609 Main At Texas

[Sunstar]

19 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

As much as I like 609 I think you're understating our skyline & giving it too much credit.

I love our skyline, and I think we have great examples of Architecture from previous decades. That being said, 609 is a definite shift in style and more representative of 21st century architecture. I would hold future designs up to this one, as opposed to the BoA building, for example, which is a great building that embodies an older sensibility. 

[Montrose1100]

6 hours ago, Sunstar said:

I love our skyline, and I think we have great examples of Architecture from previous decades. That being said, 609 is a definite shift in style and more representative of 21st century architecture. I would hold future designs up to this one, as opposed to the BoA building, for example, which is a great building that embodies an older sensibility. 

IMO that's setting the bar on average, no higher. 609, BG, Hess, and Hilcorp are no more a 1000 Main or Calpine Center of this decade.

 

Its a glass prism without much vehement.

 

Pink Granite wouldn't go far in today's standards, but 609 won't be making it in any architecture books like BoA, for example. 

[Nole23]

"New York-based McKinsey & Co., a global consulting firm, is relocating its Houston office to 609 Main, a company spokesperson confirmed to the Houston Business Journal.

 

McKinsey will move into 36,000 square feet of space in 609 Main, per Colvill Office Properties’ Michael Anderson. Anderson, alongside Damon Thames, represents the building’s developer, Hines. McKinsey will relocate from 5 Houston Center, where it currently occupies 35,000 square feet, according to a McKinsey spokesperson and PMRG research."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/03/15/exclusive-big-three-consulting-firm-to-relocate-to.html?ana=fbk

 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Nole23

[hindesky]

Hopefully the whole wing becomes wired for LED lights at some point, this makes it look like it's halfway done.

[Gary]

Agreed... Very underdone for such a high profile building.

 

[H-Town Man]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 10:04 PM, Montrose1100 said:

IMO that's setting the bar on average, no higher. 609, BG, Hess, and Hilcorp are no more a 1000 Main or Calpine Center of this decade.

 

Its a glass prism without much vehement.

 

Pink Granite wouldn't go far in today's standards, but 609 won't be making it in any architecture books like BoA, for example. 

 

A bit harsh! It's better than 1000 Main or Calpine Center, which are squattier, more budget-minded towers with a lower degree of finish and detail. I would compare it more with some of the early Houston Center towers, 1100 Louisiana, or Tenneco. Tenneco might be the best comparison since it was also designed by a respected national firm in the business of making crisp, understated towers that stand the test of time.

 

[Urbannizer]

 

[mollusk]

Looking at the second photo, the "incomplete" LED feature starts to make some sense.  It's too bad that the building's faceting doesn't show up enough at night to give the light feature some context.

Edited March 29, 2017 by mollusk

[kdog08]

On 3/16/2017 at 7:43 AM, Nole23 said:

"New York-based McKinsey & Co., a global consulting firm, is relocating its Houston office to 609 Main, a company spokesperson confirmed to the Houston Business Journal.

 

McKinsey will move into 36,000 square feet of space in 609 Main, per Colvill Office Properties’ Michael Anderson. Anderson, alongside Damon Thames, represents the building’s developer, Hines. McKinsey will relocate from 5 Houston Center, where it currently occupies 35,000 square feet, according to a McKinsey spokesperson and PMRG research."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/03/15/exclusive-big-three-consulting-firm-to-relocate-to.html?ana=fbk

 

 

Any clue what % of the building is leased up? 

[Montrose1100]

609 is not deserving of a total worship. However, it still maintains a spectacular presence on the ever evolving downtown scene.

 

The more I visit downtown the more I desire to move there. Applause to the COH, and continuous vision to transform our CBD into a neighborhood.

[kbates2]

Downtown life has been trending up for the last few years.  

[bobruss]

After living and spending all of my time working and playing downtown on the east side across from where Minute Maid was to be built. We moved out in 2004 to the Menil neighborhood.

