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Native Montrosian

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  1. Native Montrosian
    Oooh, yeah, the Axiom! My husband played there with Necrotic Void! Numbers, hanging out at KPFT during Musical Curfew with Jay Lee, meeting Oingo Boingo in the parking lot at the Tower before Elfman became Danny Hollywood, the Island, dancing on the roof above the marquee at the River Oaks Theater staff party, going to Marfreless and not seeing a baby stroller....
  2. Native Montrosian
    Since I did a double post by accident, let me preceed with a category that deserves its own space - Johnny Goudie & Panjandrum. I have a picture of me at a party with him hugging me and he's in a pair of very low-pulled boxers....(slaps self)
  3. Native Montrosian
    The two Weingarten's from my childhood were the Bellaire location on Bissonnet (now a Randall's) and the Dunlavy/West Alabama one (now a Fiesta). We always bought Christmas trees at the Dunlavy one and I remember the wire-covered table warmed by light bulbs that housed dyed Easter chicks. My mom also got our cards for "Let's Go To The Races" there and Big Bonus stamps. My father (commercial interior designer) also had the pleasure of working with Joe Weingarten and said he was a true gentleman; very civic-minded and cognizant of what the people of Houston thought.
  4. Native Montrosian
    If anyone goes to Yard House, ask for Fred. Took some clients there and thought "Oh great, a college kid" when we got him. Mea Culpa. Very attentive, delivered everything perfectly and warned me about my order to fit my vegetarian tastes.
  5. Native Montrosian
  6. Native Montrosian
    He died at home last night. Dan L. Duncan (January 2, 1933 – March 29, 2010.) He was the co-founder, chairman and majority shareholder of Enterprise Products. He lived in River Oaks at 2980 Lazy Lane.
  7. Native Montrosian
    Oh, no - that first house has got to be 2615 Riverside. One of my sister's two best friends at Lamar in the 60's lived there. I remember the huge entrance hall. How sad.
  8. Native Montrosian
    A lot of us could utter a general "Told ya so!" at this point, but there would be no satisfaction in it. I had fervently hoped that Weingarten Realty would surprise everyone. I have no idea what I must have been smoking when I thought that.
  9. Native Montrosian
    According to my friend who is one of the Meridian's managers, Ecclesia had looked at renting some of the unused ground level space, but did not do so. The Meridian is not for sale; in fact, they now have the Sports Bar going 7 days a week and have plans to do a Celtic Jam night there, probably on Tuesdays.
  10. Native Montrosian
    My sister has original Beatles & Rolling Stones programs/ticket stubs from the 60's concerts here and I think one for Chad & Jeremy, but she can't get jack for them on eBay.
  11. Native Montrosian
    I was working for American General at the time and they let us park in the garages and watch from the roof. It was simulcast on some radio station that I think was on loudspeakers on the roof (KRBE?) and immediately afterwards they played "We Built This City". Took my carload about 30 minutes to get out and we went to Photon on Chimney Rock afterwards and played laser tag until 1 AM. This was after we had spent the day at Astroworld. Would that I had half the energy I did in my 20's. Oh, and for anyone who noted the earlier mention of the Reverend Huey, he can now be found at www.hellpopehuey.com at the Temple of the Misfired Neuron.
  12. Native Montrosian
    And remember, a detached structure usually only carries 10% of the dwelling value on insurance for replacement - increase that limit. Also on flood insurance, any detached structure will need to be covered by a separate flood policy.* * Companies with deluxe offerings such as Chubb, AIG Private Client Group and Fireman's Fund usually offer more inclusive coverage, including Flood options - read thy policy!
  13. Native Montrosian
    Listen to KUHF or watch Channel 8 during fund drives and you'll hear/see them. They do sponsor challenges and 1% kw usage on the monthly bill can be donated to one of a number of local charities. No problems with them so far (2 years), and they automatically credited our bill for 3 weeks after Ike without us having to pitch a fit.
  14. Native Montrosian
    I'm locked in with Tara Energy for a year at 10.45, but that might just be a deal for renewing customers.
  15. Native Montrosian
    From the Chronicle archives November 1985. Try Dogpile in lieu of Google for esoteric stuff. The Street That Led To Murder
  16. Native Montrosian
    That would sure take the edge off of visiting my mother-in-law....
  17. Native Montrosian
    I think the entire River Oaks Shopping Center should be replaced with nuts-to-butts Starbucks, like Limehouse opium dens in Victorian London.
  18. Native Montrosian
    I'm getting a flash-forward of myself in 10-12 years in my jammies some Saturday morning reading about the closure of this Barnes & Noble on my Kindle 9.0 in the wake of mega big box bookstores going the way of the discount showroom, video rental outlet and chain record store.
  19. Native Montrosian
    Across from the school where Theatre Suburbia used to be? A credit union or bank is what I've heard. Exactly what we need another of in the neighborhood.
