Main Street Master Plan

[WestGrayGuy]

As far as I know, this is still the master plan adopted by the city. I was wondering if anyone knew the status of the plan? It seems like some of the elements are being ignored...

Here are some of the cooler ideas presented in the master plan. There was a plan to have "a signature element on Main Street from the freeways, perhaps in the form of the "world's tallest tower" that can establish a dramatic new identity for the district."

Another element was to create a diagonal boulevard to link the arena to Cathedral Square.

And finally, there is a plan to redo the area around Reliant Park. You will notice a big lake at Main and loop 610. Also, there is some large water feature leading up to Reliant stadium.

Have a look at the Master Plan:

Main Street Master Plan

[Talbot]

If the city ignores something like this, i would lose all hope, i mean this is pretty much what revived the city.

[SpaceCity]

That's beautiful. But the Mickey Mouse shape on the left side of the last picture really creeps me out.

[Montrose1100]

That's beautiful. But the Mickey Mouse shape on the left side of the last picture really creeps me out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like the palm trees, but they would have to TEAR down alot to build that diagnal road...?

[largeTEXAS]

I was disappointed when Cathedral Square didn't pop up when Metro started building it's new headquarters on Main. If any entity should abide by a Main Street Masterplan it should be Metro. I do like the idea of the diagonal boulevard. I still think it's possible, but some serious planning will have to happen.

I've heard this plan was not taken too seriously when it was published. Some saw it meerely as a pipe dream. I think some elements truly are ridiculous, like the "world's tallest structure." A signature element, sure, but a cheesy observation tower like Dallas, Toronto, Seattle, and every other major city seem to have is just not neccesary. I say put the money into building a new museum downtown, or affordable housing.

[bachanon]

i like the idea of the tallest "structure" in the world; however, and as i've said before our site was destroyed, i'd prefer a design by renzo piano or santiago calatrava with usable elements on the lower floors. say, 40 floors of office/residential/public space and then whatever additional height necessary to pull off the design and the title of tallest structure. groundfloor retail? of course.

my personal idea is a conical shaped structure with an off center sphere in the upper 25% of the structure housing the obligatory observation deck and restaurant/bar (sky bar? no way! for houston the "space" or "moon" bar/centered and facing main street from the north). the wider side of the cone is at the earth's surface (upside down for you ice cream fans) and the sphere's outside diameter is tangential with the central spine of the building. it's an engineering nightmare, i'm sure. i guess the majority of the extended sphere would be unusable but would create a large open space enclosed by glass or merely a light weight structural element outside the cone. one more thing, the cone would have a slimmer sleeker pitch than an ice cream cone.

[dbigtex56]

Interesting idea! I'm picturing the Trylon and Perisphere mating in zero gravity...

[bachanon]

the inverted cone is precisely what i was thinking; however, the sphere would be more than 60% up the side of the cone (preferably 80%, depending on the pitch of the cone and structural stability), making it kinda float there.

[largeTEXAS]

bachanon, I wasn't seeing this "world's tallest structure" until you mentioned the likes of Piano and Calatrava. Now I kind of agree with you. Since space is one of the dominant themes in this city, why not illustrate it better? It has to be artfully done in order to be successful and not gaudy. Maybe the structure could be a kind of vertical museum to space travel culminating in an observation deck overlooking the city and the stars above (sorry for getting kind of corny). It could be very beautiful.

[bachanon]

the obvious (corny, if you will) is what makes a good tourist destination.

as i mentioned before the demise of our beloved site, a design incorporating molecular, cellular, organic elements such as a nanotube type structure would (yes, a 1400 foot nanotube), by the right design team, be a statement of ourselves, current, universal, etc. the nanotube is simply an example; maybe a dna strand 120 stories tall. you get the picture.

of course, i prefer the inverted conical structure with the offset sphere three quarters of the way up facing main street from the north.

[WestGrayGuy]

The diagonal street was proposed in the late nineties. Obviously, buildings would have to come down. But it would add great intersections to a pretty empty part of downtown. These intersections would more likely develop.

Diagonal streets add interest to a city's layout. Perhaps my favorite is Market or Columbus street in San Francisco.