I can definitely say that a miracle has happened on the east side in the last 20 years. When we first moved into the Wagon Works building in 1996, they hadn't even broken ground on the stadium and there was literally nothing between our loft and the Southwestern building except a few vacant two story buildings some county offices and acres and acres of parking district. When I went out on long walks everyday with my border collie we would explore this side of downtown, walk over to see progress on the rail line, check out the construction of the Cotswold project and detour around the reconstruction of every north and south street in downtown. It was quite a mess, but it opened up a whole new frontier.

The few people I saw out were either people parking to get to a courthouse summoned for jury duty or street people who lived under the Elysian viaduct. 

When I walk around the area now I am truly astounded at what has become of my old stomping grounds and it really is miraculous that this much has been accomplished in these last 20 years. I've been here in Houston since 1954 and always wanted for it to become a real city with people living downtown and look whats happening. I am so glad that I'm here to see it come to fruition.

[downtownian]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

After living and spending all of my time working and playing downtown on the east side across from where Minute Maid was to be built. We moved out in 2004 to the Menil neighborhood.

I can definitely say that a miracle has happened on the east side in the last 20 years. When we first moved into the Wagon Works building in 1996, they hadn't even broken ground on the stadium and there was literally nothing between our loft and the Southwestern building except a few vacant two story buildings some county offices and acres and acres of parking district. When I went out on long walks everyday with my border collie we would explore this side of downtown, walk over to see progress on the rail line, check out the construction of the Cotswold project and detour around the reconstruction of every north and south street in downtown. It was quite a mess, but it opened up a whole new frontier.

The few people I saw out were either people parking to get to a courthouse summoned for jury duty or street people who lived under the Elysian viaduct. 

When I walk around the area now I am truly astounded at what has become of my old stomping grounds and it really is miraculous that this much has been accomplished in these last 20 years. I've been here in Houston since 1954 and always wanted for it to become a real city with people living downtown and look whats happening. I am so glad that I'm here to see it come to fruition.

 

I'll share my downtown story as well. Moved downtown 4 and a half years ago and nothing but the old standards existed: Warren's, La Carafe, Flying Saucer, Hearsay, etc. They are all great establishments with a lot of history and character but the scene was sleepy and revolved around the local regulars.

 

Fast forward to today: a complete explosion of literally everything downtown. I can't keep track of the number of bar and restaurant openings, the new hotels and office buildings are beautiful, friends are moving downtown into the Skyhouses. Downtown along Main Street on a Friday or Saturday night is like a mini-6th street. I can drink quality coffee from Honeymoon or Local Foods. Innovative projects like the underground food hall Conservatory choose downtown as home. The projects and growth aren't even wrapped up yet. 

 

Downtown has just completely blown away all of my expectations when I first moved here. I am very grateful for the Downtown Living Initiative, the OKRA Charity bar which was one of the first in the new wave of downtown bars and the Superbowl...

[rechlin]

I think Hearsay was also in the new wave of downtown bars, opening about 5 years ago.  So there really even less prior to when you moved downtown, downtownian.

 

609 Main sits on a block that had a long-vacant obsolete small-footprint office tower (even the Chinese restaurant in it shut down a decade or two ago), and was otherwise a giant parking lot, though there was a weird suburban McDonald's on that block that was also torn down some years back.

 

A block away, 811 Main was on arguably the worst (at the time) block in all of downtown, with a dumpy hotel rife with drugs and prostitution and otherwise a bunch of largely decrepit vacant buildings.

 

Now this several block area is one of the most gleaming parts of downtown.   Add the JW Marriott, which revived another decaying largely-vacant building, the Star apartments which are partially open now (though I think their parking garage should win an award for the slowest parking garage ever constructed -- I think they are building it at a rate of one floor every 6 months), two new light rail lines, and more, it's totally transformed the area.

 

I worked downtown briefly in 2004-2005 and again since 2012, and the change has been astonishing.  Even over the last 5 years I've seen so much of an improvement in street-level pedestrian presence in the area of 609 Main.  Going to lunch today I was once again amazed at how many people there were outside -- this is not the downtown I know, and I love it.

