advocates a chance, heard them out, and ran the request up the chain. The site supervisors, demolition crew, the developers Fidelis, Unicorn Service Solutions, Councilmember Castillo and his staff, the Houston Planning Commission – without their open-mindedness, none of this would be possible. All of the right people were in the metaphorical room.
To anyone else looking to advocate for historic structures or buildings in their community, Cranford recommends persistence. “If you believe in what you’re doing, you will find the right people, or they will find you. Keep trying to find the right people to talk to!” Lovell adds that a lot of people don’t even realize that they, too, could be having productive, collaborative conversations with developers in their neighborhoods, and because they don’t know, they never even get to the table.
Heacker, Cranford, and Lovell all agree that the preservation efforts for the sign structure and tree were and still are a special interest for the North Shepherd District. For a group made up of not just homeowners, but also business owners, spiritual leaders, and more, this felt like a flashpoint. The North Shepherd District has always made a point to advocate for North Shepherd Dr. because it’s the glue that holds so many neighborhoods together, and issues on North Shepherd Dr. inevitably affect us all. Very early on, Heacker and Lovell knew this had to be an N.S.D. project. “I said to Betty, ‘it has to be the North Shepherd District because we’re the one that’s organized up here,’” Lovell recalls. “Now you can see the fruit of our labor.”
As plans for the property move forward, Cranford, Heacker, and Lovell intend to advocate for the mature oak tree which has stood for over a century. After all, both Sears pylon structure and oak tree are an iconic silhouette. But first, there’s some well-earned cheers-ing and celebrating in order 🥂
