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Specwriter

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Everything posted by Specwriter

  1. Specwriter
    . . . and what little plaza there is is tucked over in the corner to maximize parking. I notice the sign on top of the wall looks like it could be easily replaced if ever the need arose. 😏
  2. Specwriter
    I cannot speak to the average then or now but the remodel I did in the mid 1990s was for a young attorney who was less than 40 years of age at the time.
  3. Specwriter
    Just because UST takes possession of the building does not mean it will never be available to the general public. It could be a lecture or recital hall for public events. There are other possibilities I am sure. It may be better if Mayor Whitmire is able to follow through on keeping the building as an asset of the City of Houston but only if the City properly maintains it. Could we be looking at another public/private partnership with a maintenance endowment? It certainly seems to be working well for Hermann Park.
  4. Specwriter
    The Lamar Tower was built in 1964. A client of mine did a remodel in the mid 1990s and the building was well maintained then. One thing the condominium did not have at the time was its own washer and dryer hook-ups. I cannot imagine occupants now using a communal laundry room. I guess if one has hired help to do the laundry that inconvenience isn't so much of an issue. 🤨
  5. Specwriter
    I see it now. My mistake. I haven't been in the neighborhood in a while. So does this proposal have a chance? It might be a shame to see the theater go but the two towers look nice.
  6. Specwriter
    Ross, thank you for posting. This is very interesting.
  7. Specwriter
    You will also not their presence around the petro-chemical sites to the east along Highway 225 especially.
  8. Specwriter
    This is definitely a Finn building or designed by someone who copied Finn faithfully.
  9. Specwriter
    This old, fat guy will have to try out Louis'. My hat looks like the one Greg Norman frequently wore on the golf course though. As far as "uninviting" goes, this may not be a bad thing. 🙂 I'm always looking for establishments that serve great food but are not too crowded; busy enough to stay in business but not to the point of compromising the quality of the food and service.
  10. Specwriter
    It looks like this would be at the intersection of I-69 (formerly US 59) and Timmons. I don't know if elliptical floor plate buildings are particularly efficient but they would be a nice complement to 8 and 12 Greenway Plaza at the corner of Richmond and Edloe.
  11. Specwriter
    Maybe this is just a convenient place to include a thread on schools in the area but, unlike some places in this nation, the municipality of Houston has nothing to do with the governance of public independent school districts within its boundaries let alone those outside the city limits or private schools, all of which are discussed in the Education thread. HISD and other some school districts have enough challenges; heaven help us if the City were to have a direct say in running them. 😟
  12. Specwriter
    Highrise, I assume you are referring W. T. Carter the lumberman who developed Garden Villas where this park is located. Again, assuming you are not referring to the country western singing and songwriting family or the family of the former president (Billy was a bit of a character I'll admit 😀), why is the Carter family considered infamous? Here is a link to the history of Garden Villas. I owned a house there in the 1990s on Sims Drive. https://www.gardenvillas.org/history-of-garden-villas.html Here is a link to the Texas Transportation Archive article on William Thomas Carter, Jr. https://ttarchive.com/library/Biographies/Carter-William-T-Jr_1926_New-Encyclopedia-of-Texas.html Somewhere in my files I have a photocopy of the original Mexican land grant given to Stephen F. Austin wherein he conveyed 3200 acres, which included present day Garden Villas to Henry Prentiss in 1833.
  13. Specwriter
    So is Domino's the hermit crab of pizza joints? 😀 That building was definitely a Pizza Hut when it was new.
  14. Specwriter
    I have a polypropylene tow rope that is bright yellow as it came from the store. It was also coiled up in a clear plastic bag. Someone wasted effort. 😃
  15. Specwriter
    I agree with the enjoy idea. Like music, one does not need to be a virtuoso to recognize greatness when he or she hears (or tastes) it. 😀
  16. Specwriter
    In Texas brisket is like chili. There is a right way to prepare it and there are others. 😀
  17. Specwriter
    We bought a Corolla hatchback in July of 2022 and have been very pleased with it. My wife is the primary driver so we passed on the GR with its low-profile tires (she tends to clip curbs) and got the SE parked next to it. I wish Toyota had the Corolla hatchback as a hybrid like it has with the Corolla sedan. Maybe it's a packaging issue. The hatchback is shorter than the sedan. That said, we consistently see mpg in the very high 30s and even 40-41 mpg on a few occasions. Yes, you are parenting correctly. At the time I got my driver's license my father was driving a BMW 3.0 - their top-of-the-line model at the time. I really enjoyed driving that car but you can be assured I was very careful with it. 🙂 Dad and I took a road trip to Colorado in the BMW right after I got my license. He wanted to look at some real estate which he decided not to purchase after seeing it. We bonded and he let me have somewhat free reign behind the wheel after we passed the DFW metroplex. Good parent all right!
  18. Specwriter
    Which used to be Phil's, a favorite of Marvin Zindler, before it was the 59 Diner. This is good news but does it ever make me feel old. 🙂 I'll have to stop by next time I'm in town so I can say I patronized all three of the restaurants that called this location home.
  19. Specwriter
    Yay! 😁
  20. Specwriter
    It looks like that particular structure was formerly Relish Fine Foods. IIRC it was at one time a florists shop but I'm not certain of that.
  21. Specwriter
    Yes it was. Also, I could believe some of wait staff was there from day one until the last day. ☺️ That said, service was always prompt, efficient, and friendly. Plus, the spaghetti and garlic bread had me coming back for years.
  22. Specwriter
    No, Doyle's didn't have that Cosa Nostra vibe but it was a great place to have lunch with my "cronies" and we were in the construction trades too. 🙂 Mandola's on Leeland also doesn't have that "vibe" but damn is their Italian sausage wonderful!
  23. Specwriter
    My house is just south of 1604 off of O'Connor. The exit for O'Connor is approximately half way between Judson and Redland. I can attest that this is a very busy part of 1604 and is in need of expansion. There is already major construction to the west where 1604 crosses Interstate 10 and to the east where 1604 crosses Interstate 35. Fortunately, I have discovered alternate routes since moving here two and a half years ago.
  24. Specwriter
    It is so sad to see bridges like these disappear but a joy to see one preserved and adapted to a new use. As for preserving the steel structure, there are coatings available today that last much longer and have less environmental impact than in the past.
  25. Specwriter
    That seems like a generous amount of real estate for a convenience store but given the traffic at the Starbuck's it is probably warranted. There is a Quik Trip near my home in San Antonio that is in a less than stellar neighborhood - not unlike this stretch of South Main. The area is not dangerous just a bit run-down looking. It probably had it hey-days in the 1990s or early 2000s. That said, the times I've stopped in the QT it was always clean, wall stocked, and the staff was attentive. By the way, I lived in West U. from the time before the abandoned hotel on this site was demolished until just over two years ago and passed by it occasionally. I've always wondered what would be built here.
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