Iconic 'Darth Vader House' Sells

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Iconic 'Darth Vader House' Sells

IT TOOK OVER the internet when it first listed, and now, West U's iconic "Darth Vader House" has a new owner.


The mansion at 3201 University Blvd. is an icon familiar not only to Houstonians, but to Star Wars fans around the globe. Nicknamed such for its resemblance to the villain's helmet, it hit the market in May for $4.3 million, causing quite a stir on the interwebs, seeing as the previous owner famously turned down interviews and photo ops.

Real estate aficionados and movie buffs alike enjoyed flipping through the image gallery, which revealed a counterintuitively light, open interior. A sunken portion of the living room makes a unique seating area, surrounded by curiously patterned concrete and stone flooring; other oddly shaped areas are found throughout the home, which has a distinctly '80s, yet surprisingly fresh, vibe.

Last listed for $3.1 million by Wade Knight and Nadia Carron of Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty, the property officially sold this week. Time will tell what the new homeowners choose to keep and forego.

Messinger's '9 Clouds' and Laszczynski's 'Let It Through'

ON VIEW NOW at Foltz Fine Art is Summer’s End, a very colorful, very summery show of paintings, mixed media, and 3D works by five contemporary Houston-based artists. The exhibit includes works by Matt Messinger, Peter Healy, DUAL, Melinda Laszczynski, and Jonathan Paul Jackson, who along with gallery owner Sarah Foltz curated last September’s well-received group show Texas Emerging: Volume III. Summer’s End runs through Aug. 26, and an artist reception will be held at the gallery Saturday, Aug. 19 from 4-6 pm.

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Mwenso Carnegie Squad

WITH SUMMER FAR from over, DACAMERA continues to roll out some of the hottest musical programming to be enjoyed here — and anywhere else in the South for that matter — with Houston SUMMERJAZZ 2023 (Aug. 17-20). The series highlights the breadth of contemporary jazz, with nods to the music’s Cuban, pan-African, funk, pop, and soul connections. This year’s festival includes performances by the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (Aug. 17), vocalist Gretchen Parlato in her first Houston appearance (Aug. 18), and crowd-pleasing global artists Mwenso & The Shakes (Aug. 19), whose members come from Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica and Hawaii. (Jazz is, indeed, “global” music.) All Houston SUMMERJAZZ concerts take place in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater.

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