arche_757 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Just curious... whatever happened to all the posts and topics of the original forum? After a message from another member today I suddenly felt nostalgic and wondered what happened to ALL of the original content of this forum Version 1? I know there was some sort of hack, but I'm not clear if the posts were all destroyed or just put in limbo as Wayne opened the new version of the forum. Also, is there any residual data leftover (even if the topics/threads/etc are all gone) about number of members? Lastly (sorry), when exactly did the original forum start? I recall joining pretty early on, but I can't recall exactly what year/month I found this forum. I'm guessing really only mods have any recollection of those past events? Just curious. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I found this, but the links are broken. You can see the forums we have today, people are discussing some of the remnants of the past that disappeared in the early 2000s (first Rice Market grocery store, Imperial Sugar pulling out). We had a Huntsville forum, too? Wow. Arche, it seems you were one of the first members here, congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 ^Wow! Cool! Thanks. Brings back the memories... there was even a member named "Snubdude" I think he was Subdudes arch enemy?! And is MidtownCoog still around? He/she was quite prolific back in the day. I see the first thread for the Asia House was started WAY back in 2002, amazing, only took what? 8 years to start construction? Yes I'm one of the older members... but I couldn't for the life of me remember when I first stumbled upon the forum. Now, looking at the site you found - it would appear the forum only dates back to 2002. So kinda crazy but it has been a part of Houston's architectural critique scene for 12 years! Does not seem like it has been that long! how time flies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I don't remember Snubdude, but the name cracks me up. Based on where I was working at the time, I think HAIF v1 started in late summer 2002. That does bring back memories. 'Going Up' only has 40 topics, compared to 930 now. The Spirit of Houston was one of the first, if not the first topic as I recall. It looks like the original board was only around for a couple of years before it was hacked. It seems longer since it grew so quickly during that time. Almost all forum content was destroyed, so HAIF v2 started as a clean slate. Thankfully there are better backup mechanisms in place now, so the same crash is unlikely to happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 ^Wow! Cool! Thanks. Brings back the memories... there was even a member named "Snubdude" I think he was Subdudes arch enemy?! And is MidtownCoog still around? He/she was quite prolific back in the day. I see the first thread for the Asia House was started WAY back in 2002, amazing, only took what? 8 years to start construction? Yes I'm one of the older members... but I couldn't for the life of me remember when I first stumbled upon the forum. Now, looking at the site you found - it would appear the forum only dates back to 2002. So kinda crazy but it has been a part of Houston's architectural critique scene for 12 years! Does not seem like it has been that long! how time flies No, but MidtownCoog did make to v2 of the forum, last posts from 2008, last active in 2011. Another poster that was very prolific but eventually disappeared was RedScare, who was still posting until a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 I don't remember Snubdude, but the name cracks me up. Based on where I was working at the time, I think HAIF v1 started in late summer 2002. That does bring back memories. 'Going Up' only has 40 topics, compared to 930 now. The Spirit of Houston was one of the first, if not the first topic as I recall. It looks like the original board was only around for a couple of years before it was hacked. It seems longer since it grew so quickly during that time. Almost all forum content was destroyed, so HAIF v2 started as a clean slate. Thankfully there are better backup mechanisms in place now, so the same crash is unlikely to happen again. He was your alter ego perhaps? Ah, the Spirit of Houston... thankfully that "Motherland-esque" statue that was 1,000' tall died! Glad to hear there are better safety mechanisms in place today. As shame to have lost everything from way-back, but thankful to Wayne (and anyone else) who decided to try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I'm kind of glad it's gone. Re-reading posts from your 11 year old self are the definition of cringe worthy.Although I do miss my arch enemy dalparadise. And the eccentric poster from Dallas who continually posted about luxurious projects that were totally made up.The most exciting projects were 1000 Main, the condo towers along Uptown Park, Calpine Center, 3333 Allen Parkway, and of course 1500 Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I'm kind of glad it's gone. Re-reading posts from your 11 year old self are the definition of cringe worthy. Yeah, tell me about it. In 2002, I was still mourning the loss of Pokemasters.com (which, of all the Pokémon fansites from the good old days is still around, though the format and content are long gone--the forums, on a .net server, survived and created a new site years later), and my first forum, circa 2005, involved me as some sort of crazy Nintendo fanboy. This was soon adjoined by a SimCity 4 fan craze...in fact, inspired by the cool names of SC4 building artists of the time, I wanted to create a new identity, starting on this one Houston forum I decided to join (and it would be the name if I became some sort of SC4 master). Needless to say, it didn't work out all that well, and I never used that name again except on that one site... