sowanome Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 It's funny that everyone makes that comparison of Washington Ave to Richmond (or midtown, downtown, etc)and that everyone is obviously complaining about the bars, but I actually PREFER the bars on Washington Ave. compared to what was there before the bars came in... OLD Tire Shops, Used Car Lots, Grassy Lots and buildings that were a COMPLETE EYESORE. I'm just so tired of everyone complaining, It was just 3 or 4 years ago, when I'd have out of town visitors and would try to avoid driving down Washington at all costs..Now there's actually legitimate businesses, eateries, bars, etc.... Since the bars may only be a 3 to 5 yr. phase (if not 5 to 7 yrs.), they are a definite upgrade to what was there 5 yrs. ago. PEOPLE WE MUST CRAWL before we WALK (even if it's a PUB Crawl ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrios Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I know what happened to Blue Label Lounge, it sucks so people stopped going! LOL, jk...just not my crowd.On a serious note, the comments on that KXAN story mention the comparison between Washington Ave and Richmond Strip several times. As I am a younger pup, can anyone elaborate on the Richmond Strip at all? Supposedly in the '70's (?) this place was hopping and then obviously died down.In my younger generation, I would be more inclined to compare Washington Ave to 4th St. in Austin.What are your thoughts on this? Any comparisons between 4th St. and Richmond?In the late 90's the Richmond strip was the happening place, similar to what is going on with Washington Avenue. There was pretty much a club/bar at every shopping center, after awhile things just got out of hand. You had people just cruising up and down Richmond and it was packed, if you see the no u-turn signs, that was the reason why. After a few shootings, I think the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. The same thing happened with Main street after the superbowl, again the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. These businesses are great on Friday and Saturday nights at first, but after awhile the it becomes uncontrollable and they do not contribute to the neighborhood during the day time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihop Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 After a few shootings, I think the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. The same thing happened with Main street after the superbowl, again the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. These businesses are great on Friday and Saturday nights at first, but after awhile the it becomes uncontrollable and they do not contribute to the neighborhood during the day time.If that's the case, then it seems that the boom/bust cycle could easily be nipped in the bud by the city by discouraging similar development once the density of liquor licenses reaches a certain point in an area, rather than waiting for things to spiral out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolMan Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 If that's the case, then it seems that the boom/bust cycle could easily be nipped in the bud by the city by discouraging similar development once the density of liquor licenses reaches a certain point in an area, rather than waiting for things to spiral out of control.Welcome to no zoning. If the city would limit these bars to certain areas or districts things would be fine. I'm not saying bars should not be in neighborhoods, but 30 bars within a 3 mile radius are a bit excessive unless they are in a designated area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PureAuteur Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I don't think Washington will ever be like Richmond. It's a different style of nightlife and not a continual thoroughfare like Richmond. Also, it lacks the big parking lots that Richmond has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihop Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Welcome to no zoning. If the city would limit these bars to certain areas or districts things would be fine. I'm not saying bars should not be in neighborhoods, but 30 bars within a 3 mile radius are a bit excessive unless they are in a designated area.No zoning doesn't appear to be much of a barrier to them deciding to stop renewing liquor licenses at some point, if what's been said above is correct. If that's the case, what's stopping them from doing it preemptively? Look at the current density in that area, set a soft cap that's a bit lower than that, and take note for the future. Why grant a another liquor license in an area that's reaching saturation, allow someone to make an investment in a property, only to cut the spigot off sometime in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhornguy Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 In the late 90's the Richmond strip was the happening place, similar to what is going on with Washington Avenue. There was pretty much a club/bar at every shopping center, after awhile things just got out of hand. You had people just cruising up and down Richmond and it was packed, if you see the no u-turn signs, that was the reason why. After a few shootings, I think the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. The same thing happened with Main street after the superbowl, again the city stepped in and stopped renewing liquor license. These businesses are great on Friday and Saturday nights at first, but after awhile the it becomes uncontrollable and they do not contribute to the neighborhood during the day time.Actually I'm aware of the '90's Richmond strip scene. You described it exactly, as I would eat at the Taco Cabana on Richmond and Chimney Rock pretty often. From other posts I've seen most people are referring to the Richmond Strip during the 70's and 80's as the place to be. I've even read on Swamplot that the strip around Memorial Dr. from 610 to Beltway 8 is known as the "Divorce Strip from people meeting on the Richmond Strip".Seems like the '90s Richmond scene was after the high point and definitely on the decline. More interested in the period prior, was it even that prevalent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica N Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I moved to Houston in 1997 when I was 22 and all of my friends went to Richmond to party. Just as you said, bars everywhere, bumper to bumper traffic late at night. Then the scene moved to Midtown/Downtown, now Washington. I had not been down Richmond for many years and drove down it a couple months ago. There were a lot of restaurants/bars that were out of business and with the building still empty. I think most of these were restaurants that came in during the end of the Richmond strip boom. What's worse on Washington? Vacant buildings from businesses that closed down, or as it was before with pawn shops, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Actually