smartalek

The NY Times has a fascinating piece today on five new architectural landmarks that have been built / are being built in Beijing:

In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China

Make sure you check out the interactive graphic under the multimedia sidebar. The new CCTV building (by Rem Koolhaas) and the National Theatre (by Paul Andreu) are particularly amazing. I think I'm in love with the Theatre, with its moat and its location right in the heart of the city -- almost like a landlocked Sydney Opera House.

The power of great architecture to transcend simple necessity and function and instead to transform and recreate a city, a country, and its people is quite evident in this piece. Makes you wish we took the same initiative here...

A couple of shots of the Theatre thrown in for good measure:

And the CCTV building:

The NY Times has a fascinating piece today on five new architectural landmarks that have been built / are being built in Beijing:

In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China

Make sure you check out the interactive graphic under the multimedia sidebar. The new CCTV building (by Rem Koolhaas) and the National Theatre (by Paul Andreu) are particularly amazing. I think I'm in love with the Theatre, with its moat and its location right in the heart of the city -- almost like a landlocked Sydney Opera House.

The power of great architecture to transcend simple necessity and function and instead to transform and recreate a city, a country, and its people is quite evident in this piece. Makes you wish we took the same initiative here...

A couple of shots of the Theatre thrown in for good measure:

And the CCTV building:

Cokin's Steaks was on Main immediately south of 59. This link has a good picture of the sign.

Thanks for the link.

I found a really cool mid century uniform consisting of blue capri pant and white cotton shirt that has Cokin's stitched on the on the back of the shirt. Was told this was a pretty well know Houston restarant. Who can enlighten me. Thanks

What ever happeded to cops on the beat? It seems placing new members of HPD to walk the beat dowtown would be a good training gound for them. Not only could they meet downtown residents, but tourist also, and if needed could deal with the "situations" that might arise in a large city.

HELLO EVERYONE,

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR POSTING COMMENTS ABOUT MY GRANDFATHER , JACK BARTLETT MALONEY (A.K.A.) DON MAHONEY. I KNOW YOU WEREN'T POSTING THESE COMMENTS FOR ME OR MY FAMILY, BUT I'M SAYING THANK YOU BECAUSE MY FAMILY AND I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE WHO WATCHED HIS SHOW. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM TO READ ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS. IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE EMAIL ME @ gvin2904@yahoo.com. thank you.

The Heritage Society in Sam Houston Park has a cowboy suit worn by Don Mahoney in its collections.

The wood look very red to be cypress. Could it be Texas cedar.

Thanks, TJones!

I actually have an old lamp that belonged to my grandma, but it's turquoise. I'm kind of in limbo right now until I repaint those purple walls. I'm always so wishy-washy about what I want when it comes to things like that.

I agree with TJones on the date. I have my Dads Kohler sectional with original upholstery. He bought his in 1958. The legs could be the ones on you piece if they were blond. THe tambour doors are great. Id go for it and put the lamp on the piece anyway.

Link to full article

This is totoally off the wall. I wonder if the penny could be made from some recycled material with the goal of cleaning up our environment. Perhaps junked cars. The Treasury department could have a pontiac, chevrolet, ford, buick, penny.

Canyon West is going to be a huge shopping and entertainment center along the Brownfield Hwy. at the intersection with Milwaukee Ave. I drove by the other day, and the land has been cleared and they've started construction on a Target that is set to open in October.

There's more infomation here:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=4222

Thanks,

I have always wondered why there isnt some nice upscale construction along the canyon running though Lubbock. Instead it is relegated to bad commercial and warehouse.

http://www.texastech.edu/communications/di...cle.php?id=2039

DATE: May 18, 2006

CONTACT: Scott Slemmons, scott.slemmons@ttu.edu

(806) 742-2136

LUBBOCK

There's so much growth now along the new addition to Milwaukee Ave.

I'm really excited about the Canyon West project.

Can you tell me about the Canyon west Project. I heard that white horse canyon was to be damned. Is this part of that"

Thanks

Tech Grad here

Yep, they need some work, and quickly. But replacing the lost and rotten wood on the exterior is not an impossible job. The roofs appear to be in pretty good shape. Wonder how the interiors are holding up.

Is the Heritage Society willing to take over the maintence of these two homes if they are moved to Sam Houston Park. I still think that is where they belong.

It would be a shame if a Bail Bond Co or "rougue attorney" moved in.

I too think the houses would be great in Sam Houston Park, say facing Bagby across from the Main Library. Historically there were big homes along this area. There was also in later years a Fire Alarm building along this bit of Bagby.

No, shot is better.

This is really sad. It was a big part of the character of Montrose.

I think a better punishment would be to take the tagger to his/her Mothers living room and say "do that wall over there" Talk about a reformation.