[bobruss]

Get the moles out of the tunnels. They'd be amazed at whats going on above ground!

[Twinsanity02]

I remember catching the bus to the Med center at the old and abandoned Rice hotel. The place a  strong urine smell. Would get stuck in the nasal epithelia for some time. Everything north of the Rice was a wasteland. My wife and I used to bemoan that places like Montreal had such lively downtowns but our city which was much larger did not. Things are definitely moving in the right direction.

[KinkaidAlum]

I used to work at 806 Main. Main Street was active but not what the Chamber of Commerce would use to advertise the city. Buses would line up all along Main smoking up the air as they idled. Crazy folks every where. Open drug deals at the convenience store. And yes, the old Rice Hotel was simply an outdoor urinal. 

 

That said, there was a fairly busy Foley's, a Woolworths, a Payless and a few other retail places. 

[UtterlyUrban]

10 hours ago, KinkaidAlum said:

I used to work at 806 Main. Main Street was active but not what the Chamber of Commerce would use to advertise the city. Buses would line up all along Main smoking up the air as they idled. Crazy folks every where. Open drug deals at the convenience store. And yes, the old Rice Hotel was simply an outdoor urinal. 

 

That said, there was a fairly busy Foley's, a Woolworths, a Payless and a few other retail places. 

Now, fast forward:

 

the crazy people are still there in droves, as are the drug deals.  The urinal has moved to new locations around downtown, and the buses queue up elsewhere.

[bobruss]

2 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

Now, fast forward:

 

the crazy people are still there in droves, as are the drug deals.  The urinal has moved to new locations around downtown, and the buses queue up elsewhere.

Go to New York, even Austin has its street people. It happens to be an issue that everyone has to deal with in some way but once more people are living down town and more people are out on the streets those folks will move more to the edges. Its a tragedy that we have forced so many marginal people onto the streets either by being released from state run institutions or the drug and alcohol epidemic but in this day and age you will find this situation everywhere.

[nativehoustonion]

Went to Alexlrad Bar near Midtown underneath the overpasses lots of tents. Many homeless people there.  People laying in the streets. I saw at least 40 tents. It's was very sad.

[nativehoustonion]

Went to the Art Car Festival totally fun!  609 Main look just incredible what a nice addition to the skyline.  I wish they did build Chevron Tower. 

[BeerNut]

3 hours ago, nativehoustonion said:

Went to Alexlrad Bar near Midtown underneath the overpasses lots of tents. Many homeless people there.  People laying in the streets. I saw at least 40 tents. It's was very sad.

Are you talking about the area under the Spur?

[nativehoustonion]

All the homeless people are east of the Wheeler Red Metro station , and Axelrad is off Alameda. 

[bobruss]

Tent city runs under 59 east of Caroline and Fiesta until almeda.

There is a small contingent under the spur at Alabama, but the main guy there is the neatest street person I've ever seen. He actually has mattresses, sweeps around his bed has a bike rack and is a cool guy. He must have been a marine the way e makes his bed.

I don't condone the tent city but this particular guy impresses he hell out of me.

There is also another test city under 59 at the convention center.

TexDot owns the right of way and the city has had no control until the new ordinance takes affect.

Its a no encampment ordinance, which the city has never had before. It went before city council last week but I didn't hear the outcome.

They said after 30 days they would start removing tents.

[Triton]

Lightrail by Marc longoria, on Flickr

[urbanize713]

 

 

 

 

views from near the top

 

 

[Urbannizer]

 

[Triton]

Houston by Marc longoria, on Flickr

[enriquewx91]

Maybe I am seeing things but I drove by downtown today around 2130 and saw that the bottom half of the crown was lit with white LEDs 

[brijonmang]

3 hours ago, enriquewx91 said:

Maybe I am seeing things but I drove by downtown today around 2130 and saw that the bottom half of the crown was lit with white LEDs 

 

I'm planning on being downtown tonight to shoot so I'll get a picture of it if it's lit up.