I'm aware of the '90's Richmond strip scene. You described it exactly, as I would eat at the Taco Cabana on Richmond and Chimney Rock pretty often. From other posts I've seen most people are referring to the Richmond Strip during the 70's and 80's as the place to be. I've even read on Swamplot that the strip around Memorial Dr. from 610 to Beltway 8 is known as the "Divorce Strip from people meeting on the Richmond Strip".Seems like the '90s Richmond scene was after the high point and definitely on the decline. More interested in the period prior, was it even that prevalent?The Richmond Strip actually began on Westheimer during the 70s. Toward the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, the Strip began to morph south to Richmond. As the 80s progressed, most of the bars from Westheimer closed and new ones opened farther west on Richmond. During the 90s, the bars hit their stride. They also became much larger. This brought the cruisers, which brought trouble. When violence erupted on the street and in the parking lots, the City leaders and police started paying attention. The rest is history.I do not recall a concerted effort to yank liquor licenses. Jerrios' comment that the city stepped in and stopped renewing licenses after a few shootings is incorrect. TABC, a state agency, renews licenses. The City could contest the renewal on nuisance grounds, but I am unaware if that ever happened on Richmond. More likely, as the Strip got a bad reputation, the paying customers went elsewhere. No customers...no business. They shut down. Many moved to Shepherd square, which suffered a similar fate. Then they went downtown. Now, they are on Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMME Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 The Richmond Strip actually began on Westheimer during the 70s. Toward the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, the Strip began to morph south to Richmond. As the 80s progressed, most of the bars from Westheimer closed and new ones opened farther west on Richmond. During the 90s, the bars hit their stride. They also became much larger. This brought the cruisers, which brought trouble. When violence erupted on the street and in the parking lots, the City leaders and police started paying attention. The rest is history.I do not recall a concerted effort to yank liquor licenses. Jerrios' comment that the city stepped in and stopped renewing licenses after a few shootings is incorrect. TABC, a state agency, renews licenses. The City could contest the renewal on nuisance grounds, but I am unaware if that ever happened on Richmond. More likely, as the Strip got a bad reputation, the paying customers went elsewhere. No customers...no business. They shut down. Many moved to Shepherd square, which suffered a similar fate. Then they went downtown. Now, they are on Washington.I'm in agreement with RedScare. I think that Richmond Strip just dwindled down to mostly the bars that were there in the first place for the most part when Richmond at Shepherd came into popularity which dwindled when the first downtown wave gained popularity and on it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights_yankee Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Blue label was open as of last night... Not that I go there. Just drove by. suuuuuure. margokorin's true colors are coming through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhornguy Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 You have an Affliction shirt somewhere in your closet don't you?! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewellman Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I cant believe people are complaining about the bars on Washington, i just bought a townhouse on Washington and being near all the nightlife was one of the reasons i moved there. Houston is one of the only cities in the country that dont have a strip, and Washington is a perfect set up for that. It is great that for once their is a concentration of bars and clubs where u can walk from one to the other without having to get in your car. everybody on this website is albout dense urban development and making it a more walkable city. Houston needs an area like 6th st in Austin or Bricktown in Oklahoma city, or beil st. in Memphis, ect ect..... And plus 5 years ago nobody even knew Washington st. existed, it was trashy and looked like crap. now there is all kind of development and tons of new homes being built. And people are buying these houses because it is an exciting part of town now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PureAuteur Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I cant believe people are complaining about the bars on Washington, i just bought a townhouse on Washington and being near all the nightlife was one of the reasons i moved there. Houston is one of the only cities in the country that dont have a strip, and Washington is a perfect set up for that. It is great that for once their is a concentration of bars and clubs where u can walk from one to the other without having to get in your car. everybody on this website is albout dense urban development and making it a more walkable city. Houston needs an area like 6th st in Austin or Bricktown in Oklahoma city, or beil st. in Memphis, ect ect..... And plus 5 years ago nobody even knew Washington st. existed, it was trashy and looked like crap. now there is all kind of development and tons of new homes being built. And people are buying these houses because it is an exciting part of town now.I agree completely. I'd love to have a condo or townhome off of Washington. I'll take a condensed strip of bars and lounges over a several mile strip (Richmond) with one dance club every quarter mile or so where you have to drive from one place to another. Ideally I'd want to live right in the center of activity somewhere between T.C. Jester and Studemont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerloop Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Count me in as one of the pro-club-on-Washington crowd. The previous poster had it right, the whole point of urbanization is to have everything close together so that you can walk and not drive. What some people are calling overcrowding is really efficient space utilization. The nirvana is when you can go to dinner, walk to a wine bar or pub for after dinner drinks and then walk to a club to finish out the night. Then take a short taxi ride home instead of driving.And as for the noise, it's people moving to the nuisance. You see it around airports and railroad tracks all the time and it happened in Houston in Midtown and Montrose. Washington is a major four lane street heading out of downtown, the complainers shouldn't have bought so close to the street. The bars are a big improvement visually and as entertainment venues compared to the used car lots that they're replacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I'm all for a nightlife