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Parking Garages


dbigtex56

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When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading about local architecture. This included some sentimental talk about barns, chicken coops, root cellars, outhouses, etc.

And now...look where we live! Whether you drive or not, parking garages are a given in modern life.

It's my opinion that parking garages should matter, even more than their purported purpose. Seriously. I've seen a lot of 'important' buildings built in Houston which have sleazy parking garages attached.

So how come parking garages are given no respect? Sometimes they are. I've seen an urban area where the parking garage was given its due. The South Avenue parking garage in Rochester was favorably compared to the Guggenheim; this was thirty years ago and it still looks good. Isn't that the purpose of good architecture?

Parking garages! Who the hell cares? Yet, they're part of daily existence. Architects are responsible for their form, too. So, does someone have a better suggestion as to how to temporarily store cars?

I've seen some pretty neat parking garages. In Boston, there was this 1940's leftover parking garage, where they'd take your car and snatch it up, and machinery would move it, bodily, into some storage space. It kinda made sense. They could store a lot of cars in a small space, and didn't have to account for ramps. Is this now impractical? Should we re-explore that idea?

How unfortunate that we've lost that "gee-whiz" kind of attitude. I do not like parking garages. They are ugly and alienating. They take up too much room and are unattractive at ground level, usually.

And yet, I'm glad that the Foley's parking garage still stands in downtown Houston. This is an excellent example of good parking garage design, circa mid 20th century. Maybe this pragmatic structure needs to be criticized and appreciated, and acknowleged. Preserved, maybe.

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Parking garages are a heck of alot better than massive sprawling parking lots!

he best looking Garage IMO, is the new "building3" or something like that, located across from the St Luke's tower. Most of the garage is enclosed in glass, and there are 4levels of office space above.

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i read some time ago in an AIA magazine about a parking garage being planned with mechanical devices like you described dbigtex. i imagine the upkeep for that sort of machinery would require regular maintenance costs. i believe the garage they described was for long term parking rather than daily as well.

also, i read about a garage facade somewhere with programmable light panels that could create one solid color or any combination of colors, in any pattern moving or still, etc. the garage, being in an urban area, had only one street side face.

i agree that some discussion on this subject is necessary. i'm reminded of a discussion we had on the former site about the possibility of a city/downtown "design review committee", a committee whose opinion would be required on all building permits. if one existed, we wouldn't have to rely on the design tastes (errr, non taste) of a builder/developer. without something of this nature, i can't see how parking garages could improve in our near future, unfortunately.

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At one point, downtown had one of those "elevator"-style parking garages.  It was designed by William N. Floyd in the 50s but I believe it was torn down a long ago.  I believe he told me they were called "pigeonhole" garages.  Something like that...

I think I read that that garage was near the City Auditorium, where Jones Hall is today. Those mechanical garages have been constructed recently in Europe, but since land is less costly in the US they might not make as much sense here.

dbigtex, there was a photo essay on Houston's parking garages in a recent issue of Cite. You can probably get a copy from RDA.

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I've thought about car elevator type systems, but didn't know they ever existed. That's interesting. Here's a link to some info about a possible resurgence of them.. http://www.roboticparking.com/articles/sandiego.htm

There's a garage downtown somewhere that was an old building, looks like from the 20s maybe....they apparently gutted the interior, and built a parking structure inside the shell of the old building. They kept the big glass windows, so you look in and see somebody's car sitting there in the window. Pretty cool I think....to keep the look of the old building, yet give it renewed life as a garage. Anybody seen it? Where is it? I don't remember where I was when I drove by it.

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Speaking of the old Sakowitz, there is an article about it in the current 002 Magazine (a beacon of fine journalism if ever there were one). The article says that the building will become a "retail destination" again. There is also a rendering of the renovated building with little stick people standing out front, perhaps wondering where they are going to park now. I would assume that rather than convert the entire building, retail space will be carved out along the ground floor streetfronts. This should be relatively inexpensive to do, and I recall reading that the interior garage was designed with this eventuality in mind. No potential tenants are mentioned. I really hope this works out. Maybe it will convince the owners of the convenience store next door to rip off the ugly facade and open that French cafe.

