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capnmcbarnacle

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Everything posted by capnmcbarnacle

  1. I don't want to turn this into a food thread, but how dare you. On a related Chuy's/West Ave. topic, there have been numerous rumblings in the neighborhood (from the Avalon Place homeowner's asociation newsletter, no less) that Chuy's lease is not being renewed and that West Ave. expansion is looking toward the site where Chuy's and Rickshaw are located.
  2. I got word from the developers that they are aiming for a construction start of late summer or fall. I'll leave the pessimism to subsequent posters...
  3. Don't look too hard for some of the stuff that used to be there. It is depressing as hell. I remember when they tore down the Witch Hat house on Fannin and that was around 1997. But a lot of this stuff was torn down before WWII. Intersting that a lot of the grand houses had a shelf life of about 30 years even back then. The more things change... Anyway, here are some houses that used to exist along Main St. in Midtown and near the Ballpark.
  4. You know, I can never tell if the neighborhood changes as much as I think it does, or if I'm just getting older. I moved to Montrose when I was 22. It was different then, no doubt about. I moved to this neighborhood because I didn't want to live in a huge apartment complex. I wanted to live in a neighborhood. I got lucky and found a cool place in an old 4-plex. I was your basic run of the mill stoner guy who liked to hang out and listen to records and maybe throw a frisbee now and again. I enjoyed the little things in the neighborhood, just walking around the streets and into the stores and feeling like I was someplace that is different than other places in Houston. It felt like a natural fit for me and it still does. The neighborhood will always evolve. It will never be what it was when I moved in in 1994. At that time, it wasn't what it was in 1984. I've talked to my neighbor who has lived here since 1954 and he tells me it was different then. And an old friend who went to Lanier Jr. High in the 30s claims the neighborhood was different back before WWII. Imagine that. The neighborhood has never just been one way, but is more of a collection of eras and people. It's the collective experience of the people who have lived here and stayed here through decade after decade. I feel nostalgic for the neighborhood as it was 10-15 years ago, but I'm also nostalgic for being in my 20s again. Unlike a lot of my friends, I didn't leave Montrose. I got married, had kids and stayed here. When you see me walking on the street to get a bite with my kids, I might look like I rode my mini-van in from a Katy suburb. But I didn't. Believe me when I tell you that sometimes when I see a reflection of myself pushing a stroller I don't recognize who that yuppie looking dork is. I just had to get a haircut to get the job I wanted. And I got older. I can't kick a hacky sack like I used to and I look stupid on a skateboard (but I still have one). So I guess I'm someone that is contributing to the problem of old/new Montrose. By staying here instead of moving out of Neverland when I hit a certain age or position in my life, I am contributing to the demise of Montrose by inspring yuppies who see me to move here. So I apologize if my continuing presence in the neighborhood is ruining it, but I'm not going anywhere. This is home. Maybe this is what happens when alternative becomse mainstream. Excitement and danger give way to what the chamber of commerce calls "ecclectic and quirky." So now I'm rambling, but I just wanted to add my experience to the mix. But you know what? It's a beautiful day and, dammit, I can still go get breakfast at La Mexicana (RIP old La Strada scene), see what's shaking at the Alabama Ice House, look at some old records,grab a Gyro at Niko Nikos and cap the night with a pint at Rudz or maybe on the patio at Lolas. No matter what else you can say, there is no other place in Houston where you can do that.
  5. Here is an article from Nancy Sarnoff in today's chron. To assuage the fears of naysayers, they assure us that this is "real." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/busine...ff/5603335.html
  6. I was wondering about the shape too. It does look to be something other than a rectangle in the rendering. The lot is an interesting shape so maybe the building will follow suit.
  7. Soooo, if 21 floors of office space was going to encompas 630,000 feet, I guess the new specs support 31 floors of office with 10 stories of parking on the adjacent lot. And from the FWIW department, I drove by this evening and both cranes were up and one of them had a huge auger/corksrcrew/drill on it. Like the kind they use to drill piers for big office buildings.
  8. Those new drawings don't seem to show the condo and office towers in the original drawings, but that's not too surprising given the ambitious nature of intial drawings. I was pleased to see they still have space of a boutique hotel. I think there is a definite niche for a small hotel serving the neighborhood. I'll be interested to see how this shakes out...
