greystone08(returns) Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 This kind of makes me irratated for the city of Houston. Downtown Houston has so many companies here like AT&T, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Chevron Texaco. But you would never know it because all these buildings don't have their signs put on the buildings so people know its here. Instead alot of the buildings decide to decorate the rooftops w/ Christmas lighing.Someone please tell me, what is with the ordinance of not putting signs up high downtown? I'm just curious as to why they allow it in uptown but not downtown? Continental center might be an acception but i can hardly see the building at night (So it's not good enough). Is Houston trying to keep from becoming commercial or what? Personally, i think it would do a favor for downtown Houston at night from what it has now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown_resident Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Funny how houston touts the no-zoning principle...but when it comes to signs on buildings, we have to worry about aesthetics. They will allow for suburban development of CVS structures in midtown, but not permit signs on the premise that it takes away from the appeal of the skyline...I'm not sure i agree.Are there any other reasons they do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetJ Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 That's funny because I have thought about Houston not allowing signs in Downtown but it allows I-45 North and South to appear the way they do. Now those are major eyesores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 greystone, what an excellent point!Houston has a problem. Are we a lady or a whore? We have dignified buildings in the theater district. We want to be regarded as the equal of Carnegie Hall. The Alley Theater and Jones Hall are regarded as acceptable architectural manifestations of how earnest we are about The Arts; Wortham Center and Hobby Center a bit less so, but hopeful.The face of the arts is changing. In the 21st century, it turns out that Las Vegas has as much to offer as NYC. Theater thrives on tourism, and Broadway has to share the limelight with understudies. Maybe Houston can cut in on the action.Why not? I'd like to pretend that I'm some sort of theater snob, and could dismiss Houston's efforts as second-class; but it isn't so. Any sane person can gain as much enjoyment from Houston's theater scene as anywhere else. The Theater Experience has as much to do with expectations as reality. We could use a bit more 'glitz'. Well intentioned people want to retroactively give downtown Houston a New Haven or Boston feel. It ain't gonna happen. No. Bring on the neon! This is Space City Texas, and we ought to use Tokyo as more of a guide than Boston. Make it big. Make it gaudy. Big electronic signs! Let's show a bit of cleavage, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2112 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Love your cleavage comparison!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Are we a lady or a whore? Ah, I think we all know the answer to that! Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the downtown sign ordinance dates from the 1970s. In part the idea was to save energy, but also because at the time neon signs were considered "tacky". Funny now that opinion has changed, and bright signage is often considered a big plus in a city. In the Tokyo theme, it would be cool to have a local Ginza with millions of neon lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown_resident Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I think the rule is that the sign must include the words "modeling studio" to be legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 No. Bring on the neon! This is Space City Texas, and we ought to use Tokyo as more of a guide than Boston. Make it big. Make it gaudy. Big electronic signs! Let's show a bit of cleavage, so to speak.Anyone who agrees with this statment can never complaing about Tillman again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 The no-sign ordinance on skyscrapers dates back to the 1970's, when for over ten years the entire skyline was dominated by a giant, 40 foot, rotating, light-up Gulf sign mounted on one of our tallest buildings. If you look at a postcard of Houston from that era, you will see how horrible this made our city look.Signs on skyscrapers can be tasteful, but if you take away that ordinance, you are opening a Pandora's box. Look at LA's skyline. Almost every building has a corporate logo on top. Personally I think it looks terrible, and our skyline looks much classier than LA's.I think some of us are set on being negative. The city bans corporate signs in recognition of the symbolic importance of downtown to our city, and we just use it to complain about how some of the streets look. Banning corporate signs is a lot milder than telling everyday business owners what to do with their property. Why not appreciate this good faith effort - we have a beautiful, classy skyline because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown_resident Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I can understand that we're avoiding cheesy and classless signs on the skyline...but it would be nice if it looked like it was at least ALIVE. On another note, i'm not sure that a visitor would really get the 'class' factor of our signless downtown as they drive down filthy sign ridden I-45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I think most people who have seen our downtown, regardless of which freeway they came in on, think that it is classy and beautiful.All of the billboards along I-45 have been banned, and are on track to be removed. Your battle has already been won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greystone08(returns) Posted September 25, 2004 Author Share Posted September 25, 2004 Why not appreciate this good faith effort - we have a beautiful, classy skyline because of it.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>yeah only during the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greystone08(returns) Posted September 25, 2004 Author Share Posted September 25, 2004 anyone have pics of the skyline with the gulf ball rotating it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincoRanch-HoustonResident Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 We need to light up our building during the night. It is all dark and only a few lights are on. Employees in Downtown(including me) leave our lights on to show what Houston can really look like at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstngoal Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Perhaps we can all agree - whether you like signs or not - that downtown Houston needs to be better lit at night so as to at least exhibit some life and vitality. I personally do not like signs on buildings... LA and San Diego are both good examples of downtown skylines where signs on buildings basically just trying to "out-yell" one another. There are some very classy skylines out there that are dramatically lit at night - without being tacky. Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, Seattle and Boston all come to mind. Those should serve as models for our town.... and honestly, I'd leave the neon to Las Vegas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largeTEXAS Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Apart from signage, advertisements are not allowed on sides of buildings. I HATE billboards, but downtown mega-ads are sometimes cool. Ever been to the corner of Broadway and Houston St. in NYC? The ads on the buildings' blank walls are so cool the local residents fought to keep them when they were supposed to be removed. We have many ugly blank walls around downtown. I wouldn't mind a little gloss on those walls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincoRanch-HoustonResident Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 When I went to New York City is saw those signs and they are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 I think the rule is that the sign must include the words "modeling studio" to be legal.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I know. I've been to those places. The women are very friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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