ssullivan

Moderator edit: Duplicate threads merged into this one.

The hotel is still there, and still in business. It's changed names over the years numerous times. I forget the current name, but it's still there at the corner of Kirby and the South Loop.

Having spent several days in Toronto almost a month ago, I can agree with most of the comments here. The city is incredibly clean. You won't find any trash on the streets anywhere. We saw maybe 5 homeless people begging on the streets in three days. There were no odd smells on the sidewalks or in the subways, although we did go in one subway station that had a problem with mice. I wouldn't call the city devoid of character. There are some interesting areas that have a lot of character, like the Kensington St. Market, Chinatown (although not very different from any other Chinatown), Church St., and Greektown. Downtown is rather dull, with the exception of the CN Tower, and after 5:00 PM there is nothing open there. I did enjoy walking through Eaton Centre, but it's basically their version of the Galleria. There's also nice, upscale shopping along Bloor St.; it feels very much like New York's 5th Avenue, only much cleaner. As for the city's pedestrian-friendliness, I walked all over it for three days. I found it very walkable. Public transit is pretty good, although the subway coverage isn't as extensive as other cities. However, the streetcar system can get you around to a lot of places, and there are buses to compliment it and the subway. I really enjoyed Toronto and would definitely go back. But on the same trip I also spent a weekend in Montr

Yes but also considering that the vast majority of all those flights to Mexico are on 37 and 50 seat aircraft, the small size of the regional jets flying many of those routes limits the number of passengers carried each day. January is also just about the slowest travel month of the year, so those are numbers for a relatively slow month.

I think that's hard to say, considering he left Houston as a very young adult and never really came back, except for one trip in the 1940s. After his father died, and he dropped out of Rice, he went to California and really cut off all ties to the family back here in Houston. When he did live here it was a child and teenager, and that was before he was anybody famous.

Dang, why is it a straight guy gets all the attention and I go in there and might as well be invisible?

You're welcome. I feel your pain, HeightsGuy, as I travel about 9 out of every 10 weeks for work myself. This past Monday I arrived from Newark at E-20, had a checked bag, and another flight to Denver leaving a few hours later from E-1. However my Denver flight was on a separate ticket (I was coming home from vacation in Montr

HeightsGuy, just in case you were not aware of this -- if you don't have any checked luggage to pick up at the domestic baggage claim in C, you can catch any of the parking shuttle buses from Terminal E. To get there, take the sky bridge toward Terminal D and the TerminaLink station in the middle of E (right across from the Continental Presidents Club). Turn left just past the security checkpoint and you'll exit the secured area into the E departures lobby. There are elevators and escalators to go down to the international arrivals area just ahead. Go down one level and then right out the doors into the pickup area where the rental car and parking shuttle buses stop. It's very fast, and I do it all the time. I've never had a long wait there for a parking shuttle, and on the plus side, the shuttles tend to be less crowded than those picking up at C. Of course if you have a checked bag to pick up at the C baggage claim, you're stuck making that long walk, or taking the TerminaLink train which can cut a few minutes off the walking if you arrive in the far east side of E.

You must never have been to the Starbucks at the corner of Montrose and Hawthorne, dream. Anyway, I saw the other day that the Midtown Starbucks was open for business. I'll have to check it out when I get some time back in Houston. (And I'll be going for the coffee...)

Uh, Continental financed and built Terminal E at IAH and the renovations to Terminal C that are nearing completion. I can tell from your posts you have not stepped inside much of the IAH terminal facilities in some time. Again, you flew out of the least busy terminal at IAH. Buy a ticket and go inside Terminals B, C, D, and E around 3:00 PM in the afternoon when all of the international flights are just arriving, and the Continental hub is in full connection mode. Your opinion about IAH not being busy will be shattered. Continental operates over 750 flights a day out of IAH. IAH is the leading US airport for flights to Mexico and Central America, and is served by nine foreign flag carriers. Outside of the Americas, we have flights to Tokyo, Paris (three most days), London (five most days), Amsterdam (three), Taipei, and Karachi. Yes, ATL has more flights, but Delta is a bigger airline than Continental. ATL is also a hub for AirTran, and it's the only major airport serving the Atlanta area. Compare that to Houston, where we have two large airports, both with hub operations. So, before you get anymore upset over the condition of Houston's airport, keep in mind that you saw one terminal at one of our airports, and you were in the least busy terminal we have. You missed the newest and nicest parts of IAH. You can easily get to Terminal E if you have a ticket for a flight that leaves out of Terminals B, C, D, or E. You can walk between Terminals C, D, and E without ever leaving the secured area, and Terminals B, C, D, and E are all connected behind security by the TerminaLink people mover. You can technically get to E from the north concourse of A as well, by using the bus transfer service that is operated there to allow passengers on Delta and Colgan/Continental Connection to connect to Continental and Continental Express.

