Purpledevil

Good call, FCC database should help DJBoutit immensely. You have piqued my interest on this antenna, Ross. Was this 1995 erection a replacement for the original antenna that stood there? The reason I ask is that the tower looks so much older than a mere 20 years old. That's hard to fathom that it would fall into such disrepair in a relatively short time span. I would've sworn it had been there long before 1995. 102 meters? Yeah, there's no way. That'd be around 335 feet tall, and it very well may have been at one time, but given the naked eye test it appears to be short of 200'.

Yep, that's it. I don't believe it is required to be lit anymore because of its limited height, Ross. This stick was damaged during one of the storms (Alicia, maybe?) and lost the top of the antenna in the process. It was originally quite a bit taller, but once it was dropped to its current elevation, the lighting requirements were nullified. Can't remember the exact number, but I think anything below 200' is permitted to remain unlit by the FAA. The lights remain on the tower, at least the last time I actually looked closely at it. Of course, it's got to be pretty hard to send electricity to them when the wires leading to the lights have been stripped by theives.

There's a 200 footer just east of I-45, north of the North Loop. It's on Neyland St. but I'm unsure of the physical address. It is unlit at night, has had a lot of the cabling stolen, and has nothing apparently on it. Been unused since the 1990s, IIRC.

I am seriously anticipating the clock being refurbished. It's been some 25 years since I've seen it in action. The building is indeed beautiful, but oh how I wait to see those bright white lights rotating and illuminating the curve on Pierce Elevated again. Well, at least til they tear the Pierce down, lol.

Those two streets were connected long before you were even born, JJxvi. The actual wording used when that gate was erected, was that it was done to keep the "riff-raff from 14th street" from coming into Timbergrove and bringing the blight with them. Yes, it was somewhat a traffic issue as well, but the general idea from the Timbergrove residents was that our side was rundown and infested with hoodlums, their side was pristine and much too uppity to have to "allow" our kind to meander through their streets. I know, because I lived through it. The streets were originally connected. Wynwood was built to connect into Dian, you know, because Dian was first. It wasn't a matter of the City opening the connection between the two all of a sudden, then the Timbergrovians went into a panic. It was more like, hey here's an opportunity to shut off this access point and show these lower class whites and Mexicans from the Heights that they don't belong walking or driving down our streets and making us feel fidgety and anxious about possibly making eye contact with one of them. The poster above actually nailed it. Timbergrove, at the time, had a large majority of its homes occupied by the original inhabitants and they weren't nearly as politically correct and socially aware as we like to think we are in the here and now. Whether you wish to believe the actual motivation behind the gate's erection or not, it's a legitimate part of history between the two neighborhoods. Thankfully, it is indeed history and not the current standard. If I were to tell some of the stories I lived through while growing up in the Heights back then, my posting privileges would be revoked here at the HAIF for generally frightening people.

The digital signs on the awkward left lane entrance beneath 45 states that the ramp will be closed permanently to everything except HOV traffic beginning Monday, June 29th. I was on Shepherd Monday, and saw quite a few of the construction crew working on the SB connection to the far left lane of Shepherd, and they weren't fooling around leaning on shovels. I believe the plan is to open both sides simultaneously. Lord, let's hope so. That will become the saving grace of the area, once you're able to skip past the flooded feeders of the North Freeway every time it comes a hard rain.

Agreed on your first point, there never was a need for Canino SB. A sign directing one to take next exit for the DMV would have probably been beneficial at some point while it was still in operation, but I'm just splitting hairs now, lol. I do need to correct my earlier posting, as I noticed it this morning. There IS a sign for the Canino exit, only it's been moved further back now. Placed just after the Parker overpass, it simply reads "Canino- next exit". Stuebner/Vets gets a little more interesting when you are as old as I'm getting to be, and you can still remember both ends of Stuebner Airline connecting. Granted, by the time I was of any age, North Freeway's feeder had already taken over the Stuebner ROW, however, it was still considered Stuebner Airline through that small section between N. Shepherd and the old 630 W. Little York Kmart. I don't know for certain now, but that Denny's fairly recently still utilized the original Stuebner Airline address it always did. Given that, I'd think it would have warranted a sign for Stuebner/Vets for at the very least SB North Freeway, at some point during the highway's history. But, hey...better late than never y'know, lol.

