dbigtex56

Perhaps developers (and the people who buy from them) want some assurance that this will remain a greenspace.Who in their right mind would develop and market housing based on its proximity to a amenity that could, at any moment, be converted to surface parking or some other gawd-awful form of development? The patterns of usage of parks will change dramatically as people move into downtown. With a scant 3,000 people living there today, it's little wonder that existing parks are underutilized. When we have 20,000 people living downtown, these parks will be an integral part of the cityscape.

I hope you're right. I'd love to see us win the World Series, of course. It's just the senseless destruction that seems to have become more prevalent in the past few years that bothers me. As an example, Denver won some sports event a few years ago - I have no idea what - and celebrated by overturning cars, setting fires, breaking windows, etc. It certainly made a bigger impression on me than whatever it was they were celebrating. Not a good impression, either.

And that is exactly why I felt (feel) some trepidation about having sports stadia downtown. At The Summit (Compaq) or the Astrodome, there wasn't a lot to destroy to 'celebrate' a winning game. Perhaps that's why we haven't seen the disgraceful behavior in Houston that other cities have suffered. But now...now these thugs posing as fans have a focal point on which to vent their destructive urges. If winning the Series causes riots, I hope we lose.

It worked! The above post can be accessed by typing "midtown neighborhood association" houston in Google. Here's hoping people do so, and respond...

re: Netflix - do you ever have problems with movies that are unavailable for long periods of time? As I understand it, you make a list of movies you'd like to see, and they send whatever is in stock. I've mentioned this before (on the previous forum) but it bears repeating: Cactus Records on Shepherd at W. Alabama has a great selection, especially for gay/lesbian, foreign, art house and classic films.

well damn, you beat me to it too. First thing that came to mind is the new building scheduled on Pierce, near the old Boy Scout building - would that be doomed before it's even built? Perhaps NOW is the time to do land acquisition so TXDOT doesn't have to pay to demolish buildings that haven't been built yet.

Saw in the paper that Aurora is going to start showing movies at Dean's (the Home Of Easy Credit building) downtown on Main.

Asked my brother-in-law, who's some kind of engineer (electronics? he works a lot with radio) and received this reply: Interesting question! My first thought upon reading your message was that the nitrogen was used for pressurizing the telephone cables. I went on line and found this link to a picture: http://www.hollenback.net/index.php/NyOfficeNitrogenTanks Do they look like these? In days of yore, telephone signals were sent via coaxial cable over long distances. In order to prevent water from getting into the cable at connection points, the cable was typically pressurized by a dry inert gas to keep a positive pressure inside the cable. Nitrogen is used extensively for this, as is sulfur hexafluoride. If you follow the hose from the tank up the pole you should see it go into some type of fitting attached to a fat black or aluminum-colored cable. It may be that some areas of Houston still have coaxial cable in their local telephone systems, although I would have thought that everything would have been converted to fiber optic cable by now. It also might be the cable TV system as they also use coax cable. The tanks in the picture (link) are unfamiliar to me so I don't know what kind of pressure to expect. If the tanks are about 5 feet tall and look like welding tanks then it's possible to have as much as 2000 psi in them. As far as hazards go, the only real problem might occur if a tank is toppled over and the valve broken off. In this situation the tank becomes a rocket or torpedo with incredible results. Like going through concrete walls, etc. In reading the on-line resources it appears that some of the phone network still uses coaxial cable and that these are deteriorating over time. It may be that additional pressurization is required because of known leaks.

Mr. Science Guy, Any info about what pressure is maintained in these tanks? I know that oxygen tanks are up to 2000 psi, but assume that nitrogen is considerably less.

I remember when this building was going up, and how impatient everyone was for them to complete it. The external construction elevator remained for months after the rest of the building had been clad with its distinctive green glass. Finally, in early August of '83, the construction elevator was removed and the last glass panels were installed. So beautiful! Three weeks later, Hurricaine Alicia hit, and smashed out dozens and dozens of panes of glass. For nearly a year the exterior was a patchwork of glass and plywood. Fortunately they were able to match the glass so that the damage is now undetectable. I wonder if they'd be able to do the same if another hurricaine should hit - glass tends to change color over the years.

If my observations are welcome, of course I'll be happy to contribute what I can. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not an 'official' Midtown resident (I live just west of Spur 527), but I frequent Midtown on a daily basis. midtown_resident, you had mentioned on another thread that you were interested in forming or joining a Midtown neighborhood association. The blog seems like a good start. The greatest hurdle IMO is getting the word out. Surely many of our neighbors would welcome an opportunity to address the concerns of those who live in Midtown; it's a matter of reaching them. The internet has great potential to bring people together; for better or worse, it too suffers from sprawl. For all I know, there are already people having parallel discussions on other websites. A solution that comes to mind is old-fashioned and tedious, which is to blanket the neighborhood with flyers. This is the way other neighborhood associations were formed, and it's effective, expensive and a lot of hard work. An alternative is to Google our little hearts out, and 'spam' anyone who mentions Midtown concerns on other boards or usergroups. Maybe we can use Google to our own advantage. I just Googled "midtown neighborhood association" houston and came up with...nothing. If we repeat Midtown Neighborhood Association, in Houston, often enough, Google will see that we're saying Midtown Neighborhood Association and will respond to anyone who is searching for Midtown Neighborhood Association in Houston.