You were in Terminal A at IAH. It was renovated, and new concourses were built, starting in about 1997 and being completed around 2002. It is nicer than it used to be, but is still rather basic, with only minimal food options, especially in the North Concourse, which is the one you flew out of if you were flying Delta. IAH Terminals B, C, and E have more variety in food choices than Terminal A. IAH Terminal E puts ATL to shame in this area. Also, those conveyors are simply called "moving sidewalks." We have them at IAH as well, just not in the terminal you flew out of. There are several installations of them in Terminals C, D, and E. OK, again, you were flying out of Terminal A at IAH, which is the least busy. Go to Terminals B, C, and E and you'll see the massive numbers of people like you saw at ATL. Also, the underground train at IAH was not designed to connect passengers between flights at a major hub airport like ATL's was. That IAH train dates from the 1960s; ATL's is from the 1980s. However, if you take the TerminaLink train, the above-ground people mover that connects IAH Terminals B, C, D, and E, you'll see a very fast, modern system for moving larger numbers of passengers between terminals. It was opened in two stages, in 1999 and 2005. Hobby used to be a lot worse, but it is slowly getting better. The new Southwest concourse at Hobby is very nice, but unfortunately several other airlines are still operating out of one of the old concourses. As for IAH, you need to check out Terminals C and E. E is still very new; it was opened in stages between June 2003 and January 2005. It is a great facility, and is what arriving international passengers on Continental first see. Terminal C has been undergoing an extensive renovation since early 2004 that is nearing completion, and is now looking very nice in the gate areas. IAH Terminals C and E are far nicer than anything at ATL. The terminals at ATL have not seen a major renovation since they were built in the early 1980s, and are really starting to look worn in many areas.

I was wondering the same thing!

They have a store in Terminal E at IAH as well. It's been there for a couple of years.

I went on Saturday and loved it. I wasn't grossed out (OK, maybe the display of the entire digestive tract, from tongue to anus, all stretched out was a bit much for me) and thought it was absolutely fascinating to see what we all look like on the inside. The exhibit isn't for everyone, but if you have any curiosity at all about human anatomy, you can't beat it.

This one was not at IAH - it was what is now Hobby. In 1966 (the date in the photo) IAH was still several years away from opening, and Hobby was called Houston International Airport.

This has been in the works for a couple of years now. I know that in late 2004 and early 2005 they had some renderings in the main lobby area on the ground floor of what the interior will look like when completed. It looked really nice, although one thing I didn't like was the replacement of the current escalators with stairs. I'm not sure if that's still the plan or not though. While I like the library building, the interior really needs refurbishment. The carpets are worn all the way through to the concrete below in places, and the furniture is in desperate need of replacement. But this is not just a cosmetic renovation. Structural changes to the building's floorplan are going to greatly increase the amount of public space in the facility. I believe they are also installing a wi-fi network throughout the building, and reworking all of the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems as well. The plaza in front of the library is also going to be rebuilt.

I'm going to Toronto and Montreal at the end of March. I'll post my opinions and maybe some pictures of both after I return. I must say, though, I'm really looking forward to Montreal more. It just seems to have a much more unique character from what I've read so far.

No palms downtown. They don't fit with what's already there, and they provide no shade and cover from the elements. If you want downtown to be pedestrian friendly, you need trees that offer some protection from our killer summer sun. As for the street closings, as others said, that was never in the equation for this project. The Denver Pavillions project doesn't have any street closings either. It works very well, with crosswalks at street level for pedestrians, and elevated walkways over the streets connecting the upper-level retail and restaurant spaces. I really can't wait for this project to happen. I always try to hit downtown Denver at least one night when I'm there for work, and the Pavillions development there really is a nice addition to their downtown. I hope ours turns out as nice, and to be as successful.