Well I live about 3 blocks from where this hotel is going to go up and I know that a Chili's is under construction right off of University Ave. across the street from the new Starbuck's in front of the Centre at Overton Park.

I can't wait to see what other things are going to start popping up in that area.

I lived in Overton park while attending Tech and was a little dismayed to see such wholesale urban renewal as in total leveling of everything in the area. But moving on, hopefully the new development will produce some steller results. It will be nice to have a hotel to stay in right across from the campus.

Hopefully the new development will have some effect on stabilizing the remaining part of Overton from Broadway to University. That is a wonderful mix of architectural styles, one of Lubbocks oldest developments and if Im not mistaken has been designated historic. Lubbock could show other cities in Texas a thing or two about urban planning as in landscape requirements, sign restrictions, buried utilities.

There was a quite a bit of emanent domain when these deals were made. With respect to the ballpark and the Hilton, anything they wanted they got. They wanted the extension of La Avenida, which is why the house was moved. They are definitely going to be rehabbed but may take some time because i believe it is a private venture.

Why not Sam Houston Park? Well after Hurricane Alicia damaged many of the homes at Sam Houston Park, the Historical Society has rethought the houses in the park thing. I had even heard that they were thinking of moving some of the existing homes there to higher ground to prevent further flooding.

Actually The Heritage Society which maintains the homes in Sam Houston Park were asked by the city to determine if a site could be found in the Park for the houses. (Cohen and Foley) Since the city has to approve anything moved into the park the project never got off of the ground.

Tropical Storm Allison did flood two of the homes, the Old Place and the Pillot house(which sat at Chenevert and McKinney).The Society did move Old Place to higher ground and has recently raised the Pillot House out of the flood plain and completed a mega outside restoration including adding back the original side porch.

wild at heart

the craft

sound of music

europa europa

city of lost children

vanilla sky

a room with a view

the breakfast club

st. elmo's fire

the lion, the witch and the wardrobe

lord of the rings trilogy

rules of attraction

the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover

summer lovers

delicatessen

dune

fiddler on the roof

and so on.........................

I'm just saying what the Sanborn map said.

Just keep speeding down Memorial and it will be alright.

I love Otto's sausage link sandwiches.

I also love driving 65 down the beautiful stretch of Memorial from Shepherd into town with the sunroof and windows open and the music cranking.

The speed limit is 50

I just went to see the Bob Bailey photos at the Heritage Society. It's worth checking out.

Thanks for the feedback and recommendation.

I now office in the former Bob Bailey studios building at 931 Yale St with Houston House & Home Magazine and Dallas/Fort Worth House&Home magazine . I know that the former "Houston Life" magazine ran his/their photos on their back page back in the mid 90s. So there may be some archives you can look for of that magazine. Also, I believe the main library downtown's adjacent historic building has some of the photos. If not, the currator is an encyclopedia of Houston history and can point you toward more information concerning the Bailey series. It is apparently the largest collection of historic city photography not currently being displayed. The Houston Press did a story on the Bailey collection a couple of years ago. You could search their website for back issues concerning info. Hope that helps. Not sure when the restoration process at UT ends and can't verify where or when they'll end up at A&M.

But isn't it about time (much like many cities) we have a City of Houston Museum in conjunction with Sesquicentennial Park or The City of Houston or a historic preservation council? It would be great for school children to be able to take fieldtrips to such a facility where they could see Bailey's photos of Houston over the last 80 years as well as learn about some of our interesting characters who helped create the place we all live.

Actually such an entity exist in Houston. It is the Heritage Society which maintains all of the historic structures in Sam Houston Park. The mission of the group is the preservation and interpretation of Houston history. It is a private non profit. Like most museums it requires a large membership base for support and for furthering the aims of the organization. Come down and see the Bob Bailey exhibit and if you like what you see pick up a membership brochure.

According to 002 magazine:

March 7 - April 23

Houston from Behing the Lens: The Bob Bailey Photographic and Architectural Foundation Trust

A major exhibition of the photographs, blah blah, on display in the Heritage Society Museum Gallery. 1100 Bagby. For info 713-655-1912x202

Thanks for the posting. I would encourage the readers to come to the museum and see this collection. These items were given to The Heritage Society by Mr. James Lee, who personally purchased the Bailey Collection and spent countless hours trying to find a home for them in Houston. He created the Trust that donated the vast archive of Bailey material to the Center for American History in Austin. The photographs in the collection will be housed in the permanant collections of THe Heritage Society. Its free and opened on the weekends. Thanks Wallace Saage Curator 713 683 0188

When you see someone parked that way, and you can't be seen, would it be wrong to let the air out of one of their tires? It just crossed my mind. Of course, that would be at cross-purposes to freeing up the space for someone who was really handicapped.

That might be a little harsh, but a nice squirt of clear honey or dish washing soap, which I keep in my car for some strange reason, on the drivers side door handle might be ok.

