editor

I could see a Wal-Mart on the Eastern edge of towntown.

I wouldn't count on it with TRU. Their financial situation isn't very good these days. And they've been closing stores, especially downtown ones, over the last few years.

I don't see why not. Downtown Minneapolis (Target headquarters) has one, and there are a bunch in other cities. I love those weird escallators for the shopping carts.

How interesting that you should mention Minneapolis. I just returned from there, and made extensive use of its skyway system to get around. It really is a marvelous thing. Like one really long, twisty mall. Cincinnati has one, too, but much much smaller. But at least in the Cincinnati skyway there's an actual mall at the center. Here's a map of the MPLS skyway system map. Sorry it's a little fuzzy. I was testing out a new lens: Pretty much if it's not connected to the skyway, it's a surface parking lot. In March, 1999 a young lady pulled me out of the way of a Metro bus racing past the Chase Tower. I ended up marrying her.

Jillians would be a great way to fill up the unused portion of Bayou Place.

I don't think tunnel systems should be closed, but there should be incentives for businesses to fill in the street-level shops first, then underground. Here in Chicago (yeah, I know you hate when I say that) the mayor's new building has quite a nice tunnel system connection (they call it a Pedway). It's all bright and new and glass and wide with lots of space for a couple of dozen shops. I'm eager to see what becomes of this space because if any space in the Pedway system stands a chance of flourishing, this is it. It connects two commuter rail stations with two subway lines and a department store. There is an amazing lack of underground retail in Chicago even though I can sit still in the pedway and count people by the THOUSANDS passing through each hour. I've never understood it.

I always thought it would be cool to do this with a toy store or one of those Gap Kids places because you could have a slide for the children from one floor to the other.

I've seen in a couple of cities where the underground retail and the street-level retail of the same store were connected via a staircase.

Didn't Camden slow down its building plans because of the economy? Is this even still an active project?

I know it's convenient to make this a rich-vs-poor thing because it fits neatly into your view of society, but I don't think it is. I think it's an urban planning issue. The same people who drive from Saks across the street to Barnes and Noble are the same people who don't mind spending four or five hours walking from store to store along the streets of Paris, London, or even Chicago. As another person noted, crossing Westheimer is an extreme sport. Why would these people risk their lives walking across the street when they can traverse the same distance in more comfort and safety in their cars? Yes, it's slower, but for many people the benefits of safety outweigh the inconvenience. The distance from Saks to Barnes and Noble (for example) is less than the distance from Saks to the other end of the mall. So why don't they drive there? Because there's stuff to look at, it's a controlled environment, and it's safe. If the next Galleria expansion was to place a block of elevated retail across Westheimer, you'd cut down on traffic, increase sales, and eliminate the whole "walking is for poor people" argument. Remember, these are people who very often walk/jog/run as part of their regular schedule. In cities like Paris, Vienna, and New York it's done in the course of the day's errands. In cities like Houston it's done in a gym, because going outside is unappetizing.

"...midtown... at the very center of the entertainment and cultural area." Does this mean that "Midtown" was a lot larger back then? Was this before the "Museum District" label was invented?

I remember that was the promise made when it was being built -- that businesses would flock to the area to cater to the crowds and it would revitalize the neighborhood. To date: Didn't happen. I think primarily because there is so much vacant land around there. Businesses like bars usually can't afford to build their own buildings; they move into existing buildings. But around Minute Maid, pickings are pretty slim.

You're right -- I've been there a few times, and they really do it well. It's one of the hidden gems of the city's tourist industry. The city should promote it more. At least put signs on the freeways directing people to it. They used to sell VHS copies of the Power of Houston. I bought the last one, unless they've had more made.

How about instead of wishing for more chain stores you can find in any other city to fill the vacant space, we root for some home-grown retail to fill it up and become a Houston export chain? Maybe Tootsie's would like a little extra room. I bet a lot of tourists who can't find Highland Village would be thrilled to shop there if it was in the Galleria.

I think the problem is that in Chicago the White Sox are always seen as the "second" team, and even the World Series hasn't changed that. The childish and jealous northsiders had a joke this year, "I heard Chicago is in the World Series -- Go Cubbies!" Which illustrates the point that not only Chicago, but much of the rest of the baseball playing world associate the Cubs with Chicago first, and the White Sox a distant second. A lot of that has, interestingly enough, to do with urban planning. In the area around the Cubs' Wrigley Field (known as Wrigleyville, though it's technically Lakeview), there are dozens and dozens of bars, restaurants, private clubs, souvenier shops, and other businesses catering to the summer-long party that goes on in Wrigley Field, win or lose. The Cubs games are more of a neighborhood festival than a sporting event, and getting tickets without going through a broker is virtually impossible. Even if they don't have a ticket for the Cubs game, or even if the team is playing out of town, tens of thousands of people pour into the Wirgleyville neighborhood for the honor of watching it on TV next door to the stadium. The contrast is U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play. It is typical of many modern stadia -- surrounded by acres and acres of parking lots so the only choice for a drink or a bite is inside the stadium. The team controls the experience. The nearest bar is three blocks away. The nearest souvenir shop even further. While Wrigleyville revels in its baseball-fueled festivals several hundred times a year, the area around The Cell is virtually deserted. There's no reason to go there. The surrounding blocks of bars and restaurants were bulldozed for surface parking, and it's a scar on the landscape. The Sox thought it would draw people into the stadium if they didn't have to compete with every mom-and-pop watering hole in Bridgeview. The reality is that virtually no one goes to see the White Sox play, and radio stations can't even give the tickets away. Another area where the Cubs have an advantage over the Sox. The Cubs are owned by the Tribune Company which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and other newspapers. More importantly, it also owns a lot of TV stations, and the biggest radio station in the Midwest. So the Cubs games are always on TV (WGN/Superstation WGN, Tribune-owned Comcast Sports Network, or Tribune-operated WCIU-TV), and radio (WGN radio). Until just this year, the Sox had trouble finding anyone to carry their games, and they bounced around between the local Fox station, Fox Sports Midwest (which was actually owend by CBS back when I worked for Westinghouse), and sometimes weren't televised at all. Again, that changed this year when the Tribune Company bought the broadcast rights to the Sox games and they're always on WGN/SSWGN/WCIU/CSN, and somtimes even bump Cubs games to the lesser-distributed channels. But old habits die hard. Just like most people in Houston watch KTRK out of habit, most people in Chicago assume that WGN is the "Cubs station" and the Tribune is the "Cubs paper" even though Tribune's TV stations broadcast the Sox games. During the Series, Tribune reporters were very often harassed and pelted with beer cans because of this mistaken perception. Old habits and all that.

That's very interesting, especially considering that the Chicago papers all did the story saying that the World Series wasn't a big deal and didn't have much of an economic impact. I guess it's all semantics.

On a just-barely-related note: Many people know that Service Corporation International, the world's largest funeral home company, is headquartered in Houston. What most people don't know is that there is a cafeteria in the basement of their building. Even fewer people know its nickname is "The Coffin Cafe."

And the one with the waterfall and restaurant at the Texas Medical Center.

Isn't that location right next to Spec's?

No.. no.. no. He means Burlington, Vermont. They've been looking for a new city hall for a long time, and I guess this is a good fit. I know I wouldn't mind living in a city where the entire council and mayor telecommuted. Or are they outsourcing their government to Houston?

That's sometimes an indication of a spyware infection. Are you on Windows?