strip in Houston, however the actual street of Washington Ave needs improvements if it were to ever become more walkable. A facelift on the street and sidewalk with some better lighting would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 ^I agree. Washington doesn't have a great infrastructure for the amount of bars and clubs opening/intending to open. It's great if you can walk there, but many many people drive there and have to find somewhere to park. That and the nasties that befoul OSW and surrounding areas need to go elsewhere - yuck. But the club crown is generally fickle, so they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuke Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have been a long time reader of this forum and this is obiously my 1st post. I really like all the new development along Washington. Most of the new places aren't really my type of places, but I am happy to see Houston's night life move closer to me because it cuts my commute from the Heights to a couple of minutes or a cheap cab home. The only problem I see so far, and it is a BIG problem, is that cars are constantly turning the wrong way up and down 1-way Shepherd and Durham. I saw this at least a dozen times on Friday and Saturday and even saw a couple of cars go through the intersection through Washington. Around last call both nights it got a little crazy. So make sure you guys keep an eye out for this and be careful. I expect to see the police presence intensify significantly in the coming weeks.It is tough to compare Washington to many other places in Houston or other cities. But, if I were to choose 1 place I would compare it to Greenville Ave in Dallas. It is not as condensed, but it has a similar feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Around last call both nights it got a little crazy.crazy is a couple driving up to pearl bar in a jeep cherokee. getting out along with their two large dogs and wondering why they weren't let in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I got an invitation for a political fundraiser for Peter Brown to be held at Sawyer Park, the new Washington Ave sports bar on June 25th, and this is apparently their soft opening as well. $25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The douchebag wars should be heating up this summer. Sawyer Park and that super-shiny looking Reign Lounge will be frontrunners.In other bar news, I noticed the sign for the "Drinkery" is up at the old coffee house. The space will make for nice bar, but the name is just awful. Sounds like a place that has color photos of frozen drinks on a laminated menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I'd like to see more places like Anvil. Preferably one downtown, but maybe that's a pipedream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintCyr Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I still miss the Daily Grind... Was a great place to enjoy coffee, shake a hangover, and eat a huge plate of food. No matter whether it took 45 minutes to get breakfast or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The douchebag wars should be heating up this summer. Sawyer Park and that super-shiny looking Reign Lounge will be frontrunners.In other bar news, I noticed the sign for the "Drinkery" is up at the old coffee house. The space will make for nice bar, but the name is just awful. Sounds like a place that has color photos of frozen drinks on a laminated menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcc179 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 "It will be a place where people will want to come to have a good time instead of wanting to be seen having a good time," Andrew Adams says. Unlike other high-end bars in the area, Adams says The Washington Ave. Drinkery is designed as an unpretentious, laid-back bar.-Houston Business JournalOwned by the guys that own The Corkscrew. Also, a 24 hour taco restaurant being put in by them next door to corkscrew.As opposed to "Come experience Houston's premier nightspot and newest place to be seen" from Reign's website..I'm excited about Drinkery and the place next to Eight with the beer barrel for the entrance. Washington needs more laid back places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 noooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margokorin Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Well reign opened up on saturady night and it was a cluster f*ck at best. Traffic was STOPPED on washington going both ways at jackson hill. I actually called the cops for the first time to make a noise complaint about drunk people in front of my house. By no means do I hate the bars, I enjoy walking to them just like everyone else.. It isnt the people that walk to them that are the problem. It is the jackasses that drive in from pearland in their huge trucks who park all over my yard and rip it up. When I moved here 5 years ago this neighborhood was nothing like this. It may haev seemed "scary" to those who dont live here but once you get to know the homeless foks, it isnt scary at all. What is scary is all the drunk drivers, and the lack of action from HPD. So was I supposed to use my crystal ball to forsee what was about to befall my quiet niehgborhood? Its almost enought to make someone move to the surburbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 ^I agree. Washington doesn't have a great infrastructure for the amount of bars and clubs opening/intending to open. It's great if you can walk there, but many many people drive there and have to find somewhere to park. That and the nasties that befoul OSW and surrounding areas need to go elsewhere - yuck. But the club crown is generally fickle, so they will. By no means do I hate the bars, I enjoy walking to them just like everyone else.. It isnt the people that walk to them that are the problem. It is the jackasses that drive in from pearland in their huge trucks who park all over my yard and rip it up. When I moved here 5 years ago this neighborhood was nothing like this. It may haev seemed "scary" to those who dont live here but once you get to know the homeless foks, it isnt scary at all. What is scary is all the drunk drivers, and the lack of action from HPD. So was I supposed to use my crystal ball to forsee what was about to befall my quiet niehgborhood? Its almost enought to make someone move to the surburbs. I don't think you're in OSW so I'll amend what I wrote earlier and include all of Washington Ave area residential. That really stinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 So was I supposed to use my crystal ball to forsee what was about to befall my quiet niehgborhood? Its almost enought to make someone move to the surburbs. The post you seem to be replying to was talking about the people who moved in after it got like that, for example the people that are giving Walter's such a hard time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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