I know you didn't, and perhaps I shouldn't have responded in that manner. As I'm sure you can imagine, it is a very much open wound for me and especially my 19 year old son. Anyway, I'm doing my best to fill my time with other activities (such as posting here) to keep myself from dwelling. Let's move forward. ☺

Interesting, Kim's liquor is directly across the street from where the dry line commences at East 26th and Yale. That does make sense, as all the convenience stores have historically been on the east side of Yale, from 20th up to 610. This would explain why.

Timbergrove was notorious for shooting down everything. The entire neighborhood was up in arms when the city connected Dian to Wynwood Drive. Oh no! All the riff-raff from the Heights is going to overrun our neighborhood, all the gangbangers are going to graffiti up our walls! So...they brightly erected a gate with a lock box for emergency personnel. That'll keep that riff-raff out! Yeah, and it kept an ambulance out too, leading to the death of a Timbergrove resident. That gate came down rather suddenly after that, and Dian still connects with Wynwood, sans the uptick in Timbergrove riff-raff.

From the absolute beginning. You see, when they built the section between West 18th and Ella, they built one half of the boulevard and opened it for traffic. That's how it sat, half completed, some 20-25 years. When they built the connection from the south side to West 18th, THEN the other half of that section of T.C. Jester was finished. Next time you guys are in the area, note the concrete difference on each side of the median. Most just drive down it and never have the first clue of its history. I can drive down East T.C. Jester and point out where the temporary asphalt overlay cut across the median to merge over to the half road. That intersection was much different until T.C. Jester was connected. An absolute afterthought on the way to Northwest Mall or The Castle. Only real traffic that it ever saw back then was coming out of Kmart, Discount, or Tumbleweed's. Everyone knew it didn't connect, so we used Ella or Durham to get to 11th. Ah...the olden days. How'd we ever survive?

Actually, my wife did, but I certainly appreciate your attempted humor, guy. Very classy on your part. Thanks for your concern, Tiger. Glad to be back and able to contribute again.

None moreso than Art Rascon...Your slipping, Blue Dogs. How'd I get the scoop on this before you???

I've always suspected Canino had its own exit due to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles being located right there. There was never a Canino exit going SB, but there has always (at least as far as I go back) been one going NB. Why was there nary a mention of a Stuebner Airline/Vets Memorial exit on either direction of 45, until this flyover was built? You just had to know that to access Vets Memorial, you had to use the exit for Little York? Not very friendly to those drivers unfamiliar with the area. Just one of several gaffes that have plagued the North Freeway during my lifetime. I'm wondering if TXDOT has figured out how to spell cemetery yet. For reference, check the VA sign on EB BW8, next time you're in the area.

I've got to correct you, Tiger. West 19th does not intersect East T.C. Jester. West 19th stops in front of the old Catfish Kitchen (Golden Cafe) as it always has. West 18th used to connect differently than it currently does, but West 19th ends where it always has. Kmart, however, has/had a West 20th address and penning this is causing "...and as always, thanks for shopping your West 20th Street Kmart" to echo in my head. Too many visits to that particular Kmart in my lifetime, I assure you. If you would be interested, I'd be happy to meet up with you on one of your next trips to Houston, to help you connect some of the dots. You have a keen interest in history, and I've lived through several decades of it in this town. I tend to unnerve some of my friends and acquaintances, because I'll give someone directions and it'll go something like: "Hey Joe, how do I get to point A?" "Well, you go down to such and such and where this and that used to be, you turn left, right, or whatever." "Where such and such was? Well, what's there now?" "I don't know, but it used to be this, this, this and that". "Good Lord, Joe, why do you even remember all of that?" "I don't know, but I still do." Should've looked it up on mapquest, I guess. I can vividly tell you about events that happened 30 years ago, and most of the time, can't instantly recall what I had for dinner last night. Weird quirk, I suppose. I should add, East T.C. Jester was only 2 lanes next to the Kmart, complete with little stubs breaking up the median. Where Tumbleweed's was, right before Ella, is where the two lanes became four for the Ella intersection. It was only half of what it is now through that stretch between Ella and West 18th for many years.

