tomv

Thanks, that's good to know. I guess I was referring more to the supersize type of bookstore, with bigger selection, coffee shop,expanded hours,etc... Something that would actually bring people in to stay awhile, as opposed to a place to grab a book or a magazine on your lunch hour.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in the bookstore, Books-a-Million I remember discussions on here where people suggested that if only a Borders or a Barnes and Noble would open Downtown, then things would really start to change down there. That this would attract shoppers at night and on weekends and would be a catalyst for further development. Books-a-Million isn't Borders or Barnes and Noble, but it is the third largest book retailer. They have a store in Katy Mills. It looks pretty much the same to me. Mike Huckabee is scheduled for an in store appearance and book signing Monday evening at 8pm November 24. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd something like that generates on a Monday night.

How to succeed when you open up a new restaurant : Don't put the word "Orleans" in the title! www.B4Ueat.com (great site, by the way) lists 12 restaurants in the Houston area that have "Orleans" in their title. Of them, 8 have closed recently. GONE: Best New Orleans Seafood Cafe Orleans Express Cajun New Orleans Seafood Kitchen N'awlins Seafood Kitchen New Orleans Pizza Joint NOLA's New Orleans Seafood Restaurant Original New Orleans Po-Boy Versash - A New Orleans Style Bar & Grill LOOK OUT! (STILL WITH US): A Taste of New Orleans Little Taste of New Orleans New Orleans Cajun Kitchen Orleans Seafood Kitchen Not sure what this means. Back to work!

Maybe the Grove still needs to Grow into it's Groove!

I hate to jinx a place, but "Bells and Whistles Cafe" is not a good name. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

If anyone wants to do a video of the house and it's untimely end, I have a suggestion for the soundtrack: The Doors. Both "Moonlight Drive" and "The End" would be perfect!

Not sure if thats what you mean by vertical disks, but in his third picture on the left hand side you can see part of a small structure with little windows behind the trees next to the Grove. There is a stairway there that leads down to the underground garage. That will be convenient for people going to the restaurant. It's also in the last picture.

I got a chance to walk around a bit yesterday afternoon down here and so I'm filing my report! I walked in to the Grove a little past 5 as they were just opening for the evening. They're only open in the evening, at least for now. I was considering having a drink or a snack but since I was the only customer in the place I didn't feel real comfortable doing that. I ended up going over to the Hilton to have a couple beers and watch the NFL playoffs instead. The restaurant looks great, and there's a nice bar area to one side. I was very warmly greeted by the hostess and/or bartender Penelope. She was eager to answer my questions and show me around. Good PR, and it paid off because I recommended the place to a group of Canadians staying at the Hilton that I met at the bar over there. They were in town for some kind of flooring convention going on at the Convention Center. Unfortunately, the upstairs deck is not open yet, so I was not able to check out the famous "view". There is a nice view downstairs, but it's mainly just the restaurant itself and the trees just outside the windows. The entrance to the restaurant was a little hard to find. I found it by noticing the valet parking stand. The valet parkers became my unofficial greeters, and told me just to walk in. I guess that's what happens when you walk into a restaurant just as it's opening for business on the second day of it's operation. The valet parkers were cordial but not exactly enthusiastic. Anyway, there was a lot of life downtown in that area. I can imagine what it will be like when the park opens! The Rockets had a game later that night at Toyota Center, and there were lot of people walking around. The nice cool weather definitely helped. There was a pick up basketball game going on at that park next to the Toyota Center. The park looks very nice now that it's refurbished. The huge oak trees look fantastic, and the basketball court is very nice, submerged a bit below ground and with a very nice rubber looking surface. The guys hanging out and playing there were well behaved, and the activity definitely adds life to the area. There was a group of Asians intently watching the basketball game, waiting to go into the Toyota Center for the game I assume. That's all. Someone else can supply pictures!

I drove by there last week and was surprised at how much work is left to be done. It still doesn't look like a park yet. There was a sign up at the Grove. It read something like "THE GROVE. RESTAURANT. BAR. VIEW" A little too cute, I thought. But I hope it's a big success.

