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Gator Purify

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    Lanier Middle School At 2600 Woodhead St.

    in Montrose

    Posted · Edited by Gator Purify

    Class of '97 Vanguard.  Thanks so much for starting this thread!  While I always held Lanier in high regard, I never looked back on my time there fondly until these posts brought back good memories.

     

    I was there from '94 to '97, which is about as "90s" as it gets.  Pogs, tacos (basically small paper projectiles that are launched from your fingers with a rubber band; the bad kids used to do things like put staples in them), these weird nerdy trading cards with anime characters (I forget what they're called), Treasure Trolls, friendship bracelets, lanyards.  The white/Jewish/Filipino/Vanguard kids listened to alternative music like Nirvana, Aerosmith, Green Day, and Soundgarden, while the others jammed Tupac and Junior Mafia (Lil' Kim & Biggie).  We were the last class before uniforms were instituted.  Sadly, one of my classmates was killed in a skiing accident during a school year.  She was really pretty and popular, and I (along with most of the guys) had a crush on her.  It was a big deal when they served Chick-Fil-A in the cafeteria.  Emeka Okafor, future NCAA basketball player of the year for UConn, was my football teammate and friend/acquaintance.  A handful of my classmates ended up going to Harvard.  My bus driver was Mr. Marino and he drove bus 8285. 

     

    Mr. Bordelon for 6th grade (I think) math.  I liked him.  What I remember most is a boy stabbing his female classmate with a pencil.

    Mr. Henley for 6th grade social studies.  He's a legend at Lanier.  Awesome teacher.  Shameless in brainwashing us to like the University of Arkansas ("whoo pig suey!").  We put on a mock OJ trial at the end of the year.

    Mr. Nielsen for German.  I can only say numbers 1-10 in German, but I probably ate about 20 Toblerones because of him.

    Mr. Moore for art??  If Mr. Moore is a black dude, then he taught 8th grade art.  That class was lazy as hell, lol.

    I had Mr. Yeargin, too, but I don't remember him.

    Ms. Haynes. [insert expletive] This &*^%$ ruined middle school for me.  Piece of *&@% math teacher always talked down to people and bragged nonstop about her Prairie View degree.  My mom had to meet with her because she kept marking my grades down even though I had correct answers.  She taught this unnecessarily long math that was just busy work.  Spent 1-2 hours doing homework for her class alone.  Ugh.

    Mr. Green.  School librarian who reportedly died of AIDS.  He looked sick at the time.

    Principal Lanclos seemed like a really cool lady. 

     

    Lanier was incredible.  Beautiful building.  Great neighborhood.  Great legacy.  If my kids aren't in private school for 6th-8th grades, I'll want them to go there.

    Buffalo Bayou Master Plan

    in Going Up!

    Posted

    This is one of the greatest projects going in Houston.  Now let's talk about the actual water quality.

     

    Short of introducing dyes or paving the bottom, can anything be done upstream or downstream to turn the water at least somewhat clear?  I'm talking Turkey Bend clear, not Miami Beach.  Similarly, what can be done to improve the smell around Sesquicentennial Park/Sunset Coffee Building?  Most Houstonians above a certain age, and a lot of tourists, still view Buffalo Bayou as dirty sewer water, so that needs to be addressed, regardless of how many amenities are placed next to it. 

     

    What about installing a few fountains in the middle of the bayou in downtown?  I'm not an engineer, but it seems like that would move some of the silt around, deter mosquitoes, and possibly help with the smell by circulating the water.  Please don't rip me if that's a bad idea.  Just trying to think of something.

    • Like 5

    GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

    in Downtown

    Posted

    GreenStreet's PR company just sent over this release and drawing:

    attachicon.gifHotel Alessandra, part of GreenStreet at corner of Fannin and Dallas, Ho....jpg

    attachicon.gif150128 Hotel Alessandra Update FINAL.PDF

     

    Sorry about posting the PDF instead of text.  For some reason the PR company's PDF resists my efforts to copy the text.  I've asked them to send over a clean version that I can post.

