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Here are some of the photographs from the Presidential Suite at Mariott Marquis! sorry if these are so large! I finally figured out that i can load photos easily when logged onto my phone instead of a computer...

^^^ opening night at MINUTE MAID PARK = entertainment to the max. MEDIA DAY turns into a resounding success!

According to the property manager, the restaurants open on Thursday! When I walked by there were a bunch of people in both finishing up and all of the tables and furniture were in place. The wiring around Potente is in place for vines to grow around. http://www.papercitymag.com/culture/astros-owner-jim-crane-restaurants-houston-potente-osso-kristlla-chef-dream-team/

http:// could only find one photo that i took from when my best friend headlined Super Bowl Live this past Saturday 01/28/17 (view from backstage)! #blueoctober (i have tons of snapchat videos saved to my phone with even better crowd photos but cannot figure out how to upload them) what an amazing night!!!

^^^ holy mother of GOD and all of the GLORY that goes with it! trust me HAIF, for I am most certain that my heart stopped for a few moments when i referenced this post... LORD JESUS! i have had the privilege of frequenting/lodging at some gorgeous W properties throughout the world, and this particular depiction/rendering/concept is astonishing... and quite futuristic in its overall scale. heck, it resembles something right out of george jetson... right? how on earth shall i be able to sleep tonight? WOW!

^^^ such a LOVELY scene at the GRB.... wow!

Westin Memorial City by Marc longoria, on Flickr

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so yeah i am a photographer but also manage a travel office...so last week one of my best friends called me and said hey book me a hotel somewhere for my wedding night sunday the 29th (last night) since they could not go on a honeymoon until May...this is the first hotel i thought of, of course... so i contacted the Marriott Marquis and booked him the corner king/large discovery green view room at 299.00 for the night. saturday i was with my friends in Blue October and after they had their Fox Sports interview before their show, i took a few of them to the hotel to see the lobby and pool etc and stopped by the front desk to say: "Hey our longtime friend Ryan is staying here tomorrow (sunday) for his Honeymoon please take good care of him"...the front desk crew loved getting to meet some of the Blue Oct guys...so much so that they said hang on a second... and then said: Thank you for stopping by and showing everyone our property! We would like to upgrade your friend Ryan to the 2130 sq ft Presidential Suite!" (!!!!!!!!!!!) So yeah, last night I surprised Ryan and Amber with my "gift" of the upgrade and they were blown away! They even called last night thanking me again so excited and happy...they also uploaded tons of snapchats of the unbelievable layout...and incredible views etc... so yep, I love this hotel

Too good to be true.

Don't worry. We it will soon be value engineered into a succo Hampton inn.

Someone asked if that was the whole medical center. I had to tell them that is just a future expansion. It would be cool if they had it in with the entire medical center - if you're not from here or don't go there much it's hard to grasp how big it is.

Nice to see it peeking over the skyline. From reddit, courtesy of /u/TronicsDota:

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A space needle that somehow incorporates both space vehicle design (modular looking, possibly solar panels) and oil (maybe have visible trusses on the tower part - something subtle but not overwhelming) I would also say it would need to be tallest observation tower in the US, because everything is bigger in Texas. Probably would be three levels - observation level, restaurant level, and then private club level. The ground floor could be a Houston history museum, or be restaurants. A market might work, or just a nice park, but I think it would need a little bit more since Discovery green will be right there. Maybe they could get some money from the Astros - they could sell super nose bleed seats on it

^^^ @gene beautiful and elegant. props for sharing....

The Union, via Facebook:

Please mention this to her

I agree we need a landmark structure, just not a space needle or anything that resembles the CN Tower in Toronto. Something original.

I've been saying this for the longest. The two grassy blocks just south of Minute Maid need to be a Space Needle-type observation tower and attraction. Not only would it stretch the skyline and provide a focal point for that side of town, but it would create a nonstop stream of tourism income that would sustain the restaurants, attract retail and residential, and possibly spur that 102-story pipe dream office/hotel/condo tower on the block north of the Marriott Marquis. What can we do to make this happen? I have a personal relationship with a city councilmember. Do you think having her support would matter at all?

Could this Be the Ritz and Residences?

I've seen this being cleared when you take the flyover from 59 to 10 - wow this is pretty big for this area even if it's just condos. I like this little area!

IMG_1606.MOV there is a movie but not sure if it will work and wish it showed more but hey, there ya go! haha Marriott Marquis Presidential Suite

I was at opening night last night and it was super fun!!! we even got to get down to the front row as it wasn't as sold out as they said...in fact i would say i was surprised at how many open seats there were...BUT it was a blast and seeing all the players walk around for interviews was cool as was the X Ambassadors concert (each of the 2 sets...and wow that voice!) but it was the fireworks display that blew my mind...as the last couple of songs were being played by X Ambassadors they opened the roof, and just as the last song ended a fireworks display began...that never seemed to end haha!!! it was AWESOME!!! such a beautiful night!

thank you!!! and nope, they ended up not blocking the whole hotel! in fact i can book something for every night until this friday as that is when it is completely sold out!