  20. Native Montrosian
    Gracious, not the entire shopping center - the 9510 square feet comprising the River Oaks Theater, which at last report, would be part of the section razed for luxury condos. One property out of all the properties they own, leased as a gesture of goodwill to the city which, after all, gave the very civic-minded Joe Weingarten his start. But I suppose it's too late to put a vote on the matter to the actual shareholders; see what they might think....too bad. I'll enjoy it while I can - The Children of Huang Shi coming up next week, and The Duchess of Langeais the week after. In the meantime, I'm going to go and peruse my Red and Rover Waggin' Tales book, fresh from the mail and shipped for free. Thanks, Amazon!
  21. Native Montrosian
    Thanks, kayzer. I still feel a faint twinge of anger decades later when I hear the name "Grandma Moses". The book was selected as appropriate for me to donate because my father was an art major - I lost at Hangman because I couldn't draw a stick figure, so it meant nothing to me. In addition to world events, I loved history, space exploration and cool planes like Spitfires & P-38's, but those paths were equally perilous because books on those subjects were "for boys." I gave up and let my mom buy what she wanted rather than risk a spanking for arguing.
  22. Native Montrosian
    Exactly. WR could lease both the RO and the Alabama back to the city for a peppercorn rent, quite cover themselves in civic glory, and not affect their shareholders one whit. But they don't want to. If Bill White having more than one discussion with the Alexanders regarding pride in Houston history won't budge them and the diva of fundraising Carolyn Farb cannot come up with enough pledges to meet any theoretical price (and would that price include use of the parking lots?), it's only a matter of time. My apologies for not being clear. I work with many insurance carriers and have been hearing discussions about future discounts for "green building" and increased credits for renovation in both the personal and commercial sectors. There are numerous articles regarding reuse of existing buildings as the best option - the one that immediately comes to mind is on the American Institute of Architecture website. My comparison was made in admiration of innovation and an entrepreneur
  23. Native Montrosian
    And Midway Companies is? WR has the legal right to raze the River Oaks Center from one end to the other as they own the property. Seems like the more protests, the more resolved they will be to tear down both the River Oaks and the Alabama. I find it amusing that so many other cities seem to be able to make revitalization of historic properties pay off enough to interest developers and Houston apparently cannot. I salute Pam Lowe for her vision and imagination in the private sector. I salute Midway for taking what was rapidly becoming yet another run-down mall and realizing the potential of the area. WR has a repetitive formula that makes money. I've never said otherwise. Some people like stucco-clad strip malls. If WR only considers the bottom line, that is their choice. The one inescapable fact is that every choice has consequences. All I know is that cities in other parts of the country with considerably-stronger interest in historic preservation have been made aware of the firm's actions. They may elect to do business with other firms as a result - I really don't have time to call the movers and shakers in each one and ask. Risk taking is an important element in any business, and if WR feels that the notoriety elsewhere and hostility in their home base is worth the potential gain, I'm certain that the wrecking ball will swing. But if the decision does come back to bite them in an inconvenient and painful area, I won't apologize for laughing.
  24. Native Montrosian
    The teacher mentioned in the Time article was my second-grade teacher as well. Her name was Pat Johnston, not Johnson - I still have a thank-you card from her for a birthday present. Also interesting - Wikipedia lists Poe as desegregated in 1970. I remember at least two black kids in my class, and the last year I attended was third grade in 1969. I was good friends with one boy named Robert until the sponsorship boook sale, in which kids picked out books they wanted to donate to the library and the parents would buy them. I picked out a book about Dr. Martin Luther King, and he wanted to donate a book about Robert E. Lee because he had a grey horse named Traveller, and Robert loved horses. I was told by my mom that I had to leave my book for the few black children to pick out because "colored people had so few examples to look up to that I had to leave that book for them" and I can't imagine what poor Robert was told regarding his selection. There may be a book about Grandma Moses in the Poe library with my name on it that my mom decided to buy - I didn't care anymore. Robert and I felt really weird and didn't play together anymore after that, so I have no idea if he donated anything. Great memories of Poe other than that. My kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Coakley, first grade was Miss Bess Smith, second grade was Pat Johnston and third grade was Mrs. (Beth?) Miller.
  25. Native Montrosian
    Heard through the grapevine that a number of other cities that WR has a presence in have been contacted with warnings not to trust them citing the River Oaks Center as an example. Their stock has also taken quite a dive. I know; whose hasn't, but it would be amusing if the calls & e-mails had something to do with it. There's a really good article in the June 2008 issue of Houston House & Home about a Woodland Heights home that Pam Lowe, former commercial real estate broker, bought and restored. This isn't her first - apparently, she turns enough of a profit to do so on a regular basis. Also got our first communications regarding my firm's impending move to City Centre in February 2009. Now that's revitalization of a truly outdated property; not destruction of a beloved community icon. Maybe dull old sad old Drew Alexander needs to hire some imaginative people or call Pam Lowe, as well as Brad Freels of Midway Companies up and ask them how they do it....
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