The Shepherd flyover officially opens next Monday, June 29th. It still needs clean up, greenery, and a coat of paint (or two). Get ready North Freeway drivers, the awkward left lane entrance ramp from Shepherd becomes a memory in 7 short days. R.I.P. Canino exit. Noticed this weekend it has become the Gulf Bank exit, with nary a mention of Canino. I suppose with the DMV long gone, Canino is no longer a priority, nor worthy of its longtime exit, to TXDOT.

How is there not a John Lopez or Dylan Guinn option? John Lopez makes me wish for Josh Innes, and that's saying something.

...but no mention of Karla Barguiarena being the latest out the door, Blue Dogs? More eye candy. Whoopee! All you had to do was watch Chita Johnson fumble through Tropical Storm Bill coverage to know looks aren't everything. Gene Norman had to be grinning from ear to ear...

A little history on that intersection of West 18th and East T.C. Jester for you, IronTiger. East T.C. Jester did not go across West 18th until the Albertsons (now self storage) was built. It stopped at Discount Tire and forced you to turn left of right. The other end of East T.C. Jester was a stub, approximately three blocks north of West 11th. As was stated above, the construction of Albertsons and the apartments were what gave purpose to connecting the two stubs. Prior to that, what now is East T.C. Jester was part of the Timbergrove little league baseball fields. Bevis (is it Beall? I've always confused the two), is one street to the east, and was also extended from West 16th to connect with East T.C. Jester as a result of the new construction. Before, it dead ended into 16th and forced you to turn left. What now is the extended road, was the gravel drive to get into the fields, complete with a small yellow iron gate. As for the area being a retail wasteland, it's always been that way. Kmart was it on that intersection for years. Then Discount was built in its parking lot. Eckerd's was built as a standalone when they moved out from the 18th st. end of Foodarama, allowing the grocer to expand the store into the former Eckerd's space. The standalone Eckerd's was closed when West 20th and Yale's CVS opened. Eckerd's 3 stores became 1 CVS. The 3 Eckerd's that closed were at the corner of East 20th at North Main, West 18th at East T.C. Jester, and West 11th at Yale. West 11th predated both of the others, as those two Eckerd's were built in the early 90s. The original size of Foodarama is glaringly apparent from the inside. Very noticeable where the old Safeway ended and Eckerd's began. What now is Golden Chinese Restaurant (where 20th splits with 19th) was a kick ass seafood place named Catfish Kitchen back when I was young. Over the years (early 80s- early 90s)the place began to really suffer and it became the dirty hellhole it is now as Golden Cafe. Albertsons was a big empty area of overgrowth, as was where the bank now stands across the bayou. Walgreen's was originally Blockbuster, as Walgreen's was in the strip across 18th (last occupant in that space was a hardware store, now vacant). Same strip now has HEB, which was rebuilt out of the rubble of the old Davis Food City that used to stand there. Cloth World was directly next door to Food City. Little Caesars Pizza rounded out the end of that strip, and became a bit of irony when Kmart started serving Little Ceasars Pizza Pizza out of its cafeteria. Why a traffic light was never installed at that intersection, I've no clue. I always assumed that it was due to the close proximity of the other two lights at Ella and West T.C. Jester, and not wanting to snarl traffic further. Restaurant Depot is indeed open for your shopping needs and desires. I've been there on a couple of occasions, but don't get your hopes up. The interior bears little resemblance to its former self.

