[The Great Hizzy!]

I'm thinking public plaza of some sort but a hotel would work as well, given the location and the activity, especially on nights and weekends.

[WestGrayGuy]

I would like to see some mixed use development fill up this whole block. Clubs facing Main and Prarie with some sort of parking above. Perhaps residential above that.

[Montrose1100]

Can one repost there infared pictures again, the blocks are mixed up in my head.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I can't post the infrareds, Monty, but it's the empty block east of the southbound platform of the Red Line @ Preston Station. To the south is Suedea, Boaka Bar and th Mercury Room. Across Main Street are Opus, M Bar and Saba. Above it is Live! and Subway.

Hope that helps.

How about a fountain with fancy lighting? I realize Market Square is nearby but a city can never have too many public spaces, IMO.

[jt16]

I like the idea of public space here. It's central to the downtown area, and surrounded by clubs and bars. It seems like a natural gathering spot. I don't think you can compare this spot to other "failed" public spaces...like Market Square, which are poorly designed and in bad locations. I think you would need a lot of private money to make it happen though. Take a stroll through NYC's Central Park. Just about every major attraction has been "generously underwritten with funds from so-and-so". I would like to see more of that in Houston.

[Montrose1100]

The Great Hizzy!, on Wednesday, September 1st, 2004 @ 3:13pm, said:

I can't post the infrareds, Monty, but it's the empty block east of the southbound platform of the Red Line @ Preston Station. To the south is Suedea, Boaka Bar and th Mercury Room. Across Main Street are Opus, M Bar and Saba. Above it is Live! and Subway.

Hope that helps.

How about a fountain with fancy lighting? I realize Market Square is nearby but a city can never have too many public spaces, IMO.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think I remember which one, It just would help with the map, as it did before...

Have a good day!

[Houston Retail]

ill try to get a map up tommorow.

[houstonsemipro]

Is main event is still going on weekends? Just wanted to know more about main event. If it is, it is crowed?

[SpaceCity]

The more residential, the better. How about a mixed use hotel/condo tower?

[Subdude]

I'm always the nay-sayer. But I just don't think "mixed-use residential" is the highest and best use for every single property. This block is surrounded by bars. Sorry, but not all that many people want to spend their money to listen to drunks hollering at 2 AM and smell stale beer and sick on the sidewalks when they get up in the morning. A hotel might make sense if not for the glut of hotel rooms downtown and the proximity of the Magnolia and Icon hotels. It is those ugly real-life facts that make blocks like this a challenge to develop.

I thought the idea in the old forum of a Deco Diner or Dennys was a good one, although they obviously wouldn't fill the whole block. Maybe a fire station on the Fannin side?

[houstonsemipro]

So far, this is all the retail that is occupied on MAIN STREET ...

Empire Bar
Speakeasy
Blank Canvas Cafe
Bank Jean-Georges
The Whiskey Bar
El Rey
Cava Bistro
St. Pete's Dancing Marlin
F2
Pearl
The Hub
Clark's
Dean's Credit Clothing
Mia Bella
M Bar
Opus
Saba
Sammy's Deli & Snacks
Subway Sandwiches
Live! Sports Cafe
Suede Lounge
Mercury Room
Boaka Bar
Slainte Irish Pub
Mint Lounge
McCoy's Fine Cigars
Cafe Complique
Grasshopper
Shay McElroy's Pub
Chipotle
Java Coast
(future home of) Azuma Sushi & Robata Bar
Sambuca
State Bar
Bossa
Cafe Express
Zula
Flying Saucer
Mantra
The Vault
Barcode
Domino's Pizza
Murphy's Deli
Super Stop Food Market
Downtown Jewelry & Gifts
Metro Restaurant
Rama's African Boutique
Beauty Supply Store
Just A Dollar
(future home of) CVS
(future home of) Stallone's
Payless Shoe Source
Krispy Kreme Donuts
Document Solutions
UPS Store
Jason's Deli
Main Street Food Store
Foley's

The TUNNEL retail...

