dbigtex56

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

Would be kind of hilarious if on the other side of the bayou on Jail Island they did another memorial, but for all the cops killed by criminals.

You're a little late there, Bubba. 
The Houston Police Officers Memorial (2100 Memorial Drive) was dedicated more than 30 years ago. 
 

12 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

Not because it’s black owned. Because it’s 50 feet from a handful of tents along the feeder.

OK. So if the conditions already exist, how would opening a restaurant change anything? 
A quick Google search shows that their lowest priced menu option is $15, which doesn't jibe well with the budgets of the Greyhound or tent dwelling crowd.

8 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

I hope it doesn’t turn into the infamous Midtown McDonald’s near the bus station.

Why would it?
Or are you assuming that because it's Black owned and operated that it will attract homeless/street people?

Looks like Stuff'd Wings is finally opening.
https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2021/05/27/food-truck-makes-leap-into-ion-owned-space.html

A slab has been poured and work started on the second floor of the southern (McGownen St) end of the project.

13 hours ago, hindesky said:

there is another place with a similar name but spelled "Lao Szechuan" with no spaces between.

I checked both spellings on Google and the only reference to Sze Chuan I could find was from the Hungarian (!), where it means 'Szechuan'.
It seems likely that the graphic artist made a kerning error.
(Or is Hungarian)

. 

12 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

Westheimer east of Shepherd seemed less exciting, kind of listless. Just an impression though.

A correct impression, IMO. 
The conditions that make Austin's South Congress Ave such fun also made Lower Westheimer a destination back in the day .
Unfortunately, unsympathetic development has eroded Westheimer's  density over the years. Every chain restaurant (I'm looking at you, Raising Cane's and McDonalds), every strip mall with parking in front, every vacant lot serves as a disincentive for pedestrians. 
I hope that future development can help sew the fabric of the street back together (and that Skanska doesn't take forever to start moving dirt).
 

On 1/19/2022 at 3:08 PM, reallydave said:

I'll always remember the music scene!

 

Did you ever see the bands at The Ale House?
The manager who booked their acts (Angela) was my neighbor and dear friend.

23 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Wouldn’t this site be considered close the freeway at less than a mile to 59 S?

You're correct, it is. 
I don't drive, so I'm not familiar with how people feel about using surface streets to reach freeways in unfamiliar cities.

3 hours ago, gene said:

the most horrible memory of the walgreens that was there and the best memories of hanging with chris and bucky who worked at soundwaves...and of course my best friends band's cd release party/events there over the years...

RIP Soundwaves but i guess it was inevitable...

 

That Walgreen's was one of the few pharmacies in town to stock the medications that fought opportunistic infections brought about by HIV/AIDS.
When they moved to the 'new' store a block away it was known locally as "The Walgreen's that AIDS built".

47 minutes ago, X.R. said:

@hindeskyfor that drainage, are they trying to get water to flow into the system faster?

I ask because as an additional reason for this taking so long, on top of the reasons listed in this thread, is potentially that they wanted to make as direct a connection to the large underground drainage pipes in the area. Did this area flood? The reason I bring it up is that when they corrected the big street dip on la branch in the museum area I was talking to the city contractors, and they said part of the reason some of the recent projects take a bit longer is because midway through the approval process for the la branch upgrade/fix, so about a year ago, the city looked at where water was flowing in each area around DT and decided to make as direct a connection as possible to the larger underground pipes. Thats why for the three recently redone corners in the museum district have grates/drains that look like the picture above. 

Just food for thought. I rode my bike through the area on Sunday, and man Midtown is going to have some significantly verdant areas after this is done.

They're raingardens. According to macmillandictionary.com 

"A raingarden is a garden area deliberately planted in order to deal with the water which runs off roofs, driveways and other hard surfaces in periods of heavy rain. ... They often contain flower or vegetable beds with underlying sandy soil which helps water filter away."
In other words, they help filter road oils and other forms of pollution from storm water before it's drained into the bayous.
Plantings will include cypress trees and native irises.
 

7 hours ago, hindesky said:

Montrose needs a nice hotel.

There's La Colombe d'Or across the street, but its units seem to start at ~ $600/night.
Something at a lower price point might be very welcome.
How important is having convenient freeway access to hotels? 

7 hours ago, reallydave said:

so many memories I don't remember! 

Welcome to HAIF, reallydave.
That comment sums up the eighties for quite a few of us.

Obviously, this will be effectively block the path against everyone except highly athletic evil geniuses.
I mean, who would want to enter such a bustling construction site? All those open trenches, and heavy equipment and surveyors' stakes. 
It's a deathtrap, I tell you. A deathtrap.

