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capnmcbarnacle

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Posts posted by capnmcbarnacle

  1. This has had so many stops and starts...it was going to be apartments/condos at one point.  They put the piers in the ground.  That didn't get off the ground and then the San Jose people from Austin were going to put a hotel there.  Then most recently Grant Gordon was going to run a restaurant there.  He passed away and that was apparently scrapped.  It's gotten to the point that I can't remember what was there before...

    • Like 1
  2. Is there anything that can be done to make the waters of buffalo bayou a little more blue?

     

    Believe it or not, the Bayou was reportedly clear enough to see the bottom once upon a time.  There are some references to that in some early Houston books/diaries (and not just Allen Bros. marketing material).  Apparently there was a favorite swimming hole somewhere near where the Pierce Elevated is now.. 

     

    Up until 6-8 years ago, the Sabine Bridge had some interesting structures at the base of the pilings in the middle of the Bayou.  There were concrete stairs cast into the concrete and a vented or grated concrete platform around the sides.  I always assumed it dated to when kids actually used to swim around there and was a place to climb up and dive in.  It has since been removed -- looks like it was jackhammered out -- but you can still see the remnants if you look.

  3. wasnt it at NRG/Astroworld plot the first year? Or was that some sort of Bayou Music Fesfival(?) thing I'm thinking of?

     

    Someone had the not so bright idea of moving the International Fest there around the time Reliant opened.  they thought the parking lot would end up serving as some sort of Fairgrounds.  Hot, treeless, asphalt fairgrounds.  Total buzzkill.  It was only there for one year but that one year was enough to drive the first nail in the coffin of that thing...

    • Like 2
  4. Those demolition photos are a little sad. 

     

    They are.  I was sad to see that one go, but I think the new development is probably an improvement.  I love old buildings, but sometimes they outlive their usefulness.  I've always thought it's simply polite that if you take down something aesthetically pleasing or interesting, you should replace it with something as good or better.  I think Catalyst satisfies that, even if it took a decade.

     

    The hotel where the Finger development is now was cool too. When the ballpark was going in someone was looking to renovate it and took off some old facades.  There was an old cafeteria there with southwestern motifs and the old painting was there on the walls advertising Indian curios and stuff to the traveling salesmen.  There was also a wall painted with the names of cites and their distances. They were playing to the perception that this was cowboy and indian country.  

     

    Anyway, having worked in that part of DT 15-20 years ago, and seeing it now, it,s astonishing to see the changes.

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  5. From what it seems like they had to do a little more foundation work than I think they initially planned to do. I'm pretty sure they also had to clear away old foundations from buildings past.

     

    If I memory serves, this is where the Penn Hotel was.  Torn down awhile back to make a parking lot.  I worked at the Great Southwest Building when they were building Enron Field.   I used to walk around and look at the old Union Station and later the construction of the ballpark.  I once got caught in a rainstorm and took shelter under the foyer of the Penn.  Some nice homeless folks had the same idea and we chatted for awhile.  They were kind enough to offer swigs from their 40s, but I hadn't had my coffee yet...

     

    The Penn....  http://arch-ive.org/archive/william-penn-hotel/

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  6. I think downtown makes great sense. I don't think conventions and events come to Houston -- I think they come to Texas.  I can't tell you the number of disappointed clients I've had who have paid visits, expecting to see hats and boots and eat steak 3 meals a day.  The image, perhaps myth, of Texas is alluring to people from out of town and this museum will cater to that curiosity.  There aren't many other states I can think of where this would work.  Museum of South Florida history?  Tennessee Center for Cultural Heritage?  Nah.  This is a chamber of commerce museum, something for conventioneers to spend a couple hours and buy a buckle to take back home.

     

     

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  7. 11/1/14

     

    15684255645_673b476424_b.jpg

    Fantastic.  Aside from the newer stuff -- 601 Main, the pipe wrench, and 1000 Main -- it's pretty cool to consider the renovations in that pic over the last 10 or so years. From l-r,  Post Dispatch Building (Magnolia Hotel), Texaco, Texas State Hotel,  St. Germain, Commerce Tower, JW Marriott, Great Jones Building.   Lost the medical tower on Hines site, Montague Hotel, West Building, Macy's, San Jacinto Hotel.  Pretty good example of rehabbing works and replacing the obsolete with something as good or better.

    • Like 3
  8.  

     

    They are calling it "The Carter?"  Seriously?  As in the name of the crack house project in New Jack City?  Brilliant.  That is maybe the greatest name for such a white bread place.  H-U-S-T-L-E-R Hustler. 

     

    I really hope one of the developers is a fan of the movie and is having some fun with the name.  I'd love to say I live at The Carter.  This Carter, not the movie Carter.

  9. They still haven't opened?! Wasn't this supposed to open, like, two years ago?

    In that time, local mediocre eatery Sully's lived and died, sat vacant, and was extensively renovated inside and out to be Torchy's Tacos, another Austin institution, which opened at least three other eateries in that time. What's the hold up?

     

    My understanding is that they had issues with the right of way on that property.  The Wendy's and whatever had been there before that encroached on the ROW and this place had a chunk of its patio designed on it.  They had to get it sorted out.  Or something like that.

  10. oh boy, this is hilarious!

     

    Can we change the thread name to "609 Main at Texas:  Hines's Whataburger Tower?"

     

    I like the idea of referring to it as the Whataburger building.  Not sure Pickard Chilton would love the monkiker, but I really mean in the most endearing way.

    • Like 2
  11. Warren's never went out of business - it's still open on the other side of Market Square, and still owned by the (now) late Warren's sister.

     

    Its demolition was without benefit of a permit and started up at an ungodly hour so that nobody could get in the way to stop it.

    This.

     

    Warren's was on the other side, on the empty block where the International Tower is supposed to go.  The spot where this tower is going had an old Western wear place there and some other stuff.  Not sure if they burned or not.  There used to be a picture of it in the old Market Square park.

  12. Seems like a good place for a recap...

     

    St. John's purchased 13 acres on the west side of Buffalo Speedway between Westheimer and Alabama from the Taub family.  The tract included the site of the River Oaks Plant House, the baseball field which SJS leased from the Taubs, and Blanco's.

     

    The school already had a plan in place to replace buildings on the north side of Westheimer when they purchased the Taub land.  Those are the renderings shown above.  While construction takes place on the north side of Westheimer, SJS will build a temporary parking lot on the River Oaks Plant House site to account for the places lost due to construction..  Part of what is being replaced is the school's cafeteria, and the school is currently using the former Blanco's kitchen to service the school.  No word on whether the kids prefer the fried seafood platter with a Lone Star or red beans and rice with a Shiner.

     

    The west side of Buffalo, designated the "Taub Campus" will be developed as part of the school's long term strategic plan.  Over the next 20 years, the school plans to increase its enrollment from 1250 to 1700.  That land will be used to facilitate that expansion.

     

    Here is picture of the school's property and the new acquisition on the west side.

     

    New_Campus_Map_Cropped.png

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