  9. This old shopping center was actually developed in the 1920s, along with the one that currently houses Reef. I used to go in there all the time and it was really a precursor to modern malls with the interior arcades. They have some cool features if someone wanted to rehab them. The shape of the old sign along the street is classic. But why do that when you can just put in something blah like a new and improved strip center or some "luxury" apartments. As for Midtown staying Vietnamese, those guys are long gone. Remember when they had the street signs in Vietnamese? From what I hear, most of them that were fortunate enough to own that stuff made the American dream when they sold it, but most of it was actually owned by Arabs and Persians who leased it. At least this is what my friend whose folks owned a Pho place over there told me. I used to relish being able to go over and choose from a dozen places to eat Pho with a hangover, but nothing really lasts. Besides, how many Vietnamese immigrants still live anywhere close to that part of town? I do miss the Hoa Binh Market -- that place was always fun to browse on a Saturday or Sunday. Crap, I'm starting to sound like a crotchity old guy.
  10. This is a great, great thing to have. Kudos to all involved. I realize that you can photoshop anything now, but to get photos of people getting air with the skyline right there in the background...it's a perfect setting.
  11. Yep. I've been hoping that the concrete textured exterior is not the final finish, but it looks like it is. I love the project but the exterior materials, in my opinon, leave something to be desired.
  12. I went by today and the lot was completely fenced off. I think something is indeed afoot...
  13. Thanks for posting. The fact that this is up less than 2 hours after it happened is still amazing to me. I am a little conflicted about seeing the Montagu go, as I used to go to the bar 10 years ago, but I'm excited to see how MainPlace turns out.
  14. I'm with you about appropriateness. Things like scale and style matter. And that's what Ashby is really about. But everyone falls back on traffic because this is Houston and nobody wants to admit aesthetics count. I would just like to see more people admit that the it's more about the Tower than the Traffic. It's about sitting on your back porch and seeing 20 stories where the sky used to be. A broader discussion (not necessarily on this board, we've done that) of the city's power regarding scale and style would be interesting to say the least.
  15. I live of off Dunlavy and I really don't have a problem with them. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that many more people. But it kind of amuses me that 226 units in that neighborhood at the South end of Dunlavy freaked out the world, but 236 units on Dunlavy at the north end (almost by a hair) of the same neighborhood didn't merit mention. And nothing was said when rice built 140 graduate apartments.The fact is that lots of people will be taking Dunlavy from or toward Bissonet from Fairmont, and later to and from Regent Square. I think the traffic impact of Ashby would be relatively minimal and it's a matter of having 25 stories there. Dunlavy is destined to become a more heavily travelled road regardless of Ashby because it is the only road between Shepherd and Montrose that runs from Bissonet to Allen Parkway. Add Regent Square to the North, and these places to the South, and it will only get busier. The Fairmont ingress/egress will be interesting though. Metro tends to frown on left turns across its tracks (and isn't a station going to be there?), so turning left on Richmond, across 4 lanes and a rail line will be dicey. I think they'll put people out on Dunlavy or be right turn only on Richmond. But at the end of the day, I've lived here for years and I'm not leaving. I agree with the earlier poster that this kind of density is to be expected.
  16. From what I read, the Ashby highrise would have 226 units. This monster has 236. Since this is being constructed on the south end of the block, bordering Ervan Chew Park, I suspect the ingress/egress will be on little 2-lane Dunlavy near Castle Court. Where are bumper stickers for this baby? This thing will dump people along a residential road south to Bissonet or north toward Allen Parkway. Will there be an appreciable difference in traffic? I don't know. But I do think this proves Ashby is nothing about the number of people and all about the height/scale.
  17. There isn't any zoning, I was just commenting on what they are labeled. To me, east of Shepherd is Montrose, and has been as long as I was here. But a lot of these new spec homes are listed as being in "neartown," "museum district", "upper kirby," or, in the case of the house built next to me, "River Oaks Area." I think a lot of realtors, and customers, don't want to say they live in Montrose -- hence the ridiculous euphemisms. I'll never forget the shock and awe of my "river oaks area" neighbor when the Harris County Transgendered float lined up in front of his house before the Pride Parade. Pricesess
  18. More and more of the people that buy homes in that area just east of Shephered and just north of the River Oaks shopping center are not comfortable with their million dollar homes being in to Montrose. Of course, the River Oaks crowd doesn't want to be associated with them either. Maybe a good transitional name for the area east of Shephered, west of Dunlavy, south of the bayou and north of 59 would be "Montroaks." As long as it is not alreay covered by part of the "Upper Kirby District."