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Yeah it's sad to see the old Sakowitz store with a parking garage inside it now. At least they preserved the building's facade. I remember shopping in there with my mother when I was a little kid.

I don't know how well the upper floors of the building are preserved, but the first floor still has the building's original flooring mostly intact. You can still see where display counters were located in the store and the original terazzo flooring. It would be great to see some nice retail in that space once again, and would be a good complement to Foley's across the street.

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It's not online, but if you pick up a copy of the current Houston Business Journal the "Houston Heritage" column is about Houston's "automobile hotel" parking garage. The Kier-Nickles garage was on Texas between Louisiana and Smith and opened in 1925. The architects were Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, and Gottlieb. The first floor had a lobby, filling staton and other retail. The garage offered cleaning and parkers for those who weren't used to navigating garages. The garage was torn down in the 1960s and is now the site of Jones Plaza. The article doesn't say anything about it having that "pigeonhole" feature.

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I don't know how well the upper floors of the building are preserved, but the first floor still has the building's original flooring mostly intact. You can still see where display counters were located in the store and the original terazzo flooring. It would be great to see some nice retail in that space once again, and would be a good complement to Foley's across the street.

I used to park in that garage when I had to drive in. I didn't know you could still see the flooring and where the counters were though. I love when you can see the remnants of what was once there in old buildings. Since I never shopped there (maybe I was too young?), I guess I'll have to go there and use my imagination as to what it once looked like. Interesting stuff.

Have you ever visited the old Nabisco building on Almeda and Holcombe? Same thing- you can see, on the floor, where the old machinery once was. The factory floor is actually kind of nice, considering it was a factory. It has lots of windows that let in natural light and what looks like some kind of laminated wood flooring (similar to a gym floor) instead of painted concrete. They even left the old Nabisco signage up. I'm just a sucker for nostalgia.

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Have you ever visited the old Nabisco building on Almeda and Holcombe?  Same thing- you can see, on the floor, where the old machinery once was.  The factory floor is actually kind of nice, considering it was a factory. It has lots of windows that let in natural light and what looks like some kind of laminated wood flooring (similar to a gym floor) instead of painted concrete.  They even left the old Nabisco signage up.  I'm just a sucker for nostalgia.

Did you ever get to see that old National Biscuit Company (NaBisCo) building on Commerce street near MM Park before they knocked in down in, like 99? I never looked inside but the outside was classic, and, it got zonked. By the way, I like your new hairdo, 20's girl ;)

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Did you ever get to see that old National Biscuit Company (NaBisCo) building on Commerce street near MM Park before they knocked in down in, like 99? I never looked inside but the outside was classic, and, it got zonked. By the way, I like your new hairdo, 20's girl ;)

Thanks! And I like your suit, danax.

No, I didn't even know where the old, old one was. I wish I had seen it. I didn't even realize Houston had a "history" until about a year ago. This forum is one of the most interesting fonts (for lack of a better word) of information about Houston's history.

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I love the save they did on the Nabisco factory in the TMC, though! They took the old factory, and made it really cool!

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Thanks! And I like your suit, danax.

No, I didn't even know where the old, old one was.  I wish I had seen it.  I didn't even realize Houston had a "history" until about a year ago. This forum is one of the most interesting fonts (for lack of a better word) of information about Houston's history.

At one point we discussed having a separate "Historic Houston" topic area but there didn't seem to be sufficient interest among members. If you have any news of historic interest, though, please post it.

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At one point we discussed having a separate "Historic Houston" topic area but there didn't seem to be sufficient interest among members.  If you have any news of historic interest, though, please post it.

I love learning about Houston's history- I wish I had more to share. If I find any new info, I definitely will.