It was planned that way, and not rushed for the NBA All Star Weekend. The original planting on those trees happened about 18 months ago. More recently a new section of trees was added, extending the plantings up to the US 59 interchange.

TxDOT has a project in the Houston area called (IIRC) the Green Ribbon Project. There are master landscaping plans for all the freeways included in this. They actually do work with professional landscape designers for determining what gets planted where -- it's not a case of just randomly plopping some trees in the ground.

My question is will all of these planting bite the dust like the wonderful plantings did at 610 and I10 interchange. With growth of outlying areas the freeways at some point will have to be widened so it stands to reason all of these plantings will be sacrificed at a later date.

Fellow forumers,

You may or may not be aware that one of the largest single HIV/AIDS fundraisers in Houston is coming up, the AIDS Walk. This year's AIDS Walk will take place March 12th. I will be walking for this great cause and would like your help in raising money. With less than a month to go, I am about half way to my goal of raising $600.

I have learned over the years working to raise money that the old adage is true, "If you do not ask, you do not receive".

Here is a link to my personal AIDS Walk Page:

Bryan's AIDS Walk Page

Please consider helping reach my goal for this worthy cause. And for everyone that donates, you will be my new best friend.

Thanks,

Great cause. My check is in the mail.

WestGrayGuy

Great cause. My check is in the mail. You can walk without a sponsor right. Look for the great wheeser and it will be me.

Please excuse me because I dont know how navigate this site but I wanted to suggest that Randy Pace who is the city Preservation Officer might have some links to possible revenue sources for renovation. His number is 713 837 7796

I wonder if the Texas Historic Commission could help.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed our website. I will be continuously updating it as more historical facts, photos and artifacts are unearthed regarding the Hotel Cotton's past.

I agree with you that the recent renovations of the TSH (Club Quarters) and the Stowers Building have created a more favorable environment for our building. The only problem we have is that it is very difficult, financially, to turn around an old building without a big influx of cash and the support of the city and one's business neighbors. All of these things are pretty much lacking right now - which makes the attempt to renovate and clean-up a slow and tedious process.

My intention is to be a good neighbor to the other businesses in the area and to do my part to clean up the neighborhood and turn this facility back into an asset, rather than a liability, to the downtown area. I could accomplish this much more quickly if I can find a way to access grant money for renovation work. I've been told that there is a such thing as grant money for restoring historic old buildings and I'd like to know where one goes to apply for such grants.

That was odd, wasn't it? When I read in the Houston Chronicle that the deciding factor in the William Penn's demise was that the ceilings were too low, I was skeptical.

I don't claim to know how high the ceilings were in that building, but I do know that in the South in those days when air conditioning was pretty much unknown, most buildings were constructed with high ceilings to allow hot air to rise above the average person's head. I would be surprised to hear that the ceilings in the William Penn were 8 or 9 feet in height, for example. My expectation is that 10 or 11 foot ceilings or higher would have been the norm for a building of that era - so the excuse sounds phony.

I think the real reason the building was torn down is that there simply is no market in Houston right now for more luxury hotels downtown. There is a glut of such rooms in the downtown market and about 2,000 rooms need to go off the market for the rest of the hotel industry downtown to become profitable again.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed our website. I will be continuously updating it as more historical facts, photos and artifacts are unearthed regarding the Hotel Cotton's past.

I agree with you that the recent renovations of the TSH (Club Quarters) and the Stowers Building have created a more favorable environment for our building. The only problem we have is that it is very difficult, financially, to turn around an old building without a big influx of cash and the support of the city and one's business neighbors. All of these things are pretty much lacking right now - which makes the attempt to renovate and clean-up a slow and tedious process.

My intention is to be a good neighbor to the other businesses in the area and to do my part to clean up the neighborhood and turn this facility back into an asset, rather than a liability, to the downtown area. I could accomplish this much more quickly if I can find a way to access grant money for renovation work. I've been told that there is a such thing as grant money for restoring historic old buildings and I'd like to know where one goes to apply for such grants.

That was odd, wasn't it? When I read in the Houston Chronicle that the deciding factor in the William Penn's demise was that the ceilings were too low, I was skeptical.

I don't claim to know how high the ceilings were in that building, but I do know that in the South in those days when air conditioning was pretty much unknown, most buildings were constructed with high ceilings to allow hot air to rise above the average person's head. I would be surprised to hear that the ceilings in the William Penn were 8 or 9 feet in height, for example. My expectation is that 10 or 11 foot ceilings or higher would have been the norm for a building of that era - so the excuse sounds phony.

I think the real reason the building was torn down is that there simply is no market in Houston right now for more luxury hotels downtown. There is a glut of such rooms in the downtown market and about 2,000 rooms need to go off the market for the rest of the hotel industry downtown to become profitable again.