  19. Let me join in the chorus of those who really want this to happen and, as someone who lives in Montrose, I hope they get a hotel. Since the demise of the Allen Park Inn it has become painfully obvious that there is nothing to serve the neighborhood. I realize that ZaZa and downtown aren't painfully far away, but my mom doesn't want to stay at ZaZa, staying downtown is kind of depressing, and I hate driving her to the Omni. So there. I think there is a niche. And I miss Prime Rib at the API at 1:30 a.m. As far a the delay to the 3rd quarter, could one of the reasons be that they will also tear down the second section and complete all of this at once? I beleive this plan was for 2 phases, and the buildings east of Dunlavy are still standing. Is there some beneift to waiting until the remainder comes down and working on both phases at once? Just rank speculation on my part..
  20. Thanks. I missed the other thread somewhere. Boy, oh boy, a parking garage is going to look awesome next to the old houses over there! Thanks for the link!
  21. The buildings on the NW corner of Dallas and Dunlavy have started coming down. Looks like they have about one and a half of them gone so far.
  22. FWIW... Was by there this morning and most of the old buildings were opened up with a bunch of guys in hard hats moving in and out. The old Dollar Store or whatever it was lookied like it had become a staging ground for the demolition and there were some Cherry Demolition trailers parked inside the old West Building. I saw one guy carrying out some debris so it looks like the destruction is imminent. Anyone know how and when they plan to bring those buildings down?
  23. Maybe, this being Houston and all, this method will help: That Chase Bank sits on the spot where The Ale House used to be. I'm a Chase customer and it's the closest one to my house, but I can't get myself to go there. A pox on that whole center.
  24. One of the cool things about Montrose is that there are any number of distinct parts to it, all within a mile or two of each other. Dunlavy/Westheimer has a different vibe from Montrose/Westheimer which feels different from Pacific/Fairview. Over the years I've lived in different places in the neighborhood and they all have their own thing going on. I like the fact there is still some sketchiness going on -- but the neighborhood feels a lot more tame than it did 15 years ago. Of course, I was 15 years younger then too. I haven't been to LaStrada for Sunday brunch since it burned down, but there was a blip in time (mid to late 90's?) where that was about the most fun thing in the world. Before they started seating people in the parking the lot, before they had a seating at 11 and another at 2, before it filled up with tables of secretaries with goofy party favors for someone's birthday...I remember going and people from the neighborhood were just hanging out having a lively brunch and then, around 1:30 or so, everyone was so collectively drunk (or high) that spontaneous dancing (on the floor or tables) just began to happen. I saw things going on in that place that I still have a hard time believing. As time wore on, it became more about the scene and became kind of contrived, IMHO, but I always loved that feeling of having a long brunch and then suddenly realizing that all hell was beggining to break looose around you. And I beleive LaStrada still closed up around 3 back then, so word would get out where everyone was going afterward. I once had a friend here from New York and we ended up in some club on Sunday afternoon and it was a complete Bacchanalian. He was duly impressed. And when I went back to that same club on a Sunday a few weeks later, it was empty. Like Brigadoon. The party had moved somewhere else. Good times indeed. Hearing some of you talk about the old street festival reminded me just how fun this neighborhood was, and maybe still is. But there was a real sense of camaraderie among people that lived here and things that once had the feel of a really cool neighborhood block party or a lunch with your neighbors became overrun with people from the outside. That's kind of inevitable when you are doing something that people want to be part of. I hope the hood doesn't get too homogonized, but it just might. Economics will play the central role in who lives here and what it will be like. The fourplex I used to live in with a bunch of other artist/students/potheads recently was razed in favor of a $1.2 milllion spec home. I hate to make assumptions, but I doubt those new residents are going to find joy in walking among reptile-toting weirdos along Westheimer and sharing warm cans of Busch. Oh well. I do take some encouragement that people of my vintage who moved in young tend to be staying where they are to live their lives and raise families. That's alwasy a good thing to keep some continuity and remain in the fabric of the neighborhood. Look, Montrose is a special place in this city and I hope it will continue to be someplace that is real, and not just a bad imitation of its former self. I guess that's why the thought of hookers turning tricks in a hearse behind Numbers makes me smile and feel like Montrose is still doing fine.
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