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I was around when the original HAIF was here. I believe it was hacked and we all had to start over and re-register. This was back in 2003-2004? I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I'm kind of glad it's gone. Re-reading posts from your 11 year old self are the definition of cringe worthy.Although I do miss my arch enemy dalparadise. And the eccentric poster from Dallas who continually posted about luxurious projects that were totally made up.The most exciting projects were 1000 Main, the condo towers along Uptown Park, Calpine Center, 3333 Allen Parkway, and of course 1500 Smith. I would say the most exciting projects that were followed with the most interest were the proposed Shamrock Tower at Main and Texas and Ballpark Place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Probably because those two had the most opponents! Shamrock - while a decent enough idea was gaudy and very outdated looking. Build a 40 floor residential tower, but don't make it look like Camelot! That sort of nonsense belongs in Vegas! I liked Ballpark Place - though in hindsight I think what we're getting in its place is probably a better product. Museums were big news back then - the MFA I think had just opened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Was Shamrock a Randall Davis project, or did it just look like one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Probably because those two had the most opponents! Shamrock - while a decent enough idea was gaudy and very outdated looking. Build a 40 floor residential tower, but don't make it look like Camelot! That sort of nonsense belongs in Vegas! I liked Ballpark Place - though in hindsight I think what we're getting in its place is probably a better product. Museums were big news back then - the MFA I think had just opened?I am particularly happy we didn't end up with Shamrock. Or Orion for that matter. Tack-a-rama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I am particularly happy we didn't end up with Shamrock. Or Orion for that matter. Tack-a-rama Probably because those two had the most opponents! Shamrock - while a decent enough idea was gaudy and very outdated looking. Build a 40 floor residential tower, but don't make it look like Camelot! That sort of nonsense belongs in Vegas! I liked Ballpark Place - though in hindsight I think what we're getting in its place is probably a better product. Museums were big news back then - the MFA I think had just opened? Oh yes, Orion. That was the one with a top that looked like an Earth Wind & Fire CD cover. Shamrock was apparently more Wizard of Oz-inspired, with a green roof and turrets. Tacky perhaps, but that the time I thought it was much better than the surface lot, and it would have been one of the first downtown residential developments so I was happy to see it. I think the Beck building at MFAH was under development at the time, as was the Hobby Center (small-town airport) and Mercer condos. Not exactly a shining era in Houston architecture, was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 That awful Civic Courts building was going up around the same time, wasn't it? What on earth was going on with Houston architecture back then to lead to such a preponderance of ugly designs? In retrospect perhaps we should be glad that the 2007 bust happened. The newer crop of designs strikes me as much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Enron's collapse prevented development on a similar scale to what we're seeing today. Which is probably fine, since if Enron had continued on (the way they were) any longer - and others like Dynagy had done so as well - we would likely have had a much bigger bust than what we ended up having. Orion never really bugged me, but Shamrock did. Looking back on it - I think Orion was pretty bad too. Shamrock: Orion: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Shamrock would go in downtown? Man. Not only is that a cheap-looking Inner Loop style tower (turrets, really?), it also so badly wants to ape the legacy of the late Shamrock Hotel. Let the past remain in the past... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 ^Yes. There was a McDonnalds that was torn down on Main Street (pre-Rail) where this behemoth would go. Fortunately it didn't make it! Would have been really bad. At least Orion would have been off on its own away from Downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 ^Yes. There was a McDonnalds that was torn down on Main Street (pre-Rail) where this behemoth would go. Fortunately it didn't make it! Would have been really bad. At least Orion would have been off on its own away from Downtown.Yes the fence for the project was there well past the super bowl. The empty Trailer up until 2006 IIRC. That awful Civic Courts building was going up around the same time, wasn't it? What on earth was going on with Houston architecture back then to lead to such a preponderance of ugly designs? In retrospect perhaps we should be glad that the 2007 bust happened. The newer crop of designs strikes me as much better. I think the giant projects (River Oaks District's Towers, BLVD Place's Ritz and other towers), were solid eye candy. Those ugly projects you mention were in the works after 9/11. Oh yes, Orion. That was the one with a top that looked like an Earth Wind & Fire CD cover. Shamrock was apparently more Wizard of Oz-inspired, with a green roof and turrets. Tacky perhaps, but that the time I thought it was much better than the surface lot, and it would have been one of the first downtown residential developments so I was happy to see it. I think the Beck building at MFAH was under development at the time, as was the Hobby Center (small-town airport) and Mercer condos. Not exactly a shining era in Houston architecture, was it?I truly did not like the Hobby Center but the street front has grown on me. The Parking Garage facing the bayou was and is a travesty. HAIF was in an uproar regarding that. I think in the old HAIF there was a plan for a residential tower on Westheimer in the early design stages. Like 5 boxes stacked on one another but at different angles. Seemed ahead of it's time. Edit: I think I also had a few issues posting renderings from SSP or SSC or City Data (one of those...), and they ended up being fake projects that someone else had posted. It was a dark time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Oh yes, Orion. That was the one with a top that looked like an Earth Wind & Fire CD cover. Oh, dandy. Now I have a multi track mellow music earworm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I think in the old HAIF there was a plan for a residential tower on Westheimer in the early design stages. Like 5 boxes stacked on one another but at different angles. Seemed ahead of it's time. I remember that one. Like a stack of glass cubes. I don't think it ever made it beyond a rendering however. Somebody did post some phony renderings for Five Allen Center, which tells you how long that tower has been in play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I remember that one. Like a stack of glass cubes. I don't think it ever made it beyond a rendering however. Somebody did post some phony renderings for Five Allen Center, which tells you how long that tower has been in play. I wasn't intentionally posting fake renderings, simply copying them from the crazed city vs. city topics, thinking they were real. Ignorance is not bliss. I would get so excited and then post them here and immediately get shot down with disappointment. Before theniche and redscare there were two major posters. I can't recall their names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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