Historic 1929 Clear Lake mansion owned by Hakeem Olajuwon is being demolished. See it in its prime

PHOTOS: The 1929 West mansion

As of Friday afternoon, the historic 1929 West mansion in Clear Lake was slowly being reduced to rubble.

>>>Go back in time and see the stunning property in it's prime when it housed Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon's DR34M boutique... less PHOTOS: The 1929 West mansion

As of Friday afternoon, the historic 1929 West mansion in Clear Lake was slowly being reduced to rubble.

>>>Go back in time and see the stunning property in it's prime when ... more Photo: Title Slide Photo: Title Slide Image 1 of / 62 Caption Close Historic 1929 Clear Lake mansion owned by Hakeem Olajuwon is being demolished. See it in its prime 1 / 62 Back to Gallery

A massive Clear Lake mansion owned by Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon was demolished Friday despite past attempts from local preservation groups to save the Recorded Texas Historic landmark.

Located at 3300 East NASA Parkway, the 1929 West mansion once sat over 30,000 acres of land, and originally served as the home for cattleman and oilman James Marion West, Sr. Since it was first built, the historic property has been handed down through various prominent owners, from Humble Oil to Rice University to NASA's Lunar Science Institute to the famous restaurateur family the Pappas'.

MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: "I don’t see that they tried to salvage anything"

Harris County Appraisal District records show Olajuwon purchased the property in 2006 and still owns it under his company Olajuwan Farms LLC.

After purchasing the home in 2006, Olajuwon used the historic landmark as a flagship store and headquarters for his exclusive high-end clothing line, DR34M.

Before it was demolished, the 17,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance mansion boasted six bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a solarium, a ballroom, a two-story living room and a barber's room. The sprawling 30,000 acres reached what is now Ellington Field.

A 1992 deed restriction once protected the property for 20 years. Volunteers with the nonprofit organization Preserved in Time attempted to save the property and buy it after fears developers would demolish it, but never made enough headway to do so, according to previous reporting by the Chronicle.

As of Friday afternoon, the historic mansion was slowly being reduced to rubble. Go back in time and see the stunning property in it's prime when it housed Olajuwon's DR34M boutique...

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com