     

    "...Hotel Alessandra's interior design will reflect a strong vertical design and an overall minimalist approach to decor."

     

    Sigh.  Possible translation: "If you love the exterior, just wait until you see our interior!"  Lol.

    • Like 4

    GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

    in Downtown

    Posted

    I just thought about the rendering change and got pissed all over again, lol.  This was the one (the ONE) high-rise that had some sort of architectural significance, and now we're left with a CityCentre building in the heart of the city. 

     

    I lauded Midway for their efforts prior to this, but now it's painfully clear that they'd have been better off staying in the suburbs.  GreenStreet is a dumb name (tourists are going to assume it's on Green Street and not Dallas), it has no worthwhile tenants, and now it has an ugly hotel to look forward to.  Hmph.

    • Like 5

    GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

    in Downtown

    Posted

    This is very embarrassing for Midway, but if you lop off that top floor & the roof, the rest of the building looks okay.  Granted, it looks like it belongs in CityCentre instead of in the...city's...center...but it could still be a positive addition if quality materials are used.  Brinsden, if you're reading this, PLEASE redesign that roof.  Give it some character, man.

    GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

    in Downtown

    Posted

    For Heavan's sake! Hospitality has much to do with energy prices in sectors of this town. While it is true that downtown has a bit of a cushion from conventions, I would suggest that much of the "core" hotel bookings downtown are related to "business" people..., lawyers, sales, PR, consultants, and company employees from other offices, I would further suggest that many of those folks are related to energy companies (downtown). If those same companies need to cutback due to the price of oil, descetionary travel if one of the first things cut.

    With the decline in oil pricing, if it stays at this level for a protracted time, I would expect that hotel bookings downtown from "core" business people, will fall. How much they will fall is open for debate but if oil stays in the 50's or lower for a year or two, the folks traveling in on business with all the entertainment money for dinners and booze, will shrink.

    IMO downtown Houston is not yet a tourist or convention market, it is a business market and is subject to the whim of the local economy. Perhaps one day, conventions and tourism will dominate downtown. But, for Now, I think that the business cycle is what drives core profits at downtown hotels.

     

    Thanks for your response, UtterlyUrban. The irony here is that we're discussing the possibility of Alessandra either struggling or not being built partly due to downtown Houston's lack of tourist attractions...and yet Alessandra sits in the middle of a three-block mixed-use development that could be/could've been a tourist attraction.

     

    • Like 1

    GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

    in Downtown

    Posted

    I was told March

     

     

    hotel demand will still be high since conventions don't depend on the cost of petroleum

     

    I'm glad someone else has raised this point, because I didn't want to be one of the first.  What do falling oil prices have to do with hospitality, residential, and non-energy-related office construction?  This question is partly rhetorical, but partly honest because I know a lot of knowledgeable people visit this forum.  A "sky is falling" attitude seems to be pervasive in a lot of these threads and I'm curious to know why.

    • Like 1

    One Hermann Place: Multifamily At 1699 Hermann Dr.

    in Museum District/Hermann Park/Rice University area

    Posted

    In my opinion the Swamplot articles, post, and stories have been on a steady decline. They post things that have nothing to do with real estate, they post old news, they miss out on real estate news and developments that I think should be included. Just not how the old Swamplot use to be.

     

    Cosign.  I used to visit Swamplot and HAIF in equal measure.  Swamplot really went downhill after they changed their site layout last year.  Now, I'll go 2-3 weeks without checking in and still won't miss anything of consequence.

     

    Rice Village Shopping Center & Future Hotel At 2400 University Blvd.

    in Going Up!

    Posted · Edited by Gator Purify

    No point in crying over spilled milk, but I don't see anything wrong with the Village aesthetic.  What should be addressed is the difficulty of navigating University near Kirby...while trying to turn into the Village, avoid drivers backing out of spaces by Mi Luna, avoid hitting pedestrians as they cross the street, and not getting run over by the cars behind you.

     

    Does Rice have a campus shuttle that carries kids from the dorms to the Village area?  If not, then isn't that an easy solution to some of the problems in the article? 

    • Like 1
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