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  • 2 months later...
When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading about local architecture. This included some sentimental talk about barns, chicken coops, root cellars, outhouses, etc.

And now...look where we live!  Whether you drive or not, parking garages are a given in modern life.

It's my opinion that parking garages should matter, even more than their purported purpose. Seriously. I've seen a lot of 'important' buildings built in Houston which have sleazy parking garages attached.

So how come parking garages are given no respect? Sometimes they are. I've seen an urban area where the parking garage was given its due. The South Avenue parking garage in Rochester was favorably compared to the Guggenheim; this was thirty years ago and it still looks good. Isn't that the purpose of good architecture?

Parking garages! Who the hell cares? Yet, they're part of daily existence. Architects are responsible for their form, too. So, does someone have a better suggestion as to how to temporarily store cars?

I know this is an old thread but I had to respond as I have wondered the same thing about our parking garages. Developers need to realize that many of these garages are midrise buildings that should be treated with some thought instead of just slapping them together on the design table.

I also found it funny that you mentioned the old Foleys garage. I was walking by that very structure on Tuesday and thought, that's a cool garage. Oh that we had some of the old school guys still doing designs. And by the way how much could it possibly cost to put a metal facad like that on our garages? Not much considering.

I've seen some pretty neat parking garages. In Boston, there was this 1940's leftover parking garage, where they'd take your car and snatch it up, and machinery would move it, bodily, into some storage space. It kinda made sense. They could store a lot of cars in a small space, and didn't have to account for ramps. Is this now impractical? Should we re-explore that idea?

How unfortunate that we've lost that "gee-whiz" kind of attitude. I do not like parking garages. They are ugly and alienating. They take up too much room and are unattractive at ground level, usually.

And yet, I'm glad that the Foley's parking garage still stands in downtown Houston. This is an excellent example of good parking garage design, circa mid 20th century. Maybe this pragmatic structure needs to be criticized and appreciated, and acknowleged. Preserved, maybe.

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When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading about local architecture. This included some sentimental talk about barns, chicken coops, root cellars, outhouses, etc.

And now...look where we live!  Whether you drive or not, parking garages are a given in modern life.

It's my opinion that parking garages should matter, even more than their purported purpose. Seriously. I've seen a lot of 'important' buildings built in Houston which have sleazy parking garages attached.

So how come parking garages are given no respect? Sometimes they are. I've seen an urban area where the parking garage was given its due. The South Avenue parking garage in Rochester was favorably compared to the Guggenheim; this was thirty years ago and it still looks good. Isn't that the purpose of good architecture?

Parking garages! Who the hell cares? Yet, they're part of daily existence. Architects are responsible for their form, too. So, does someone have a better suggestion as to how to temporarily store cars?

I know this is an old thread but I had to respond as I have wondered the same thing about our parking garages. Developers need to realize that many of these garages are midrise buildings that should be treated with some thought instead of just slapping them together on the design table.

I also found it funny that you mentioned the old Foleys garage. I was walking by that very structure on Tuesday and thought, that's a cool garage. Oh that we had some of the old school guys still doing designs. And by the way how much could it possibly cost to put a metal facad like that on our garages? Not much considering.

I've seen some pretty neat parking garages. In Boston, there was this 1940's leftover parking garage, where they'd take your car and snatch it up, and machinery would move it, bodily, into some storage space. It kinda made sense. They could store a lot of cars in a small space, and didn't have to account for ramps. Is this now impractical? Should we re-explore that idea?

How unfortunate that we've lost that "gee-whiz" kind of attitude. I do not like parking garages. They are ugly and alienating. They take up too much room and are unattractive at ground level, usually.

And yet, I'm glad that the Foley's parking garage still stands in downtown Houston. This is an excellent example of good parking garage design, circa mid 20th century. Maybe this pragmatic structure needs to be criticized and appreciated, and acknowleged. Preserved, maybe.

