editor

If you're environmentally-minded, HEB still lets you have paper bags, instead of plastic.

The article I'm thinking of is more recent than that one, because that one was published before I moved back to Houston. I'm pretty sure it was earlier this year, and it was tied into the I-45 demolition.

Is this the neighborhood that the Chronicle said used to be known as Scorpion Town or something like that before the freeway came through? There was a pretty extensive article about its impending doom a few months ago. If this becomes a detention basin with a park in it, it would be nice for there to be a monument or something nearby showing what it used to be.

Agreed. I was up there a couple of weeks ago when they had the craft fair. Even the urban farm seems mostly dead, except for some rhubarb. I wish I had their light and space for my garden! I'm harvesting bell peppers these days, and all I have is a balcony. The food court is good, but the craft market was lame. These were the vendors: Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Candle lady T-shirt guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Candle lady Home-made jewelry lady Another t-shirt guy selling the same t-shirts as the other guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Home-made jewelry lady Sneaker guy Candle lady Another t-shirt guy selling the same t-shirts as the other guy Another t-shirt guy selling the same t-shirts as the other guy Another t-shirt guy selling the same t-shirts as the other guy Another t-shirt guy selling the same t-shirts as the other guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Sneaker guy Salsa stand At least it was well-attended, but I didn't see anyone buy anything except from the food court. I got a couple of pictures from the roof:

I love the part about "This Could be YOUR Street" Well, that's how most streets are in Houston already because people like the Greater Houston Builders Association insist that everyone needs multiple cars, and that public space should be used for storing private property. If the GHBA was really concerned about dangerous streets, as illustrated, it would encourage the better sidewalks and shared driveways proposed by the city so that people will walk and not fill the streets with their dinosaur-burning farm machinery.

You might be surprised. Some groups are against any change at all. I got a postcard in the mail from the Greater Houston Builders Association that was loaded with pearl-clutching hysterics trying to convince people that having better sidewalks will make neighborhoods more dangerous. "Tell city hall to keep out streets safe!" it implores, clearly written by someone who's never walked on a sidewalk in Houston before.

Sorry, by "try now" I meant "I changed a thing." I didn't expect you to actually be online when I wrote that. Give the system a few hours to re-cache things on its side. If it doesn't work, e-mail me at editor@houstonarchitecture.com.

Generally, the TV stations don't pick the actual font. They pick a graphics package from a third party, and that may be the font that came with the package. In some cases, the package is dictated by the company that owns a group of television stations.

Having that view out my back window would make me very sad. They don't even have shade. What kind of Texan treats horses that way?

OK, try now.

This is a problem in a lot of airports. The art of helping people get where they're going has been lost. Airports around the world seem too wrapped up in "move people past shopping and restaurant opportunities" to realize that their primary function is getting people to their destination. Wayfinding in most of the airports I've been to recently has been abysmal.

I remember a place around 1999 up north somewhere. It might be the place on 59 that you're thinking about. I was more of a model train guy.

There was a review of this place in the Chronicle this morning. The verdict from the paper's chief hamburger correspondent was that it's good, but perhaps it's better to wait in line when the weather is cooler.

Does anyone know how "Texas hot chicken" is different from "Nashville hot chicken?"

@Blue Dogs You seem to have a keen interest in KRIV. Are you a current/former employee, or just a fan? I knew a couple of former 26 employees who remembered their time there very fondly.

It is nice. Sometimes I drive home that way instead of taking Allen Parkway because it's calmer, slower, and seemingly safer. It could use more trees, and wider sidewalks to encourage people to walk more. But it's certainly much better than it used to be. For the number of people who live on that stretch, I'd expect to see more joggers and dog walkers. Or maybe they just go down to the bayou.

That's not a parking problem, that's a problem with the funeral home. It's their responsibility to make sure everyone knows where to park and what to do. Also, the cathedral should have more information about parking on its web site, but that thing has been "under construction" for at least a year. I am, and I do.

In an ideal world, they world have a parking deck underground, and put greenspace/events space on top. But the cathedral is running a deficit ($375,398 for this year alone, so far), so I imagine they went with the cheapest option. Maybe they're just banking the land, expecting its value to go up when the Pierce Elevated comes down so it can be sold for development at a better price than is available now. Why? Plenty of space in the Amegy garage next door. And the Archdioceses' lot a block away isn't anywhere near maximum capacity, either. There's no shortage of parking in that area.

This is an ongoing problem with many failed restaurants and small businesses. They don't advertise. They think posting a picture on Instagram is advertising. It's not. Social media is a useful supplement, but it's not the same thing. It happens to me all the time that I learn about an interesting restaurant by word-of-mouth, only to find out when I try to visit that it's out of business.

It was zoning that made mixed use districts possible in big American cities, not a lack of zoning. The whole reason that zoning was invented was because the magic imaginary hand of the free market doesn't work for the common good. That's why we invented governments. Houston has had 150 years to prove that a lack of zoning makes things better. Clearly the experiment has failed.

Yep. Western Kingbird, according to Merlin, the bird identification app from Cornell University.

It's been six years. I'm no longer buying the blame Harvey excuse.

Here's the plaque: REACHING UP by Giselle Oviedo "Reaching up", was created by emerging artist Giselle Oviedo, a college student in Fine Arts at the University of Houton-Downtown, inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4, 10 and 15. It features hands holding an arm that is presenting a sprouting seedling. The multiple hands are a reference to unity and diversity, while the seedling refers to education and earth protection. This mural is a unique opportunity, made possible thanks to the support of the Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) and Street Art for Mankind (SAM), for the artist to create her first major mural in her hometown. The artist was selected amongst her peers through a contest created in partnership with UHD, and a committee of Houston Art Experts decided on the artwork. The piece is part of the second series of the Big Art. Bigger Change. murals produced in May 2023 in Downtown Houston. It was made possible thanks to the drive and generous support of the Houston Downtown Management District, the City of Houston and Harris County Precinct One. Special thanks to Zydeco Diner for donating their wall.

…and it's gone. Taken after mass yesterday: They're pushing hard for donations for the new space, downplaying the parking lot and talking up the non-parking lot part. If the whole thing was open space, and not just 10% of it, I might buy a brick or something. It seems like an opportunity missed. The cathedral could lease the Archdiocese parking lot a block away, or ask Amegy to keep using its parking garage, giving the bank a huge tax write-off. I just can't support more hot black tarmac in downtown Houston. This was in today's bulletin: