strickn Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 (edited) plumber2, I have ALWAYS wondered that myself! For about 30 years I never understood that! Surely the people responsible wanted from the outset to reserve the most prominent name for the most prominent tower, but as developers wanted to make a smaller first-phase investment than the signature tower, in the name of a lower initial risk - since towers above 50 storeys (so I'm told) have to command special lease rates to become economically viable (more of every floor of the tower is eaten up right off the bat with the pipes and shafts necessary to supply people and stuff to the highest floors). They tested the waters and turned out to have made a good financial choice, since the eventual One Houston Center was markedly scaled down as though the ambitious tower wasn't justified by the market after all. I may be wrong; sorry. I don't have any particular facts. If I'm right, sorry to make you stop thinking. Edited September 2, 2007 by strickn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Here's an ad for a condo tower that went nowhere. It was placed in an October 1981 issue of the Houston Post, but I've only come across it that one time. The address is also where another condo tower of similar height was supposed to have been built several years ago, but I'd guess it's long since dead as well. There's a rendering I should dig up of a very interesting looking project that was pitched around the same time that would've been located between Town & Country and the hospital at Memorial City called "Resource Center/Houston". It was designed by 3D/I and was to have included a 16-story hotel and office buildings of 26, 36 and 46 stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 (edited) Trying to stick to crux of the topic but can we add venues and shopping strips etc ? I still have a proposed scheme of buildings (from Downtown Houston association) that were to be built all around Minute Maid Park but plans were scrapped. I need to scan though sorry. I could list the developers or architects which may still have renderings or sketches. Its like a brochures with great sketches of numerous projects. One page shows 2 story height arches at several busy intersections of the city that have like Kirby District going over the arch. Another was to go over 45 at Wayside and so on. Now I recall picked up the brochure at a Downtown Houston Alliance meeting several years ago! http://www.downtownhouston.org/Home/AboutHDA/ Edited January 18, 2008 by Vertigo58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 I still have a proposed scheme of buildings (from Downtown Houston association) that were to be built all around Minute Maid Park but plans were scrapped. I need to scan though sorry.e-Square? I posted a picture of that in another unbuilt topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 e-Square? I posted a picture of that in another unbuilt topic. I think you are correct. I recall the proposed tower to have been built directly in front of the ball park was to be quite beautiful. There was even a website for it? The first thing that came to mind was how it would block out all of the view of the DT skyline from the bleachers. Oh well asta la vista. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Pardon the quality of these scans, but they're copies from microfilm... Anyway, this is the model of Resource Centre/Houston, from a 12/3/81 Post article And an article from the 7/24/88 edition of the Post on the unbuilt buildings and projects of the 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Shamrock, Turnberry, & The Redstone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Just thought it'd be fun to post renderings of proposed projects that never happened or even conceptual ideas architects had for Houston. Here's one to start off with. This must have been the proposed Deyarr project we hard about a couple years ago (per the link addy) http://www.paulkweton.com/prof-projects/Deyaar-Mixed-Use/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Indigo Park near Katyhttp://www.hsmcommercial.com/propertypics/2176documentpdf.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 "SouthPointe" - the former AstroWorld site (http://swamplot.com/even-better-than-greenspoint-new-astroworld-festival-office-park/2009-01-19/) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) For an old-school approach to this thread, there are always those many plans from the 80s to fall back on. Here's a model of a lesser known project called Resource Centre/Houston. It was to have been a series of towers: 46, 36, 26 & 16 stories tall, with the smallest being a hotel and the rest being office space. 2 million square feet on 16 acres. It would've been located east of what's now CityCentre, occupying the land that's now a large strip center. Apologies for the quality since it's a copy from microfilm. Edited July 8, 2011 by ChannelTwoNews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Apologies for the quality since it's a copy from microfilm.I rather like the 'quality'. It makes me realize that visions for Houston's future are not new, and that the progression the city has undergone was - at some time in the 'long ago' past - just a vision.That gives me even greater hope for the future of the city, even if some of these visions (such as this one) didn't pan out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Check these out - they're older threads so there are a lot of broken links... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Surprised this wasn't brought up earlier. The most famous non-building in Houston: Bank of the Southwest Tower: http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=103046 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Surprised this wasn't brought up earlier. The most famous non-building in Houston: Bank of the Southwest Tower: I didn't mention this because I still have hopes for it to be built! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I didn't mention this because I still have hopes for it to be built! It did get built. In Philly, twice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 The most famous non-building in Houston It may be the most famous, but it's certainly not the largest: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Surprised this wasn't brought up earlier. The most famous non-building in Houston: Bank of the Southwest Tower: http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=103046 This one was brought up several years ago. I remember commenting on the building being designed with a giant gyroscope on the top floor of the building to help control sway. The weighted gyroscope would apperrently move in the opposite direction of the wind force, thereby tourqing the structure. It would have been quite unique, from an engineering standpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Here is the entry for "Southwest Center" in Houston's Gallery of Architecture (1984): 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Far and away my favorite proposal was the 'Spirit of Houston'. This would have been a true landmark for the city. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Far and away my favorite proposal was the 'Spirit of Houston'. This would have been a true landmark for the city.Yeah, sure. Just like Treasures is landmark, but bigger and reflective... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Far and away my favorite proposal was the 'Spirit of Houston'. This would have been a true landmark for the city.I never liked this proposal. I do like the idea of an 'iconic', large monument within the city, but not this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) The heavy rail proposal from the early 1980s. Probably would have been pretty big today. Edited July 10, 2011 by Trae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Although I dearly wish the Bank of the Southwest Tower had been built, if it had by now it would probably be considered just another slightly tatty and dated 80s monument (albeit a good one). On the other hand, the 'Spirit of Houston' would have immediately and permanently become a world-famous symbol of the city. It would have been unique enough (with the possible exceptions of the Statue of Liberty and the Motherland Statue) to never really become dated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Although I dearly wish the Bank of the Southwest Tower had been built, if it had by now it would probably be considered just another slightly tatty and dated 80s monument (albeit a good one). On the other hand, the 'Spirit of Houston' would have immediately and permanently become a world-famous symbol of the city. It would have been unique enough (with the possible exceptions of the Statue of Liberty and the Motherland Statue) to never really become dated.Probably best it wasn't built then. Every single image I've seen for the it is hideous. I'd rather have the city associated with oil refineries than this thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Anyone remember the arches that were supposed to be between midtown and downtown? Something about the gateway to houston... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I never liked this proposal. I do like the idea of an 'iconic', large monument within the city, but not this one. My Lord, it would have been beautiful.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbha Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) I was at a bookstore today and encountered a book titled Houston: Lost and Unbuilt by Steven Strom. It was published in 2010 by the UT Press.About 2/3 of the book covers Houston landmarks which were torn down, but the rest shows the Houston that "could have been." Here are some excerpts from Google Books:Page 140, showing Houston Center: http://tinyurl.com/6k2676qPage 146, showing the Sterling Hotel: http://tinyurl.com/62s6tbnI didn't purchase the book, but I thumbed through the sections on 'Houston Unbuilt'. My favorite proposal shown is a pedestrian mall in front of the Second City National Bank. The caption indicates that a plaza in front of the NY state capitol is similar in design to the proposal.More details on the book can be found here: http://www.utexas.ed...oks/strhou.html Edited July 11, 2011 by Simbha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My Lord, it would have been beautiful.... It's still amazing. I wish I could +rep it 1000 times 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 It's still amazing. I wish I could +rep it 1000 timesAhh.. You're too kind.Lockmat's opening post stated.. "or even conceptual ideas architects had for Houston." So I'm pretty sure my icon is qualified to be here.Plus... it's a helluva lot more realistic than the downtown dome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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