Come to think of it, SF is a pretty cool city.

[ssullivan]

I really like the diagonal street - it certainly would aid in getting to the GRB, Toyota Center, and Minute Maid Park from Midtown. So much of that area is vacant that there wouldn't be that many large buildings that would have to be taken down.

Good point WGG about Market in SF. San Francisco's Market St. has got to be one of the most efficient corridors for moving people of any major city street in the nation, with heavy pedestrian traffic, two levels of subway tunnels (BART and Muni), lots of bus service (both diesel and electric trolley buses) and streetcar service running in dedicated lanes, and regular traffic lanes for cars. And amazingly, it always keeps moving and I've never seen huge traffic jams unless there was an accident.

Then there's also DC, which is full of diagonal avenues, which intersect each other at circles and squares, creating some very nice urban pocket parks.

[Astro]

Washington DC has an awesome network of diagonal streets and circles at the major intersections.

But considering this is Houston... I bet if we created that diagonal street it would end up lined with CVS's & strip centers, none of which would line up against the edge of the street, but they'd be set back behind parking lots.

[mojeaux131]

bachanon, I wasn't seeing this "world's tallest structure" until you mentioned the likes of Piano and Calatrava. Now I kind of agree with you. Since space is one of the dominant themes in this city, why not illustrate it better? It has to be artfully done in order to be successful and not gaudy. Maybe the structure could be a kind of vertical museum to space travel culminating in an observation deck overlooking the city and the stars above (sorry for getting kind of corny). It could be very beautiful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i think some sort of tall tower would be great, a way to mirror the efforts of dallas or san antonio, both of which have spires of some sort in their downtowns. but since Houston is larger and better than either dallass or s.a., the tower should be cooler and taller. i bet calatrava could make it kickass, since he has an engineering background. and yes, it should mos def reflect a space or future theme.

[WestGrayGuy]

How about the world's tallest fan to blow the pollution that Dallas claims we send to them with even more force?

[Talbot]

lmao

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

[YakuzaIce]

How about the world's tallest fan to blow the pollution that Dallas claims we send to them with even more force?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think someone said something similar on the old forum A 2000' Ionic Breeze for Downtown, and a Bathroom Ionic Breeze for Galveston. LMAO

Back on topic.

What would all of you like this tower to be clad in, I hope not alluminum it would look to 50's futuristic. Maybe glass and steel.

[UrbaNerd]

Well, it beats the "Spirit of Houston" woman statue!

I'd think that it would be clad in some sort of shiny glass steel and stone, or something. And it BETTER BE LIT WELL!

[UrbanLandscape]

That trylon idea really stuck with me. So much so that I spent most of my three hour chemistry drawing it. I'll scan it and get it online as soon as I can. It's too bad 1,836 feet would bee too short. Significant numbers are great.

[UrbanLandscape]

Actually, before I go to bed, here's a sample of what I'm talking about. I know it's very likely that I put it in the wrong place. I'm sorry. I don't know Houston quite that well. Yet. This is more of a general concept anyway.

[UrbaNerd]

THIS would be better, IMO.

[UrbanLandscape]

THIS would be better, IMO.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It already looks dated. It's like something you would have seen proposed in 1999 when everything was "going our way".

[The Great Hizzy!]

Shave about 800 feet off of it and give it more of a metallic look and I think it could work.

[111486]

Why do all of these renderings look like something out of the 70's? How old is this proposal?

[bachanon]

was this an i.m.pei proposal from way back when. i seem to remember this rendering in architectural record.

speaking of a trylon. does anyone have a rendering of renzo piano's new building with a similar shape.

here's one, london bridge tower. go to the link for a full size picture.

renzo piano workshop

[Guest danax]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It looks like something designed for the sole purpose of trying to out-do other cities. It might be decent if, say, they made the outside an unbroken series of prisms so the sunlight would be refracted and diffused creating a mind-blowing light display whenever the sun shined.

[UrbanLandscape]

If you guys are talking about the below image, I just made it the other night in Photoshop.

[N Judah]

Good point WGG about Market in SF. San Francisco's Market St. has got to be one of the most efficient corridors for moving people of any major city street in the nation, with heavy pedestrian traffic, two levels of subway tunnels (BART and Muni), lots of bus service (both diesel and electric trolley buses) and streetcar service running in dedicated lanes, and regular traffic lanes for cars. And amazingly, it always keeps moving and I've never seen huge traffic jams unless there was an accident.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dunno. Whole books have been written about what a bad street Market has become over the past 50 years or so. It's really pedestrian-unfriendly compared to other streets, the sidewalks are too wide, and most people only use it to go somewhere else.

[hartwell]

As far as I know, this is still the master plan adopted by the city. I was wondering if anyone knew the status of the plan? It seems like some of the elements are being ignored...

Here are some of the cooler ideas presented in the master plan. There was a plan to have "a signature element on Main Street from the freeways, perhaps in the form of the "world's tallest tower" that can establish a dramatic new identity for the district."

Another element was to create a diagonal boulevard to link the arena to Cathedral Square.

And finally, there is a plan to redo the area around Reliant Park. You will notice a big lake at Main and loop 610. Also, there is some large water feature leading up to Reliant stadium.

Have a look at the Master Plan:

Main Street Master Plan

As far as I know, this is still the master plan adopted by the city. I was wondering if anyone knew the status of the plan? It seems like some of the elements are being ignored...

Here are some of the cooler ideas presented in the master plan. There was a plan to have "a signature element on Main Street from the freeways, perhaps in the form of the "world's tallest tower" that can establish a dramatic new identity for the district."

Another element was to create a diagonal boulevard to link the arena to Cathedral Square.

And finally, there is a plan to redo the area around Reliant Park. You will notice a big lake at Main and loop 610. Also, there is some large water feature leading up to Reliant stadium.

Have a look at the Master Plan:

Main Street Master Plan

When I first arrived in Denver in 1970 the main drag was

16th street downtown,just another ordinary street.

It has changed and evolved into what it is now

Take a look!

http://www.downtowndenver.com/bid/16thstmall.htm

Virtual Tour

http://www.denvergov.org/panoramas/16thmall_web1.asp

Ron Hoover Colorado

[kjb434]

Thanks,

The main street masterplan is just like the Buffalo Bayou masterplain.

The idea is that the plans are a guide of what we would like to see.

The city, private entities, and other organizations work to slowly add peices.

Not all of them peices may be completed. The masterplans are visions and concepts.

[hartwell]

Thanks,

The main street masterplan is just like the Buffalo Bayou masterplain.

The idea is that the plans are a guide of what we would like to see.

The city, private entities, and other organizations work to slowly add peices.

Not all of them peices may be completed. The masterplans are visions and concepts.

No idea what you're talkin' 'bout!

[kjb434]

I just said thanks for the links,

and

Our mainstreet masterplan is rough concept from visionaries.

[hartwell]

I just said thanks for the links,

and

Our mainstreet masterplan is rough concept from visionaries.

[hartwell]

KJB:You're welcome

I don't know anything about the "Buffalo Bayou masterplan"?

My father was in the building trades and built his first house

on Cresline St. in Houston 'bout 1937 and later a house out on

Chocolate Bayou Road near Pearland.

My Dad was a native of Arkansas,Mom of La.,they arrived in

Houston in 1936.

Ron Hoover

[h-townsfinest]

better to have a vision than to be blind, right?

[brijonmang]

have there been any changes to the main street master plan? any new renderings or concepts or anything?

[H-Town Man]

Actually, before I go to bed, here's a sample of what I'm talking about. I know it's very likely that I put it in the wrong place. I'm sorry. I don't know Houston quite that well. Yet. This is more of a general concept anyway.

You know, I usually don't comment on pipe dreams, but this looks really good. Gives the city a monumental look, like San Francisco or something.

Only problem is your trylon seems to be obliterating Walker St. Might move it to the right a little bit.

[tigereye]

Here's my idea in regards to a signature monument:

No one has ever come up with a clear idea for a site of any proposed Houston landmark or monument structure.

Well I have one......

In the Buffalo Bayou redevelopment plan for downtown. it calls for two canals being built: one near the intersection of the White Oak and Buffalo in north downtown by the U of H campus, and a second in east downtown. Both would create islands. Now I highly doubt the second canal will ever get built due to its length and location.

