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mollusk

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Everything posted by mollusk

  1. mollusk
    It's still showing up on Aloft's website, with a projected opening date of June 2016. There's not nearly as much work that must be done to the building as was the case with 806 Main. The exterior has already been cleaned up and the interior is already gutted. That projected date shouldn't be too hard to meet, even if they don't do much for a few more months. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/directory/new-hotels/all/list.html?sortType=region
  2. mollusk
    Ah. So that's why that block of Texas was closed last night.
  3. mollusk
    Aspirational architecture? "Look, young Ags. You can live in something like this if you apply yourself..."
  4. mollusk
    Perhaps it's the irresistible allure of Mr. Microphone. OTOH, I still think "WTF?????" every time I see the RKO Radio Pictures setup that got pasted on top of the otherwise agreeable Bauhaus box that is Renaissance Tower (aka Ewing Oil), even though it's been there for nearly 30 years.
  5. mollusk
    I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes it seems like there are different driving styles in different parts of town. For example, North Belt often seems particularly loony... http://jalopnik.com/watch-an-intuitive-driver-predict-and-avoid-a-highway-c-1633967037
  6. mollusk
    Was this meant for the Armpits of Houston thread? The thing that drives me most batty about downtown Tillman Town is the random tooting of the piercing whistle on their little choo choo, that I can hear 6 blocks and over 40 stories away.
  7. mollusk
    Because this.
  8. mollusk
    If I understand correctly, the 801 Travis tunnel renovations will end up being used by the hotel. Because of this, they moved the building's mailbox bank from under the stairs to the first floor. I'm kind of surprised to see that the stairs in the background remained. Previously, they were the access from 801 Travis to parts east, including the Main @ Walker garage and BG Place. Obviously, they're not exactly ADA compliant, unless there's some alternate access that isn't immediately apparent. Perhaps one of our design professional colleagues could chime in on if and how bringing that point into compliance might not be required.
  9. mollusk
    Formin' formin' formin' Keep that basement formin' Though the mud is foamin' RAWHIDE! No time for elevators, Just use the excavator And keep that F250 by my side...
  10. mollusk
    It's kinda hard to remember, but AM radio at one time was mostly music.
  11. mollusk
    Actually, they almost do meet - but it's in the block between Discovery Green and the Hilton, where they rerouted Lamar as part of building DG.
  12. mollusk
    Maybe it's just me, but the footprint of the tower vs. the podium on the Travis side looks different on the site plan than in the rendering. The site plan looks to be pretty much spot on with what's being built, though.
  13. mollusk
    Without being able to see the critter to give the wings context, they do look a bit weird just hanging out there.
  14. mollusk
    Thousands of people being killed at once was a tragedy, no doubt. And yes, it was a very, very freaky thing to live through at the time. However, a lot more than four airplanes got hijacked that day. The goal was not to just simply take down some buildings - it was to weaken us by creating havoc and an atmosphere of fear. That's why they are called "terrorists," and I would submit that they pretty much succeeded with that more subtle goal. Those guys weren't from either Afghanistan or Iraq, and their weapon wasn't box cutters (Bic pens at the neck, or an ad hoc garrote would do just as well) - it was surprise and fear. I miss the idea of respectful dissent.
  15. mollusk
    True, Luminaire. It goes both ways. When we lived in an area then described as East San Antonio (Katy at West Belt) in the '60s, at first the closest Foley's/Joske's/Sears/whatever was either downtown or at the then new Sharpstown Center - and there were some subdivisions that had already been there for five years or more. Mom was glad when Sears opened, preceding Memorial City by a year or two.
  16. mollusk
    Not me personally, but a good friend really got tooled around by the DPS trying to evacuate Seabrook to go to the inlaws in Sugar Land for Ike. Gulf Coast native, so this wasn't exactly his first rodeo. Naturally, he just went pretty much straight west, bearing south here and there - which worked dandy until he got to 288, where they wouldn't let him continue going west and instead insisted that he head north on it and 6. There was nobody on 1462, so it would have taken another 15 - 20 minutes to get there - no, he had to join the herd for several hours. We never have been able to make sense of that. For Rita, neighbors across the street turned around after taking five hours to get to Beaumont on their way to Baton Rouge. They were glad they did - they ended up putting up the 'rents for a few days rather than vice versa. Personally, I figure that they don't call this part of town the Heights for nothin' and my house hasn't blown away during the last 90 years (give or take), so I just remain serenely in place until afterwards.
  17. mollusk
    also known as the Temple of Ghozer the Ghozarian.
  18. mollusk
    Ah, yes... HouTran. Hastily assembled by the city from the debris of Rapid Transit Lines, saddled with old and poorly maintained busses. The first referendum to create Houston Area Rapid Transit Authority may have failed, but the disaster that was HouTran had a lot to do with the METRO referendum passing right about the same time as this video.
  19. mollusk
    It's taken a silly long time (I speculate because of significantly different site conditions than expected, which slow things down anyway, followed perhaps by hitting a reset button on the contracting process), but it is a huge improvement over the original skin.
  20. mollusk
    The reason for that is because although Jersey Standard (Esso) gradually bought more and more of Humble, when they finally merged in the '60s Humble ended up being the survivor entity for some reason or another. A bunch of other entities were also swept up in that merger - Enjay, etc.
  21. mollusk
  22. mollusk
    For two of us, there's typically one kitchen trash bag a week for the garbage, and way more for the green container. This does not count the plastic film stuff (bags, mostly) that get chunked into the trunk of the car to be dropped off at the grocery store or Westpark with the dead electronics.
  23. mollusk
    Problems with small landlords are endemic in the restaurant/bar industry. Tenant puts in a bunch of buildout, gets visibility for what may have been a difficult space to lease out by being successful, landlord (who may not have a percentage rent agreement on what is often a relatively short term lease) decides it's now much more valuable and wants more... lots more, which then would make the tenant's business just as busy but not as successful. Persuading those landlords that pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered can be difficult.
  24. mollusk
    IIRC there was a similar exclusion zone when the Montague, neé Hotel Cotton, came down. Though this is taller than Foley's (never could get used to calling it anything else), the goal is to bring it as close to straight down as possible. Otherwise, Niels Esperson, Pennzoil, the Chase Building, and the remaining parking structure would be at quite some risk, 801 Travis and the Subway across the Milam/Rusk intersection a bit less.
  25. mollusk
    601 Travis, f/k/a Chase Center, is the only garage I can think of with a view of the Houston Club building, and even that is on the other side of the part that's being left up for the time being. It also has another bunch of floors of office space on top, and windows around the parking. Typically, the immediately adjacent streets are closed, as well as about a block in each direction.
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