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H-Town Man

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Everything posted by H-Town Man

  1. H-Town Man
    Ummm what sort of websites were you browsing right before you came up with this?
  2. H-Town Man
    More like I'd rather see a 48 story tower designed by a major architect than a 21 story/9 level garage tower designed by nobody.
  3. H-Town Man
    It's on.
  4. H-Town Man
    Chicago gave you AMOCO... This fall, Houston is bringing you BAMOCO.
  5. H-Town Man
    Since it's their AMerican Onshore COmpany, they should call it AMOCO. I just came up with that.
  6. H-Town Man
    No absolute consensus, but there is broad and overlapping consensus. For example, in New York City, people who cherish the Seagram building probably don't love Grand Central Station and vice versa, but both groups can agree that the other building is valuable to those who value it, and thus support each other in preserving both.
  7. H-Town Man
    Well, there is a British-American tradition wherein property rights are fundamental to civil society; John Locke is the most famous exponent of it, and it has been important in staving off oppression in ways that people in continental Europe and elsewhere did not enjoy. Jefferson's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" originated from Locke's "life, liberty, and the right to own property."That being said, property rights have seldom been seen as absolute, and historic preservation laws have a long history within this tradition.
  8. H-Town Man
    Not bad for Westchase, looks like they actually hired an architect for these. Makes you think what might have been for Philips 66.
  9. H-Town Man
    So do we have Texas Eastern to blame for destroying east downtown's neighborhood fabric, or was it the more organic forces of parking demand and owners not wanting structures to pay taxes on?
  10. H-Town Man
    This pic alone tells why the Exxon building should be left as-is, or renovated more lightly than the proposed steroid renovation.
  11. H-Town Man
    Keep in mind this picture was taken right after the great car blizzard of 1982, when downtown was just blanketed in cars, a disaster from which we are still recovering. Also interesting in this picture - the Medical Arts building is still standing (where 6 HC is going to be), Union Station could still receive trains, and the Annunciation Catholic Church school had not yet received its extreme 80's makeover.
  12. H-Town Man
    They're moving faster. Two floors last week instead of one. Should be gone by May at this pace.
  13. H-Town Man
    This discussion has been had plenty of times on here. The fact is we have established in this country that such laws are constitutional, and if people are still backward enough to tear houses like this down, I say full steam ahead.
  14. H-Town Man
    If that is true, then we should all do a sit-in to delay 6HC until Hines can get started.
  15. H-Town Man
    Actually it's just architecture, with British influences. And the British architecture has classical influences. Pretty much all architecture has influences from some earlier style.
  16. H-Town Man
    That something as barbaric as this can happen shows that our preservation laws aren't strong enough. We need a landmark ordinance that can preserve buildings without owner consent. It's nice to think that you can trust people to save beautiful buildings that make the whole city better, but you just can't.
  17. H-Town Man
    The massing of the top floors seems off, like the garden recess should have been a couple of floors lower in relation to the rest of the building (BG Group Place did this better). I'm guessing they don't plan on putting any office space above the recessed area, and that is why they couldn't make the top thicker, but it seems flimsy. Also don't like how the "tongue" projects out of the facade, although maybe it will have a transparent floor there like the Sears Tower and people can walk out and get goosebumps over the thirty floor drop. It's still a pleasant building overall, but it would really be a shame if it diminishes the chances of any of the others being built.
  18. H-Town Man
    Definitely, and if you get shot begging for mercy, it's plain murder. But assailing a cop with a 2x4 sounds like someone has a death wish.
  19. H-Town Man
    Swinging a 2x4 seems as deadly as swinging a baseball bat, especially if it was a big person swinging it. Ever seen Inglorious Basterds? If I'm a cop and someone's swinging that at me, I am pulling out the first human-stopping tool that my hand finds, be it taser or pistol. Maybe pistol just to be safe. The human skull is only so strong.
  20. H-Town Man
    They shot a guy running away with two bags of coffee? I hope that is not true.
  21. H-Town Man
    I could maybe agree if you said "office workers don't support much street-level retail by themselves." Foley's/Macy's did limp along for decades. My point in this thread has been that office workers help support retail, and we shouldn't look at residential numbers by themselves when discussing prospects for retail downtown. Some of those office workers will come down and shop. On a sidenote, someone mentioned lower Manhattan as an example of office workers not supporting retail, but it occurred to me that the mall beneath the World Trade Center was (IIRC) the highest grossing shopping mall in America before its destruction. Of course, it wasn't street level.
  22. H-Town Man
    Hines loves him some Chilton.
  23. H-Town Man
    Yes, their average is more like 30 million, but that wasn't my point. My point was to contradict fernz' assertion that "they don't shop" and to argue that some retail is possible without rooftops, and that office workers do contribute something. Otherwise, where did the $15 million come from?
  24. H-Town Man
    Macy's had annual sales of either $15 or $17 million, can't remember for sure.
  25. H-Town Man
    I think 1/100th of office workers is a pretty conservative estimate for contribution to street level retail. And it will increase as they see more residents walking the streets.
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