But the first canal essentially bridges a gap in the bayou, making it a practical solution for downtown's flooding concerns. It would also create an island, dubbed the "North Canal Neighborhood" on BBP's website, close to downtown on the north side which would be a perfect spot for a signature city monument. Furthermore, it's presence would help to revitalize the Buffalo Bayou area downtown.

Move the Baker Street Jail and anything else on this site. Devote the entire Island to the city's signature monument. You can leave it as park land or you can build a retail area around the monument.....a la Seattle Center's effect for the Space Needle.

The North Canal Neighborhood Island....this is where Houston's signature monument should be constructed.

[RedScare]

tigereye, nice idea, but I have to say, if you don't think the other canal will get built, you'll NEVER get the County to tear down not one but BOTH of their jails. Baker Street is not much more than a year old. It's not going anywhere.

Like I said, I like the idea, but...

[T 2 THA C]

I'm not sure if it will get built but it won't be because of San Jacinto Jail or Baker street jail. That canal will go behind SAn Jacinto and Baker street right were the Metro BUS Barn is. Which is scheduled to relocate sometime in the future according to the BBMP.

Edited May 15, 2006 by T 2 THA C

[Subdude]

I like the idea of the proposed island in theory, since it is right at the site of Houston's founding. The problem, as Red points out, is the concentration of jails in the area that would scare off any tourists.

A couple of years ago I did a tour of the area in which they were talking about the canal proposal. The canal and island had actually been first suggested years ago for flood relief. Given the neighborhood jails, I suggested to the guide that if the island were ever built, it would make sense to name it "Alcatraz Island". She was less than amused.

[T 2 THA C]

I agree who would wanna live next to 2 overcrowded jails. And it will be an Island, Now I get what Red was saying thanx.

Edited May 16, 2006 by T 2 THA C

[RedScare]

A couple of years ago I did a tour of the area in which they were talking about the canal proposal. The canal and island had actually been first suggested years ago for flood relief. Given the neighborhood jails, I suggested to the guide that if the island were ever built, it would make sense to name it "Alcatraz Island". She was less than amused.

I like it! That would definitely catch on down at the courthouse.

On a brighter note, the jails are oriented toward the courthouse area, so there is very little jail traffic north of the immediate vicinity of the jails. That leaves a respectable section of Alcatraz available for residential. It would take a certain breed to live there, though.

[native_Houstonian]

I like it! That would definitely catch on down at the courthouse.

On a brighter note, the jails are oriented toward the courthouse area, so there is very little jail traffic north of the immediate vicinity of the jails. That leaves a respectable section of Alcatraz available for residential. It would take a certain breed to live there, though.

Well, I would be in opposition of ever living so close to the jails. I mean, come on, with my group of friends and all the HAIFers I met at the mixer, I would constantly be getting phone calls to walk across the street and bail people out.

[dbigtex56]

What's so bad about living next to a jail?

It's not like your neighbors are going to be honking their horns, or playing loud music, or breaking into houses, or attacking people. THEY"RE...IN...JAIL!

[brijonmang]

What's so bad about living next to a jail?

It's not like your neighbors are going to be honking their horns, or playing loud music, or breaking into houses, or attacking people. THEY"RE...IN...JAIL!

Touch

[dbigtex56]

test

[bachanon]

is this project on schedule?

Museum District Art Walk Project

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum District Walk project is another element of the Main Street Corridor Revitalization Project, intended to provide enhanced pedestrian and transit oriented improvements along the 7.5-mile stretch of Main Street between Downtown and Loop 610 South.

The purpose of the Museum District Walk Project is to enhance the pedestrian experience within Houston's Museum District and to improve pedestrian links between museums, area attractions and transit stops.

The Museum District is rich in educational and tourist resources and is enjoyed by more than six million Houstonians and visitors each year. The District includes ten museums and is adjacent to other attractions and venues, such as Hermann Park, Miller Outdoor Theater, Park Plaza Hospital and Rice University. The new light rail line, that bisects the district, will likely increase the number of visitors to the area via transit and will, in turn, increase pedestrian activity within the neighborhood.

museum walk website