Well, I'm just going to go ahead and blog away... If there's such a thing as a perfect day, it was today. The sky was impossibly clear and so blue it looked scarcely real. All the humidity had been squeezed out of the air, and the sunlight was focused, the shadows black and sharp. What struck me as I rode through Midtown is that the most humble, shabbiest buildings were the most beautiful. There's a terracotta block building on an otherwise vacant lot near the McGowen station, and the sun brought out the subtle differences of color in each block. You'd think it was a mosaic. Even the blistered, faded corregated metal buildings acquired a new depth. Each ribbon of peeling paint cast a unique shadow, never to be duplicated. And I wonder if Midtown will be as beautiful if - when - it's been cleared of blight. Maybe tomorrow it won't be a day like today, and these buildings will go back to being shabby eyesores. But today I saw a Midtown which, even if it existed for only one day, is the one I choose to remember.

We had some great vintage pictures of Sears on the 'old' forum - if someone could post them again, it would be appreciated. It was, indeed, a very attractive deco/streamline building. Much of it is probably intact undrerneath the current metal cladding. However, when you compare the old photos with the building as it now stands, it appears that some additions were made to the structure in addition to the more 'modern' facade. If the metal cladding was removed, there might be some very ugly scars to deal with.

The Sears at Main and Wheeler might have a limited selection of gardening supplies; I agree that there's a market for window-box gardeners. BTW, what's the deal with those stores (I think they're called Houston Garden Center) that have full page advertisments, but never list an address, a phone # or a website? Great deals! but where the hell are you? Tried looking them up in the phone book, and no one answered...

Sorry to hear that - I remember the pictures you'd posted of this house (on the previous forum). I shudder to think what will go up in its place.

Seems like I've heard that this building was purchased by the owner of High Fashion Fabric - is that correct?

I noticed a London Fleet Car with the Hotel Icon logo the other day...very cool.

A bunch of studio apartments sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Not everyone needs, wants, or can afford some fancy-schmancy 3000 square foot loft. I think there's a market for 20-somethings in entry level positions who like the idea of living downtown. There's a lot of cities where 400 square foot apartments are advertised as 'spacious' A side benefit of small apartments is that people are forced to entertain elsewhere; who's going to cram four or five friends into a studio apartment? Instead, people tend to hang out in coffee shops or pubs, which become in effect their living rooms. Even if they don't spend much, this is good for business, especially if they're decorative or entertaining. People are attracted to people having a good time, and a resident population would help to reduce the amount of 'dead time' which seems so prevalent in downtown businesses. It all comes down to number-crunching. Can small, bare-bones apartments be developed and sustained at low rental rates? If so, I think there's a market.

hehe! You keep me honest, bachanon. No, I'm not suggesting that we should emulate that "Little Pink Houses" song by John Midtown Cougar Mellencamp. The suburban dictate that all structures should look exactly the same is anathema to me. I sure don't want the Doormat Police showing up at my door (...especially tonight. My cat just coughed up a hairball on my welcome mat. Talk about your mixed message). On the other hand, there are still reminants of what Midtown once was, and some beauty, in my eyes. There's some history here, and I'm glad these developers are aware of it. I agree with Subdude about continuity of scale (and situation). If this corner had been developed as another mindless 'safe' development, a strip center with parking in the front, it would detract rather than add to the neighborhood. It's sympathetic. I can walk past it without wanting to spit.

Thanks for the rendering, HoustonRetail. In addition to the discreet parking, I also applaud that the design takes cues from the 1920s-30s storefronts in Midtown. Here's hoping that other developers follow this example. Some continuity of architectural style would make Midtown seem more like a 'real' neighborhood, instead of a mish-mash of unrelated development.

We be's Texas hicks. May I offer you some wasabi with your chicken fried steak?

I usually prefer to pee in doorways, but I'll give it a try.

FYI: brises-soleil are horizontal elements which serve to shade the building. A local example would be the Exxon building.

The article states that the hospitals will be five miles apart. Two would be closer to it.

Found this reference: "The former Tennison Hotel will be converted into lofts. One Bayou Place will have 27 units in the seven-story building." (Real Estate Center website, circa 2001 - link ) also:"Across the street, to the north, is the One Bayou Park building, still under construction. It is an interesting renovation of the Tennison Hotel. The Tennison Hotel, built in the early 1920's, was a 'railroad station hotel' serving business travelers arriving by train at the nearby Grand Central Station. It was one of several hotels designed by architect Joseph Finger, including the William Penn Hotel, the Texas State Hotel, the Auditorium Hotel, and the DeGeorge Hotel. As passenger train business declined, the hotel died. Prior to the conversion to upscale apartments and office space in 2000, the building had been vacant since the 1970's." Link with picture As an aside, I think this was the building which once was featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. When it was built, an order was placed for just enough bricks to build the place, and they came up ONE brick short. A few years ago, it was a major eyesore as you entered downtown on 45.