Yep - there is also a Verizon pop-up store located there....free charging stations, 2nd floor "viewing" deck and lots of sales people

If this design is fulfilled it will be an oasis in a stucco Sahara.

^^^ @gene what an absolutely PERFECT / AMAZING / WONDERFUL gift to be able to present to a friend at the time of his wedding... WOW! however, i was completely under the impression that this brand new hotel was bought out in advance during SB week by the NFL? i cannot understand just where all of the misinformation just keeps surfacing from regarding the opening / bookings of this venue? it has been stated many many times throughout the past few months that this specific hotel was due to be booked solid as per the NFL and their key executives/former players/notables. this property was supposed to become GROUND ZERO this particular week. there simply was supposed to be no outside bookings from regular patrons until after the SB event was over for this property. it concerns me that MORE people may have been able to book rooms throughout this venue (during the SUPERBOWL) if it was not for all of the misinformation being distributed via the local misguided media and other HOUSTON FIRST officials/management regarding bookings. nonetheless, i am truly happy at what you were able to accomplish in order to assist a dear friend at such a memorable and special time in his life. well done my pal.....

I count 40-ish floors....extrap to the very peak.

We walked through the hotel last night. It is definitely on another level. Maybe I just forgot that someone had said it already but there were quite a few stores in the lobby area, with Xochi and Biggio's being well connected to the lobby hall way, and the Walker Street Kitchen which I guess I forgot about. It actually felt more like a luxury shopping center walking around in the lobby. We had some coffee there last night at a cafe in the lobby that we didn't even see on Google Maps.

I can't wait to see the scaled back, accountant version of this project!

I just saw some great aerial shots of Discovery Green/ GRB on Sports Sunday. The view of the park and plaza looked amazing, With the addition of the Marriot and the renovation of G.R. Brown, and the addition of the Houston First building, Discovery Green has been energized as a civic space. After this weeks introduction to most of Houston, and all out of towners, especially those who haven't been here since the last Super Bowl, it's going to blow them away. This is a great example of a well planned civic project, that's not only achieved all of it's goals but has made all of it's urban development promises come true. Which, is remarkable, considering it's been accomplished in such a relatively short time. I agree, the park is overused, it needs a much overdue vacation, the grass is quite often a shade brown rather than Dis. green, due in part to its success , and partly from the conclusions made by the park planners who were charged with the challenge of creating an urban green space that would not only bring peace and tranquility to a rather barren stretch of parking lots, but also act as a gathering place for visitors to GRBrown, a place for rest, introspection, exercise, play, interaction, entertainment and education. A civic space for all and a magnet for development. Avenidas De Las Americas, a joyous open air central plaza reminiscent of those in Rome , Sienna and Mexico City, with its large civic plaza surrounded by a sleek soaring skyline illuminated by breathtaking sunsets. Its exuberating , I guess thats the sign of a well planned and used public park. We should all thank Bill White for making this one of his goals when he was mayor, of Houston.This is the new epicenter of downtown. This is a tipping point.

The Mariner House, directly across from Lake Midtown, coincidence or prescience?

Model on display at Super Bowl LIve:

I count 29. The Union

I'd love to see a SkySpire (by US Thrill Rides) get located somewhere appropriately downtown... http://www.usthrillrides.com/products/skyspire/ ...Maybe where the Nau Center was supposed to go, and just include Tourism exhibit areas at the base? (New Orleans may apparently get one on the waterfront: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=216127 )

Instead of backtracking a few pages, is this still the same design of the curved tower we saw previously? Or will the garage fit into any design they end up with?

Listed on the demo report today. http://swamplot.com/daily-demolition-report-hadley-special/2017-01-31/#comments Any other information on this one?

key word is for now

So the other side is just bricks of gray vinyl?

One thing I can tell is that this is a hotel with condos on top. Finally. Every other city worth a penny in this nation has gotten dozens of these and the only one we have is the Westin being eaten by a robot.

Kinda has a Citigroup Center look with the slope and the appearance of the grey part. Taking this (like every other proposal) not with grains, but pales of salt.

WHOA!!!!! That is freakin' beautiful!!! Oh please oh please oh PLEASE happen....

Both sides of the sidewalk on Texas are closed now. Hopefully they open back up in time for baseball season - that route is quite popular to walk to the stadium from the redline

Park District, via Facebook:

Bleu Ciel's cantilevered pools:

Do yall remember when we had no idea when the superblock would be developed??? Now look at us lol

Park District: IMG_8094_5_6hdr by Robert Baxter IMG_8073 by Robert Baxter The Case, on left: DALLAS Skyline 2 by BeSt Photography

Here's a better look at GRB for SB38 Speaking of ESPN, found this article from last year on the best Super Bowl event ever (from SB38). http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/14621857/inside-best-super-bowl-event-ever-houston-playboy-party