Wonder how you convert a lake into an ice rink? Surely you don't freeze all that water. Guess they lay some kind of surface onto the water. Does it float? Probably not. Just curious.

Great photo! That is a nice view. Love the smileyface! Ha Ha

Ironically, the Doors (60's band) had a really cool song on their first album called "Moonlight Drive".

A friendly rivalry between Rice and UH can only be a good thing for Houston. Glad someone cares!

Addendum: The CVS on Main has two entrances, one at street level and one below ground. That's a start. Much more like that is needed.

The poor tunnels. Yes, they suck life downwards, and that's almost a fatal flaw. For instance, I don't think anyone is clamering for a tunnel system in the Medical Center area. God, if anyone needs to get outside at lunch, it has to be that group Or the Galleria area, for that matter. Everybody wants Street Life. But the tunnels are here, theyr'e really neat, and convenient, and a certified tourist attraction. Can't we all just get along?

I was recently in a Randall's at Westheimer and Gessner, at 8:30 on a Friday evening. There was almost nobody in the store, and it was kind of dark also . Not good. Add that to way-high prices on beer, anyway, and I can see they are hurting. And that's a Flagship Randall's, I believe. I like Randall's in general, though. I've shopped there plenty, especially when I lived in Katy. But the competition is just brutal: Kroger and WalMart aren't going anywhere, and HEB is an absolute powerhouse. We'll see. Fiesta seems to be hanging in there. They've had problems.

Excelllent photos. Thanks for sharing. The story behind the old Square and what's happened to it since is an intriguing one, I agree. I have to confess that I am old enough to have gone there in it's heyday, with my parents. It was truly ahead of it's time. I think location, more than anything, was responsible for it having such a short life. Chimney Rock and Bellfort just isn't a very convenient location , lacking freeway access and all. Also, that part of town started to really change about that time, from white suburbia to a mixed urban neighborhood. Thanks again!

That would be a good compromise, slowly converting the tunnels to primarily be pedestrian corridors, not underground malls. Keep the decor, the artwork, the lighting. Moving sidewalks, those long conveyor belts you see mainly at airports, would be a great addition. Can you imagine going 20 blocks in air conditioned comfort in minutes? Whatever underground retail that remains or is added would be concentrated in clusters, with easy access to street level. Many stores and restaurants would be on two levels. Others would have at least a stairway down, like the CVS on Main street does now. Someone else figure out how to make this all happen...

I never went there, but I remember Bruce Springsteen used to play there. Of course , this was before he made it big. Until he released his third album "Born to Run" and ended up being on the cover of both Time and Newsweek the same week (?!), he had kind of a cult following. Houston was one of the places where he developed a small following, thanks in part to Liberty Hall and former Houston Post music critic Bob Claypool, who was a big admirer. Springsteen plays tribute to Liberty Hall in his song "This Hard Land": "Hey Frank won't ya pack your bags, And meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall"

I read somewhere that the Conquistador across from Sharpstown Mall was the first high-rise condo to be built in the state of Texas. Not sure when it was developed, but it's still there. Obviously the neighborhood has changed tremendously.

Very briefly, Houston had a Tower Records. It was on Fondren just north of Richmond, in a 2 story building that's still there. I can't remember it much since it was so short lived. Don't recall if it was on both levels, or just the ground floor.

You've gotta be kidding. You don't think he's motivated to some degree by his love for this area that he calls home and his desire to see it prosper and grow and attract more visitors. Also a strong interest in seeing people enjoy themselves as a result of his company turning ideas into reality. You don't think he derives satisfaction in creating lots of jobs for people? In pumping money into local governments in the form of taxes, money that goes for all sorts of good causes? Tilman is certainly open to criticism, but to say that he never does anthing for anyone other than himself is off base! You asked.

Furrs Cafeteria, Wyatts Cafeteria, Picadilly Cafeteria, Allbritton Cafeteria. Guess the cafeteria market kind of died out, huh? Even Luby's has closed many of their locations. There are plenty of those all you can eat pig-out buffets around now to take up some of the slack, but I don't like those because I feel like I have to get my money's worth and usually end up overeating!

Update: http://www.houstonist.com/archives/2006/08...lding_watch.php