ToryGattis Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Wanted to repost this over here to hear HAIFer feedback... http://houstonstrate...led-garden.html My friend Neal and I were in a tall building recently looking out over the city, and noted that there is an interesting phenomenon in Houston. There are now enough tall buildings to almost outline a new zone. If you go from the Medical Center up to Downtown, west along Allen Parkway/Memorial, south along 610/Post Oak, back east to Greenway Plaza, and then southeast to return to the Medical Center ( here's a satellite map of the area - sorry I'm not skilled enough to overlay an outline) there is an almost continuous - well not continuous - but a substantial line of skyscrapers. And it's pretty green within that zone, as least from an elevated viewpoint. And we named it "The Walled Garden". Somewhat similar aesthetically to New York's Central Park or Chicago's Millennium Park, but much larger and, of course, not a public park. It does, in my stretched definition, contain the key parks of central Houston: Hermann, Discovery Green, Eleanor Tinsley/Buffalo Bayou, and Memorial (my concept, my boundaries . It also contains such key areas as the Galleria, Highland Village, River Oaks, Upper Kirby, Montrose/Neartown, Midtown, the Museum District, Rice University and the Rice Village. "Inside the Loop" is a very common phrase you'll hear in Houston. I'd like to think "The Walled Garden" could be a similar such phrase describing a narrower zone where young singles want to live (as evidenced by the explosion in apartment construction within it) vs. more family-oriented areas like West U, Bellaire, The Heights, or the various neighborhoods of the east side. It could also be used for branding and attracting young talent to Houston, like the way people talk about the Near North Side/Lincoln Park in Chicago or Santa Monica in LA or Manhattan in NYC. By having a unifying label over the area, it's easier to promote it. And I think "Houston's Walled Garden" has a pretty appealing ring to it. Now if only they could only fill in the gaps a bit, maybe with a tower somewhere near Ashby and Bissonnet?... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Something like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Something like this?Close! I'd tighten up the west and south sides to be closer to Post Oak, Greenway Plaza, and the Med Center core. Reliant Park and West U would not be included. 288/59 would be the line on the east side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 But since most people don't have the opportunity to see that view, could it really catch on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 But since most people don't have the opportunity to see that view, could it really catch on?Good question. Obviously anybody who works or lives in any of those towers can see it, and that's 2-300,000+ right there. It's also pretty easy to explain. "What's the Walled Garden?" "It's the part of Houston surrounded by skyscrapers." It's also reasonably easy to see on the satellite map. Maybe not quite as easy as "inside the loop", but close. BTW, does anybody know how Google Maps and others get the neighborhood names they display on their maps? Does the official info come from the City of Houston? If this did catch on, I'm wondering how the label would get on the maps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 But since most people don't have the opportunity to see that view, could it really catch on?Yes, I think so. Just like "Eado" and "Houston is funky" have caught on, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleak Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 .... and "Houston is funky" have caught on, yes?Whenever I see this slogan I think they should substitute Pasadena for Houston - especially when the old paper mill (is that plant still around) is exhaling full blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 What it reminds me of is the income inequality in trees story that was going around recently.http://persquaremile.com/2012/06/13/your-images-of-income-inequality-from-space/More trees = Wealthier people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Interesting...I made a quick outline (it may be open to edit):https://maps.google.....06402,0.111494I went along Washington/I-10 to include Glenwood Cemetery and all of Memorial Park- maybe going as far north as White Oak would work, too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Interesting...I made a quick outline (it may be open to edit):https://maps.google.....06402,0.111494I went along Washington/I-10 to include Glenwood Cemetery and all of Memorial Park- maybe going as far north as White Oak would work, too?This is great! Thanks for doing this. I updated both my posts with the link. I would prefer your northern boundary as well to capture the Washington Ave area, but technically the high-rises are along Allen Parkway and Memorial, so it's a stretch if we're staying true to the "Walled Garden" concept. The easy rule is "if you can see towers in all directions from where you're standing, you're in the Garden." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Other options might be "Skyscraper Garden" or "Tower Garden". Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Other options might be "Skyscraper Garden" or "Tower Garden". Thoughts?Does it matter? I think that you're just looking for a synonym for the concept of an urban core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I would shorten to Skygarden.from a broader branding perspecitve, 'walled' and 'tower' have undesirable connotations of the jailing and torture sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 How about Green Urban Abyss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I would shorten to Skygarden.from a broader branding perspecitve, 'walled' and 'tower' have undesirable connotations of the jailing and torture sort.Hrmm... Artificially melded words, where the suffix is "garden". Jailing, torture. Undesirable connotations. Broader branding, perhaps seeking tourist draw. Let's put all of these concepts together...in German."Der Himmelgarten" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hrmm... Artificially melded words, where the suffix is "garden". Jailing, torture. Undesirable connotations. Broader branding, perhaps seeking tourist draw. Let's put all of these concepts together...in German."Der Himmelgarten"Sounds like there will be beer and sausage involved. I'm in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Sounds like there will be beer and sausage involved. I'm in.Yes... it'll be a sausage fest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Yes... it'll be a sausage fest.Not sounding as good. Will there or will there not be women in dirndls? That's what I need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Reminds me of a sketch from Lars Lerup's After the City that describes this area as the "zoomorphic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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