I notice that the building behind the Eldorado Ballroom (3212 Emancipation Ave) looks like it was built from reclaimed materials, including glass blocks commonly found in buildings from the 1930's. 
I wonder if they were originally from the Eldorado Ballroom, and salvaged when the size of its windows was reduced. 

27 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Why would that be scary?

Cyclists or pedestrians would find themselves in a place where running for help is not an option, where other people can't see an attack take place. It's tailor-made for robbery, rape, and assault.
People who have any street sense know to avoid such places when possible.
 

This has been bugging me for a while. 
At the end of the Mike Calvert Toyota TV ad, there's a depiction of the skyline. 
Not Houston's skyline.
Dallas's skyline. 
Why, Mike? Why?

22 hours ago, gene said:

that place is a mess although i have great memories of going to the lower left corner unit for late night physic readings with drunk friends back in the day! Ha! 

 

Oh, I remember that unit.
A friend was all excited because he'd rented it - only $400 a month (this was 25 years ago), no deposit, first month's rent cash in advance. 
We were looking the place over, discussing its possibilities, when a couple of other people walked in without knocking. "Hi, what are you doing here?" "Hi yourself, I'm here to look over my new apartment. What are YOU doing here?" 
Turns out that apartment had been 'rented' to at least four different people. The person doing the renting was not the owner, and conveniently disappeared before it hit the fan, with at least $1600 in cash.

On 12/17/2021 at 6:28 PM, hindesky said:

The Waffle Bus location on W. Alabama had their Grand Opening today.

https://www.thewafflebus.com/menu/restaurant-menu/

Can someone please explain what we're looking at? I see the sandwich, but is it being held by one hand? Two hands? 
One hand and a foot? Is that a neck or a wrist, and WTF are those oval things? 
I've stared at it for 10 minutes and it still doesn't make sense.

Haven't checked to see if there's already a demo permit, but the windows have been taken out, the entire  building is covered with graffiti, and there's a prominent "FOR SALE' sign.
 

. Corner of Westheimer and Mulberry St.

1 hour ago, Big E said:

Hidalgo just had the issue thrown in her lap because Emmett went to the level of getting the thing declared historic on his way out the door.

Read 'How the Astrodome was saved'.
"In 2014, the Astrodome became a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. Three years later, it became a State Antiquities Landmark."
(Hidalgo defeated Emmett in the November 2018 election. Please explain how Emmett had the Dome receive two landmark statuses retroactively while "on his way out the door".)
 

1 hour ago, Big E said:

nobody else cared and just want it torn down

You're wrong.
You know you're wrong, so there's no need to expand on that statement.

27 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I wish I had the opportunity to experience the Montrose some of yall remember. 

If this makes you feel better about not having experienced the 'old' Montrose, there was another side that nostalgic people don't often mention. 
Sex and drugs were big business. Many of the small businesses on lower Westheimer were so-called "Oriental Massage Parlors" which in retrospect were exploiting young Asian women who had no recourse. Teenage runaways flocked to Montrose, sometimes squatting in abandoned buildings and engaging in underage street prostitution. In retrospect, the 'johns' who paid for their services were rapists.
There was a high incidence of meth and other 'party' drugs. Some people were unscathed, others became addicted. Some displayed psychotic behavior, some overdosed and died. 
Some men were cross-dressers or drag queens, and enjoyed the reactions they got when they'd venture onto the streets. Fine. But some transgender women had to engage in prostitution because there were few other opportunities open to them. They risked being robbed, beat up, raped or worse. They were flashy because it brought in business. A girl's gotta eat.
Yes, the old Montrose was fun, and I miss it. But there was a gritty side too, and people got hurt.
 

It's not just about the building itself, which is really little more than a shack. These small, run-down low rent buildings in odd locations allowed young entrepreneurs to open the quirky little businesses that made Lower Westheimer unique and a destination. 
Those days have passed, and are unlikely to return anytime soon. Still, it's a bit sad to see these holdovers eradicated and the Montrose become increasingly slick and 'corporate'.

On 12/19/2021 at 1:50 PM, Houston19514 said:

I suppose it hypothetically could.  And I suppose that if the tunnel was hypothetically 1,000 miles long it would have some bearing on matters. 
But I see nothing in the concept to suggest that the outlet will be 100' below sea level.  Where did you come up with that?  

It was mentioned that the tunnel would start at 150' below ground . If Houston is approximately 50 feet elevation, that would still leave the tunnel 100' below ground by the time it reached the coast. 
I think the short answer here is that I have a fundamental misunderstanding as to what is being proposed, and probably shouldn't have posted my comment.