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📸 Board member Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston has award winning documentary filmmaker 🎥 🎞️ Jim Bailey on the legacy of iconic Houston photographer Bob Bailey on “LIVE from The Heritage Society with Mister McKinney” on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m. This is a free program on Facebook or Instagram Live.

Bob Bailey was a photographer who captured Houston life from 1929 until his death in 1971. His younger brother Marvin worked for him and carried on the business until the mid-1990s and died in 1998. Between them they left behind 500,000 glass negatives, the bulk being 8"x10" and 4" X 5" and a few larger formats (e.g. 16" x 20"). In 1998, an enterprising retired lawyer named James Lee saved the negatives from being tossed in the trash, and found a home for them at the [Dolph] Briscoe Center for American History, associated with the University of Texas at Austin. In the 14 years the negatives have rested there, about 5,000 of the 25,000 interesting (to Houstonians) photos have been digitized.

Jim Bailey of Sunset Productions of Houston, Texas, is an award-winning television and film producer who specializes in educational video programs and television documentaries focusing on Texas history, art and lifestyles.  As a 30-year veteran, he has written and produced more than one hundred television and video programs.

He has served as president of the board of Texas Foundation for the Arts, and is a member of Harris County Historical Commission, Rice Historical Society and Preservation Houston.  He is a third-generation Texan and graduate of Baylor University. He was co-producer on the recent PBS documentaries “The Golden Age of Texas Courthouses” and “Uncommon Law:  The Life and Times of Leon Jaworski.”  He recently produced and co-wrote a 60-minute documentary, “In Search of Houston’s History,” for the Friends of the Texas Room and the Houston Public Library.  Other recent documentaries include “The Art of Architecture—Houston,” which won a Telly Award, and “The 1910 Harris County Courthouse,” which won the Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston.Bailey was co-producer of the HoustonPBS program “Houston Arts Television.” Two other recent PBS documentaries were “Juneteenth:  A Celebration of Freedom,” produced in cooperation with the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University; and “Brushstrokes of South Texas,” an interesting profile of the life of Mexican-born artist Daniel Lechon and his murals that were installed in the Kennedy Ranch Museum of South Texas History. “Asia Society Texas Center,” the story of architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s new landmark building in Houston’s Museum District, was produced by Texas Foundation for the Arts and Houston Arts Alliance and aired on HoustonPBS in 2013.  Jim Bailey worked on the documentary as co-producer and writer.

What is a SIP? Explore Houston’s interesting places and history on these guided tours with subject matter experts! See Interesting Places (SIP) is an adventure that highlights Houston sites. 

Discover the Old World Charm of The Beaconsfield with Stephen Fox

Wednesday, November 8

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Our exploration guide is architectural and historical subject matter expert Stephen Fox. Fox is an architectural historian and a Fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas. He is a lecturer in architecture at Rice University and the University of Houston. Fox is the author of the Houston Architectural Guide (2023), published by the American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter. He is also the author of The Architecture of Birdsall P. Briscoe.

Our Destination -

The Beaconsfield is a 7-story high residential building with 18 lofts built in 1911 and is listed on the US Interior Department’s National Register of Historic Places.  The Beaconsfield has a rich history, visible in its architectural design. It lies at 1700 Main Street, touted as the first high-rise complex in Houston. The building retained its facade, including the 11′-12′ beamed ceilings, gas fireplaces, most of the original hardware, and the original elevator (still operated by the doorman).  It has an attended lobby with an Old World setting complete with French doors and arched stained-glass panels.