editor

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas: See it here: https://maps.apple.com/?ll=36.277666,-115.142954 Las Vegas has the worst street names of any place I've lived.

Looks like a bug to me. I don't get the Report option, either, using any of these: Mac running Safari Mac running Firefox ThinkPad with Windows 10 running Chrome Might be a group permissions setting, too, since Hindesky is a subscriber. I'll look into it. But, as always, if there's a problem, contact me directly: editor@houstonarchitecture.com

Doesn't have to be HISD. Could be for any sport. There are so many different college and professional bowls and tournaments around the country that other cities are building new stadia to draw them in. It would also be nice to have a proper concert venue in Houston. There was an article in the Chronicle a few months ago about why all the big concerts go to Dallas, San Antonio, and even Austin while skipping Houston. One of the reasons is that there aren't enough big venues. One concert, or basketball game, or commencement, or something else at Toyota Center, and that's it. No other big event can happen in Houston. The fact that they resort to holding concerts at Minute Maid Park shows that there is a need for another large capacity stadium. When major brand-name acts have to play in The Woodlands and Sugar Land that should tell you something.

People commute to work by bicycle in the summer in cities a lot hotter than Houston. I've seen plenty of it in Phoenix and Las Vegas. Those cities are sometimes — but not always — less humid. Yes, 107° and 95% humidity is a thing out there. Can't big tough Texans handle a little humidity when they're cycling, or is that only possible after driving luxury farm machinery to an air-conditioned gym and hopping on a stationary bike while watching Fox News on the big-screen TV and barking into their iPhones?

The side-discussion about changes to West Gray that have come to light as this project moved through approvals has been moved here: West Gray road diet

Welcome to Western Civilization, where we decided a couple of centuries ago that all people are equally worthy, whether they're in the majority, or not.

The Downtown District's newsletter yesterday linked to a CultureMap article: https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/federal-american-grill-downtown-location-houston-center-matt-brice/ Seems like there's enough office bros back in the towers to justify a new downtown steakhouse. Good for me. Just have to dodge the robot security guards there.

This is correct. I've updated the title to make it lowercase. Hopefully that will prevent confusion.

From the Library of Congress: Lots of streetcar lines, and the interurban line to Galveston. High-resolution TIFF version: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gmd/gmd403/g4034/g4034h/pm009160.tif For some reason, the TIFF version doesn't open for me in macOS Preview, but it works fine in Affinity Photo. Your mileage may vary.

From the Library of Congress: Interesting to see all the streetcar lines High-resolution TIFF version: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gmd/gmd403/g4034/g4034h/pm009150.tif

Today I learned that Exxon (yes, that Exxon) made word processors: From: VCF

That's entirely possible. I've noticed that some of them still have tailpipes coming out of the top of them. I didn't know if they were diesel/electric, or old buses converted to electric. The sticker doesn't give enough information.

I've seen electric Metro buses on the streets for a while now. They don't look any different, other than having a sticker under the driver's window stating that they're electric.

Math equations. I'd put them into a formula solver to see if it's a real equation, or just artistic gibberish, but the trees are in the way. It would be cool if they described some of the physics of basketball.

I didn't see a dedicated thread for the Ike Dike, so I guess this can be it. Unless there is already one and I couldn't find it. In which case, mods please merge. Updating title, and moving to Galveston, since that's where the majority of the work will be.

Done. If I get a response, I'll follow up here.

Found this on the intarwebs recently. If it's funny, you're old, like me.

I wandered through the Downtown of Misfit Fountains again last week, and once again, none of them are working. This planter seems out of place. It has the same pavement pattern as the fountains. Was this formerly the location of a fountain? Maybe one of the tall ones where the water would drip down the outside? Perhaps someone drove a truck into it and it fell over.

Thanks for that correction. I ended up going from my faulty memory because I couldn't find anything in Google about it, since it didn't happen in the last three days and didn't involve Taylor Swift. (Remember, Google doesn't make money from showing you what you're searching for. It makes money from keeping you searching and searching.)

@BEES?! If you have an interest in little-known Houston heliports, check out https://www.airnav.com Click on Airport and punch in Houston you'll find things like: The now-demolished KHOU-TV helipad The Landry's warehouse heliport The Downtown Aquarium heliport

It used to be where Minute Maid Park is. Various ways. The most recent one was when a Tupperware lid got loose and landed on the heating elements at the bottom. Another time, the motor caught fire. The first one was because of a combination of lack of maintenance and a crappy overseas landlord (who used to always address me in e-mail as "Fat American" as in "Fat American, you live in desert. Not rain. Roof hole no fix.") and a previous tenant who managed to pack the inaccessible parts of the dishwasher with rice, which dried out before I moved in and caught fire, again on the drying cycle. I just don't use the drying feature anymore.

I think the sprawl of Houston illustrates that not everyone cares about walking to things. But they may prioritize something else about high-rise living. A well-staffed, well-run high rise reduces or eliminates a lot of the friction points of life. Off the top of my head: maintenance, dry cleaning, pet walking/sitting, mail and packages. When I set fire to a dishwasher in a house I lived in, I ended up having to pay not only for a new dishwasher, but for a plumber to install it because the fittings were non-standard/old. When I set fire to a dishwasher in an apartment where I lived, I called someone on the phone and they replaced the entire machine in a few hours. (Yes, I keep setting dishwashers on fire. But it's only happened a few times.) If you're someone who travels a lot for work, luxury high-rises are awesome because you'll have people who will collect your mail, clean your place, take care of your dry cleaning, water your plants, and lots of other little things so that you don't have to worry while you're away, and when you get home, everything is perfect even if you didn't leave it that way. But I think in Houston, the big draw to high-rises for non-walkers is the same as it is for most real estate: Location, location, location. If you can cut a commute from an hour to ten minutes, that's massive for some people. Especially people who make a lot of money and charge other people by the hour. Back when Houston had a downtown heliport, people weren't commuting from The Woodlands by helicopter to show off. They were doing it because time is money.

You seem to know a lot about this location. What do you think is the reason for so many derailments? Is the turn too tight? Are the trains not moving at an appropriate speed? Is the track in poor condition?

Maybe because that corner already has electricity? I don't know if the kiosks are wireless, or if they tap into whatever internet system the city uses. Does the City of Houston have its own government data network? I know some other cities have gotten them for free in exchange for letting wireless carriers put 5G cell sites on top light poles.

Slightly off-topic, but still on-topic, since this thread is about Minute Maid Park: Is it still possible to watch a game through the windows? When MMP first opened, there was a set of large windows where the public could stand and look down on the field and see a game from outside. I remember standing there with some homeless guys for an inning or so of one game.