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astrohip

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  1. astrohip
    I went by this week, first time in a while. Doesn't look like any change since @hindeskyposted pics a few weeks back. Demo seems to have come to a stop. No one on site, even the equipment looks to be in the same spot. The site had standing water, it's possible the rain is causing issues?
  2. astrohip
    What better way to spend a weekend with your mom! 😁
  3. astrohip
    I'm confused (not an unusual state of mind for me 🙃). I thought this was a "mixed use" project--residences, restaurants, light retail, common dining areas, yada yada. Now it's just another apt complex? Or two complexes? Excuse me... with "art walls".
  4. astrohip
    Went by Tuesday, about the same stage as @hindesky posted above. The water hole has dried up, and every day a little more debris is hauled off. The lead excavator (my new buddy 😁) told me they have about 2 weeks left to scrape it clean, before they move on. It's amazing how good the view of downtown Houston is from here.
  5. astrohip
    I need to drive by and take a look at this. Love that area. Sort of a hidden gem. I've met Lauren Rottet, she's an interesting person to talk to. She did the interior at my condo bldg, and not long after it opened, we had a resident's get-together that she attended.
  6. astrohip
    Thanks, appreciate the kind words. Be careful what you ask for... since I mentioned Pease St above, here's a Pease story... In 1963, on Nov 21, JFK came to Houston. Landed at Ellington, drove in the nascent Gulf Fwy, exited at Pease (you had to, there was no Pierce Elevated yet), and drove into downtown. I have home movies (somewhere, in a box), we were standing on the side of Pease where it drops into downtown, along with thousands, watching, waving, cheering, jeering, as JFK drove into town. I remember someone on the opposite side of the road held up a "Goldwater in '64" sign. Ok,
  7. astrohip
    Sad. I ate there many a lunch. Got a little hot in the summer (no indoors), but the burgers were worth it. My first job was at the corner of Polk & Dowling Emancipation (across from the Houston Post bldg), and then Pease & Bastrop. We ate at a steam table diner called Shanley's (no, that's not right, can't think of the name, Leeland & Hutchins), and Sparkle Burger, and then a Church's opened up. 1976 or so. I'm old. 😁
  8. astrohip
    In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not a renovation expert. I don't know what can and can't be saved. I'm sure for the right price, this building could have been rehabbed. It's clear Urban Genesis either didn't want to spend the money, or didn't want an older (rehabbed) building. Part of the reason we moved in 1994 was the state of the structure. The brick section, that had wood beam floors, was rotting (similar but worse to that pic directly above), and we were having to be careful what we stored where. Heavy loads had to be kept in the concrete sections (middle & back), not the
  9. astrohip
    I understand the sentiment, but I would debate whether this is an "Historic Building". It was an old, decrepit warehouse, that was barely standing when I sold it 25 years ago. It would have cost a fortune to rehab, far more than it was worth, and far more than it would have been worth. It was a warehouse, not an architectural standout. It has sentimental value to me, but little value to anyone else. Other than the location. I have hopes that whatever they build will become a centerpiece of the area. I have always thought that area was undervalued, which is why I originally bought there. S
  10. astrohip
    Great pics, thanks for sharing. That's the huge freight elevator I mentioned a few weeks ago. Notice also, all the columns and beams are wood, not steel. I know nothing about demo, but is that how you save bricks? Another factoid of interest to no one... See the row of brown marks along the wall to the right of the elevator? In 1991, we set up a door finishing facility up there. We were buying raw Mahogany doors from Mexico (wood from South America, fab'ed in Saltillo, outside of Monterey). We bought truck loads at a time, and finished them in-house. Sanded them, stained them, coat
  11. astrohip
    My desk!!!! 😁 That last building left (not the Bodegas) is all warehouse, there was no office space in it. That's the one that had the wood beam floors. If there is anything left, like a desk, it was probably left behind when the last tenant, Corporate Outfitters, moved out. The office furniture people. I would really like to walk thru that last structure one final time. I will try again when I go by Tuesday for my weekly visit. Not only wood beam flooring, it also had wood columns holding it up. I don't think there was any steel in that building at all. There may have been some
  12. astrohip
  13. astrohip
    It's down now. Went by today, the vault is gone, it's all clear, and they're hauling off all the debris of the last week. The only thing left is the brick building in the SE corner (not the SW, that's Black's Bodegas). Demo guy said that's coming down as soon as they haul everything else off. They had three of those large semi-trailer dump trucks lined up, so it may already be gone.
  14. astrohip
    It was a heck of a vault!
  15. astrohip
    Brief history: Built by Houston Sash & Door in the 1910s/1920s. Expanded over the years, that's why it looks like so many different styles of construction--brick, metal, more brick, wood floor, concrete slab, etc. They sold it sometime in the early 1970s, when they built a huge new place out near (called at the time) Beltway 8 West (now SH Tollway). They sold it to a company I can't remember the name, who I bought it from in 1976. I can't believe I can't remember their name, but time & old age will do that to you. 🙄They were only there a few years, they had some financial problems and
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