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When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading about local architecture. This included some sentimental talk about barns, chicken coops, root cellars, outhouses, etc.

And now...look where we live!  Whether you drive or not, parking garages are a given in modern life.

It's my opinion that parking garages should matter, even more than their purported purpose. Seriously. I've seen a lot of 'important' buildings built in Houston which have sleazy parking garages attached.

So how come parking garages are given no respect? Sometimes they are. I've seen an urban area where the parking garage was given its due. The South Avenue parking garage in Rochester was favorably compared to the Guggenheim; this was thirty years ago and it still looks good. Isn't that the purpose of good architecture?

Parking garages! Who the hell cares? Yet, they're part of daily existence. Architects are responsible for their form, too. So, does someone have a better suggestion as to how to temporarily store cars?

I know this is an old thread but I had to respond as I have wondered the same thing about our parking garages. Developers need to realize that many of these garages are midrise buildings that should be treated with some thought instead of just slapping them together on the design table.

I also found it funny that you mentioned the old Foleys garage. I was walking by that very structure on Tuesday and thought, that's a cool garage. Oh that we had some of the old school guys still doing designs. And by the way how much could it possibly cost to put a metal facad like that on our garages? Not much considering.

I've seen some pretty neat parking garages. In Boston, there was this 1940's leftover parking garage, where they'd take your car and snatch it up, and machinery would move it, bodily, into some storage space. It kinda made sense. They could store a lot of cars in a small space, and didn't have to account for ramps. Is this now impractical? Should we re-explore that idea?

How unfortunate that we've lost that "gee-whiz" kind of attitude. I do not like parking garages. They are ugly and alienating. They take up too much room and are unattractive at ground level, usually.

And yet, I'm glad that the Foley's parking garage still stands in downtown Houston. This is an excellent example of good parking garage design, circa mid 20th century. Maybe this pragmatic structure needs to be criticized and appreciated, and acknowleged. Preserved, maybe.

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When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading about local architecture. This included some sentimental talk about barns, chicken coops, root cellars, outhouses, etc.

And now...look where we live!  Whether you drive or not, parking garages are a given in modern life.

It's my opinion that parking garages should matter, even more than their purported purpose. Seriously. I've seen a lot of 'important' buildings built in Houston which have sleazy parking garages attached.

So how come parking garages are given no respect? Sometimes they are. I've seen an urban area where the parking garage was given its due. The South Avenue parking garage in Rochester was favorably compared to the Guggenheim; this was thirty years ago and it still looks good. Isn't that the purpose of good architecture?

Parking garages! Who the hell cares? Yet, they're part of daily existence. Architects are responsible for their form, too. So, does someone have a better suggestion as to how to temporarily store cars?

I know this is an old thread but I had to respond as I have wondered the same thing about our parking garages. Developers need to realize that many of these garages are midrise buildings that should be treated with some thought instead of just slapping them together on the design table.

I also found it funny that you mentioned the old Foleys garage. I was walking by that very structure on Tuesday and thought, that's a cool garage. Oh that we had some of the old school guys still doing designs. And by the way how much could it possibly cost to put a metal facad like that on our garages? Not much considering.

I've seen some pretty neat parking garages. In Boston, there was this 1940's leftover parking garage, where they'd take your car and snatch it up, and machinery would move it, bodily, into some storage space. It kinda made sense. They could store a lot of cars in a small space, and didn't have to account for ramps. Is this now impractical? Should we re-explore that idea?

How unfortunate that we've lost that "gee-whiz" kind of attitude. I do not like parking garages. They are ugly and alienating. They take up too much room and are unattractive at ground level, usually.

And yet, I'm glad that the Foley's parking garage still stands in downtown Houston. This is an excellent example of good parking garage design, circa mid 20th century. Maybe this pragmatic structure needs to be criticized and appreciated, and acknowleged. Preserved, maybe.

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