Bumping to inform that 1590 KMIC has been sold to Daij Media for $3.2 mil. For those unfamiliar with Daij, they are the operators of several stations here in the market already, including 88-1, 95-1, 880, 980, and 1380 AM. Likely 1590 will either become Spanish language religious or Arab programming. No announcement on when Daij will take control of KMIC's signal, as of yet.

^ what he said. Cloud, no need to put the word in. I can assure you, my eyes aren't the only pair peering into this thread. I wish I could offer more, but I'm not at liberty to do so. I can assure you that any comments voiced here are most assuredly welcome, desired, and noted. Monarch is spot on, this is a spectacular avenue for feedback that will help the property make the adjustments needed to ensure the most pleasurable stay for all of our guests. Add this with the feedback the property receives from the online satisfaction surveys we send out post stay, and you get a true perspective of what areas are in need of improvement, and what areas are firing on all cylinders. Kylejack, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I wouldn't expect much in the way of improvements to the Battelstein's building on our part. If the property owner would simply give the building a bath, it would be a marked improvement.

Um...KPRC is not an NBC O&O, Blue Dogs. Other than that, the revolving door on the Southwest Freeway continues to twirl.

That is correct, the hotel is open and is available for booking, however the property has not had its grand opening, nor is it completed. This can be lumped into the reason why the exterior signage has yet to be erected. Battlestein's Department Store is not owned by Marriott, and I have no clue as to what may be transpiring in there. I can tell you that the store WAS used for something else after it closed up as a department store. A club of some sort had either opened up inside of it, or at least made an attempt to do so. I liked the entry way to the store, a beautiful throwback to the glory days of Houston retail, but certainly understand why it would need to be covered up, whether or not plans are being put into place for work to commence on the store.

Waaaaay off topic, but the train nerd is going to come out of me. I've noticed that the line has a significant amount of leasing company locomotives on it lately, and your right, there seems to be more local runs and switch jobs going on than long trains heading towards Hearne on the line. I have seen a pair of maroon painted GATX locos on the line, pulling a short train, twice in the past month. Not sure if UP is leasing these engines or what. Ok...now that everyone else is thoroughly bored out of their mind.... Fiesta in Midtown opened in '88? That seems awfully late, and means that the sparkling sign at the Airline location predates it. Fiesta at Airline/45 opened up after Gemco shut their doors and it seems like that was in the early 80s, no later than '84-'85. I thought the Fiesta off Wheeler was much older than 26 years. It sure LOOKS older than that, lol. You know what? Those pictures don't remind me of the Kroger of the Villages. The exterior was darker than that, and unless my memory is really off this morning, the entry way is significantly different. Maybe my recollection is off. The most I ever used that Kroger for was to cash a check once in a blue moon. That tells you just how long it's been since I've even set foot inside of it. The pictures you posted on flicker remind me of the old Safeway on Cartwright Road in Quail Valley, Mo. City. It's not the same exterior color, but the overall setup is strikingly similar to me. My wife's parents haven't lived in QV for years now, but the last time I saw the store several years back, it was vacated as the Foodarama that had occupied it, moved down Cartwright into the former Randall's. Don't get me lying to you on cross streets and such, for reference points. I can still get to the old house on Hunter's Glen with my eyes closed, but to start naming cross streets and all, there's just no way. At the intersection of Murphy and Cartwright, the old Foodarama/AppleTree/etc. would be about a mile and a half to the west, or the north side of Cartwright. That whole area has likely changed so much, I probably wouldn't even recognize Mo. City anymore.

I work for Marriott corporate, and thank you so much for the kind words. You might find me lurking around any of the area's full service hotels on most any given day, and even a couple of the extended stays. I can't take any credit for how beautiful this turned out, it far exceeds anything I ever expected from the initial renderings. I really struggled with keeping quiet on the gryphon btw, lol. I sure don't want to cross any lines here on the HAIF as far as self promotion, please remove and forgive if so, but I hope you guys will stop by and have a look for yourself, or better yet, have a sales manager show you around. No picture posted here really tells the story of the complete transformation of the Carter building and neighbors. I'll pass along your kind words, monarch, I'm sure it will instill many proud smiles.