MidCenturyMoldy

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

My point was that a hotel on either side of the street appears to be a departure from the Master Plan

Maybe, except there is a building on the master plan exactly where the hotel is to be located (Southwest corner of Loretto and W. Main).

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

 If you haven't seen the article in Travel and Leisure you should Google. It says Houston with the addition of the new Kinder building and the Menil campus Houston has become the new Mecca for Art in America. Great article. Several collector tour groups have already established artist studio visits to possibly buy Houston artists works this fall.

Saw it last week. Here's the link: https://www.booktandl.com/trip-inspiration/houston-art-museums-kinder-menil-turrell-rothko 

I was a little disappointed at first when I read that the author lives in Texas (Austin). Then it became apparent he isn't from Texas, he seems to be from NYC and just lives here part of the year, so I felt all better again. 😉

29 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

That master plan image is from 2018. Things could be different by now.

Maybe so, but my response was to the suggestion that "neither side of the street matches" the master plan. As it stands right now, the east side of the street (vacant lot = park) matches the plan perfectly.

1 hour ago, KinkaidAlum said:

I grew up in Tanglewood back when a two story house was not allowed. My house and those of all of my friends are long gone. Onwards and upwards.

IKR? Though I don't blame them for objecting, or even for fighting it legally, they knew what they were getting into when they built their McMansions in that area.

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

I don't think either side of the street matches their master plan...  (There are different versions out there... where did you find this one?)

There is currently a big empty lot on the east side of Loretto Drive, just south of the Menil Drawing Institute, which corresponds exactly to a park space in the master plan. The image comes from a thread in this forum, the link to which is right under the plan image in my post.

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

But the hotel could also be going in on the east side of the street.

Not according to the Menil campus master plan.

16 minutes ago, Montrose1100 said:

We're on year 15 so what's the rush.

Extra time makes it extra special!

20 hours ago, arche_757 said:

Does anyone know how the other Aga Khan projects have proceeded around the globe, since this method could be the way they have always operated?  Secretive for little reason other than their founder wants it this way.

Apparently it took 12 years from purchasing the land to opening the building in Toronto. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismaili_Centre,_Toronto

19 hours ago, hindesky said:

Both @Urbannizer and @MidCenturyMoldy posted possible renderings but they were asked to take them down.

The fact that I was asked to take down the post because its publication violated a non-disclosure agreement  signed by the landscape architect leads me to believe the renderings were possibly the real deal.

19 hours ago, arche_757 said:

Does anyone know how the other Aga Khan projects have proceeded around the globe, since this method could be the way they have always operated?  Secretive for little reason other than their founder wants it this way.

"Leader," you mean. Their founder lived 13 centuries ago.

7 hours ago, quietstorm said:

Agree. It’s like when people say “the Third Ward, etc” lol. No one from Third Ward says that. It’s just Third Ward, Fifth Ward, etc.  

Although old-timers will sometimes say "the Montrose," short for "the Montrose Area." And, of course, "the Heights."

"Located directly off the Buffalo Bayou to the North-West of downtown Houston..."

Yes, I know this is tedious nitpickery on my part, but NO Houstonian would ever say "the Buffalo Bayou." Just say "Buffalo Bayou" and not sound like you're from Dallas. 

10 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Dense is relative, each of those big townhouses has maybe 3 people

Compared to what was there 30 years ago, the aerial photos are astonishing.

48 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

Did they also design the townhouses on Hadden and McDuffie?

 

Yup. https://thetriumphofpostmodernism.tumblr.com/post/154887506063/haddon-townhouses-1983-arquitectonica-photos

6 hours ago, arche_757 said:

You guys hating on Arquitectonica I see…

Stop hating on Arquitectonica! (Actually, I don't like that building on Richmond.) 

28 minutes ago, gene said:

don't think side street facing in this case takes away from the project at all.

 

I don't think it takes away from the project. I do think it takes away from the street. Or the pedestrian experience of the street.

ETA: Or takes away from what could have been. I'm not saying the project in any way takes away anything from Westheimer.

I would have preferred if Montrose Collective had been set back from Westheimer the way this project in Austin is going to be. A friend who lives just blocks from MC says he believes Radom wants most pedestrian activity to be on the sides and not on Westheimer.

Maybe someday Westheimer will be shrunk to just one lane each way and the sidewalks will be much wider. Maybe transit and pedestrians will someday be the top priority!!! MAYBE HOUSTON WILL BECOME THE SOPHISTICATED URBAN CENTER WE ALL KNOW IT COULD BE!!!!   NAAAHHHH!!!!!

7 hours ago, hindesky said:

 

WOW!

5 hours ago, trymahjong said:

Random has been such a good neighbor to protect those historic bricks along Crocker; wonder if they could get recognition from COH. Does COH or Historical COH committee ever place signage to recognize efforts like that inside Historic designated areas? 
…….who knows, but that signage might influence other developers….? Other historic brick streets could be saved…..? Maybe “ tourists” come to see historic brick streets…..?  More tourists might spend more money at nearby bars and restaurants…?More money spent might mean quicker recovery from covid shutdown…?

 

 

 

uh-oh

i think I got stuck in my “ pie-in-the-sky” reveries again………sigh.

I remember 40 years ago, maybe more, residents on Indiana and/or Michigan and/or Maryland Streets made the local news when they took shovels and scraped off all the asphalt that COH had just laid over their brick-paved streets. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7487117,-95.3985608,3a,60y,58.7h,84.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRwGpj2FDMq3Q9meaFuLBMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

56 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Yeah, I know that.  But the post to which I responded was counting up the total of all buildings (not just residential) over 400'

The post said "apartment towers under construction."

6 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

5 under construction (you left out Texas Tower)

But Texas Tower is an office building.

On 6/20/2021 at 3:53 PM, hindesky said:

 I guess it's one of Houston's most famous attractions.

I've seen it in at least one Bollywood movie (thanks to my Desi ex). Probably more.

If I remember correctly, this movie had nothing whatsoever to do with Houston...this scene just popped up out of nowhere (as musical scenes are wont to do in Hindi films)... then back to India when the music stopped. My guess was that the producer had a brother in Sugar Land, which would explain the final location with the "lake."

1 hour ago, Andrew Ewert said:

I wish we could just throw some chlorine in Buffalo Bayou 😭

And kill all the alligators???

"Missed Opportunity" is the unofficial motto of Houston.