I got an e-mail from Continental this week discussing the projects at Terminal A. There is something going on for the next few weeks on the north side of Terminal A, near United and US Airways's current gates, and the Colgan/Continental Connection parking area. The Continental Connection flights will be moving temporarilly to gate A7 (instead of mostly using gate A14) and last night when I arrived home from TYR I noticed that United was using gate A8, which had been a Continental Connection gate. The e-mail didn't specify what was going on, but that it was a temporary change to accomodate a construction project. It does make sense that Delta would move to the A North Concourse, because right now the Delta/Continental shuttle buses have to stop at both concourses of Terminal A. Moving Delta to the North Concourse consolidates the shuttle bus service into one area for both passengers connecting between Delta and Continental and Continental and Colgan/Continental Connection. Hopefully this will breath a little more life into the usually dead North Concourse as well. To me it would make sense for Air Canada to move along with United to the A South Concourse. That would put all of the Star Alliance carriers serving A (United, US Airways, Air Canada) in one group of gates.

Post had to replace much of the stucco on the low-rise buildings a couple of years ago, when the buildings were only two or three years old.

Wow, UHD has a mascot? I had no idea.

Huh? The city started a major renovation of that facility around 1997. During this time the southwest pod (or "banjo") was demolished and construction started on a new, modern south concourse. This concourse opened in 1999, and shortly after the old southeast pod was demolished. Construction then moved to the north side of the facility, and the new north concourse opened there around 2001/2002. The entire ticket counter area and baggage claim areas have also been fully renovated and modernized. It's not as nice as Terminal E, but it's not bad at all. There's very little of the original design still evident in the facility. Now Terminal B, on the other hand, is largely in its original configuration, with modifications made to accomodate the above-ground TerminaLink people mover (opened in 1999), a single security screening point, and additional gates. The original gate pods have about twice the number of gates as they used to, because Continental Express's ERJs don't require as much space as the larger jets the terminal was designed for. This does present a problem, though, as the gate areas tend to get very crowded and the restrooms are totally inadequate for the number of passengers the terminal is now handling. Unfortunately I have to deal with Terminal B about five or six times a month. Terminal C's renovation is nearing completion in the gate areas. Only two areas are under construction -- the south concourse gates along the walkway between C and E, and the gates in the same area between C and D in the north concourse. This renovation has added new restrooms, expanded seating areas (they've actually slightly expanded the building's footprint in a few areas) and a more modern appearance that compliments the style of Terminal E. This is a project being coordinated by Continental, not the City of Houston. Now if only Continental could get the right to manage the concession contracts for Terminals B and C also, because they obviously do a much better job with that than the City does.

Mmm... Pret would be great! I was shocked last week to see one in NYC -- I had no idea they had any locations in the US. From their website it looks like the only US locations so far are in NYC. But it's definitely a concept I could see working in downtown Houston. The food is super fresh and delicious, and it makes a very good affordable take-out lunch.

The first renovation stages did address this, and you can enter Jos. A. Bank Clothiers and the Twisted Fork restaurant directly from the sidewalk on San Jacinto St. as well as from inside the mall. A lot of the issue with this problem is the building's basic design that has the vast majority of the retail space elevated above ground level, with all the utilities and physcial plant facilities underneath at street level. That presents a big challenge to opening up more street-level retail. But they have done what they could given these restraints. I believe there is some unleased ground-level retail space on the back side of the building along Austin St. as well.

I had a GREAT college experience at Austin College. I'd never want to go back and repeat junior high or high school but my four years at AC -- I could go back and do that again. Of course it wouldn't be the same now that I'm older, but it was a blast back then. And I still feel a very strong connection to the school 10 years later. One of the things I liked was that it was a small school, so as a result it was possible to have a much higher degree of involvement in different areas of campus life than you'd have at a large university. Yet at the same time we had a lot of our own traditions and a top-notch academic program. It is interesting how different schools have such different atmospheres. I work on a different campus every week for my job and see everything from highly-ranked graduate schools to tiny two-year junior colleges in very small towns. Some of the clients I work with really make me appreciate my college experience even more -- I visit a few campuses that are deader than a cemetery.