1600 Smith Flower Shop
ADorn Boutique
Ala Carte Network
Alonti CafÈ
Alonti Deli
Alonti Deli
Alonti Deli
Alonti’s
Al's Barber & Styling
Avenue Deli & CafÈ
Bank One
Bayou City Coffee
Bayou City Coffee
Bayou City Coffee
Bayou City Gifts
Beck's Prime
Beck's Prime Takeout
Brazos Restaurant
C&S Jewelry & Watch Repair
CafÈ Chino Hunan Cuisine
Candy Shop
Charles E. Boren, D.D.S., P.C.
Chartway Federal Credit Union
Chesterfield's Restaurant
Chicken Etcetera
Cingular Wireless
Classic Accessories
Coffee Bar
Coffee Bar II
Continental Federal Credit Union
Copy Con
Copy Corps
Craig's Cleaners
Crescent Real Estate Equities
Daily News
Danny’s Grill
Document Solutions, Inc.
Downtown Dental Associates
Downtown Foot & Health Counter/ Dr. Robert E. Neveil
Downtown Soup & Salad
Dr. Malcolm Bailey, Chiropractor
Dr. Patrick J. McClellan, Dentist
Dr. Todd M. Stolzberg, Optometrist
Droubi Bros. Mediterranean Grill
Duncan Coffee
Eckerd's
El Paso Corporation Federal Credit Union
First Choice Printing
Foley's
Foto Star
Frontier Barbeque
Frost Bank
Frost Bank
Gateway Newstand
Gateway Newstands
Gateway Newstands
General Joe's Chopstix
Gift Shop
Gittings & Lorfing Express
Glamore's Cards & Gifts
Glamour's Gift & Cards
Glamours Variety
Gold & Watch Gallery
Greenworks Flowers
Greenworks Flowers
Haircutter’s
Hi-Tech Watch Service
Houston Eye & Contact Lenses Associates
Houston Shoe Hospital
Houston Shoe Hospital
Houston Shoe Hospital
Hunan Express
International Medicine & Gifts
J. Putty's Pizza
Jet Dry Cleaner’s
Joseph’s Gifts & Snack Shop
K & J Sundries
K & M Hair Design for Men & Women
Kolache Factory
Kolache Shoppe
La Madeleine French Bakery & CafÈ
Little Oasis
Logix Communications
Loki Gardens
Luby's Deli
M W Kellogg Tower Card & Gift
McDonald's
McKinney Marketplace
Memorial Chiropractic Clinic
Murphy's Deli
Murphy's Deli
Murphy’s Deli
Nails by Julie
News & Gifts
Ninfa’s Cantina
Ninfa's Express
Ninfa's Express
Olivia's Pizzeria
One Shell Plaza Barber Shop
Otto's Barbeque & Hamburgers
Panini
Paradise Gifts #3 Cards, Gifts, & Cigars
Paradise Gifts & Cigars
Pastabilities
Pennzoil-Quaker State Product Store
Pizza Plus Chicken
Plaza Cards & Gifts
Post Oak Grill
Post Oak Grill Express
Puff-Ins Pastries
Putty's Pizza
Quattro at the Four Seasons
Ragin Cajun
Red's Barber & Style Shop
Ribbon Company Print Shop
Roman Delight Pizza
Rustik Coffee
Sami's Convenience
Schlotzsky's Deli
Service, Inc Visual Communication
Shell Employees Federal Credit Union
Silver Creations
Silver Rain
Simon's Barber & Beauty Salon
Simon's Homestyle CafÈ
Simon's Marketplace
Sir Speedy Printings
Skyline Deli
Smoothie King
Soup & Salad
Soup & Salad
Southwestern Bank of Texas
Starbucks 711 Louisiana
Starbucks Coffee
StarTrust ATM
Stephanie Leigh's
Stephanie Leigh's
Stephanie Leigh's
Subway
Sweet Retreat
T-1 Mobile
Taco Cabana
Teppanyaki
Teppanyaki
Texas State Optical
The Art Limited
The Picture Store
The Woman's Place Downtown
Total Hair Care
Tower Dental
Treebeards
Treebeards
Treebeards in the Tunnel
Tuscany Premium Coffees
Viet Baguettes
Wall Street Deli
Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual Bank
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wendy's
Whitney National Bank
Woman's Health Care
Zuby's Deli

[Subdude]

List is a duplicate post. See Downtown topic area.

[UrbaNerd]

Wow, the tunnel list is quite large....

[largeTEXAS]

I'd like to see a smaller scale hotel development with retail on the first and second floors. Maybe 5-8 floors. Eventually, the bars will fade from this part of Main. It wil be prime for soft good retailers and tourists. Main should eventually be a good mix of retail and restaurants - It's our best hope for a real strip like 5th Avenue or Michigan Ave.

[dbigtex56]

This looks like a short-term solution block. Let's take the Houston approach and put a couple of fast-food restaurants on this block, or cheap entertainment. I hope the owners would accept a five year lease. It will be properly developed in the future. Let's put anything there in the meantime.

[Subdude]

I wonder if blocks like this ever will be developed. Is it really inevitable? A lot of these blocks, and several large buildings downtown, have been vacant for decades. It is a great thing to see the redevelopment that has occurred, but in many areas there are still 40 years of neglect to overcome. The biggest example is the vacant blocks in the southern part of downtown. I wouldn't be shocked if they remain vacant another 30 years. Of course I hope I'm wrong.

LargeTexas I agree the bars will eventually fade. Nightclub strips generally don't stay fashionable for long. I wonder if there's any way to speed the process up so more balanced development can occur.

[Sunstar]

Does anyone still have a copy of those overheads that they can post?

[pwright1]

UrbaNerd, on Tuesday, September 7th, 2004 @ 7:34pm, said:

Wow, the tunnel list is quite large....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What a shame. It makes no sense.

[UrbaNerd]

pwright1, on Saturday, December 25th, 2004 @ 12:47pm, said:

What a shame.  It makes no sense.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OOps, I though that list was for the tunnel,a nd not Main st!

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

Gee... how much life would we be seeing downtown?