mkultra25

20 hours ago, Ross said:

I couldn't find any pictures, but the property is now owned by Charles Duncan. 

Presumably his wife Anne, since he passed away a couple of years ago and she is listed as co-owner of the property.

Cleveland Sewall was president of his family's grocery business. Rice's Sewall Hall was built with funds donated by his wife after his death. Upon her death, she left this house to Rice in addition to funding to endow two professorships. 

Lots of additional background detail in the city's Protected Landmark Designation Report, which didn't have much effect in the end as the house was ultimately demolished and a new house built on the site in 2021. 

 https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/landmarks/09PL75_Sewall_House_3456_Inwood.pdf

Those who have been around HAIF a while will remember @Michelle C, who started this thread back in 2014. As is occasionally the case with HAIFers who haven't posted in a long time, I wondered what had become of her, and unfortunately discovered via a post on the BigMackTrucks.com forum that she passed away last year in March from COVID-related complications:

Sad News

RIP, Michelle.

8 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Republicans seem to be hard-wired to think "well, if I want to do something, it must be legal." 

23 hours ago, hindesky said:

This picture was posted in the Houston Chronicle about the Aug. 1993 demo of 10 story building that used to be where the Walgreens is now located. Anyone know what it used to be?

I was just coming here to ask the same question after seeing that photo yesterday. It's bugging me because I lived nearby when the building was still there, but despite passing by it on a regular basis, I can't remember what it was. Was hoping to find a pre-demolition picture of it in hopes of jogging my memory, but so far haven't had any luck.

Yeah, that soccer metaphor doesn't hunt. Messi may be 36, but all he's done recently is won a World Cup and singlehandedly lift a backmarker MLS team into contention. He's not exactly coasting into retirement.

I agree that Whitmire should certainly be able to work effectively with state government, but then again, I thought the same thing about Turner given his long tenure in the state House, and we all know how that turned out.  But I'd hardly lay the blame for the frosty relations between Houston and Austin at the feet of Turner and Hidalgo.  

I take it you don't have the urge to whistle "God Save the King" every time you see one of these?

6 hours ago, EspersonBuildings said:

Interesting how that part of Main Street was considered "South Main" in those days. 

I've been tripped up by this a few times when using Google Maps to look up an old address, only to be directed to one reflecting the current definition of "South Main" that's several miles away from the address I was actually looking for

2 hours ago, mollusk said:

We didn't even ask for a doggie bag for our actual dogs.

It would be a shame if this weren't enshrined for posterity in a Yelp review. 

If it were me, I'd have to write something like "My dog, who never passes up a chance to engage in coprophagy with the gusto and refinement of a true connoisseur, turned her nose up at the fare we were served. Draw your own conclusions."

"Hammond Organ Music Nightly" would have been the clincher for me if I'd been looking for a place to eat back in the day. Plenty of other establishments where you could get steak or chicken, but how many of them offered the dulcet tones of a B-3 for your listening pleasure while dining?

The architectural equivalent of the car world's "that'll buff right out".

That's unfortunate. Berryhill was always reliable for a low-priced meal that wasn't fast food. I guess the only one left is the one in Sugar Land, now that the original location closed due to redevelopment and the one in Oak Forest couldn't seem to figure out how to sustain its business.

I figured the Heights location was done when the "temporary closure due to renovations" stretched into several months of no discernible activity or updates on their social media presence. 

The address on the sign looks like 3103 Main, but it's hard to tell for sure as the photo's resolution isn't high enough to keep it from getting blurry when enlarged.

I'll take 100+ degree temperatures over a hurricane any day.

Of course, the worst is a hurricane, followed by the inevitable extended power outage, 90+ degree temps, and high humidity.

2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

I was told they were better during lunch. Went during Dinner and the bread was concrete. Also, I really dislike the heavy vinegar sriracha sauces they use. Pho Binh also switched to Tabasco brand and it's not good.

Yeah, I've only ever been there for lunch, which is when I'd guess the majority of their business is done. 

I read an article the other day about an ongoing sriracha shortage due to supply chain constraints affecting the producer of the sriracha sauce almost everyone uses, Huy Fong Foods in Rosemead, CA. It sounded crazy, with restaurants hoarding what they had and paying exorbitant prices in the regular retail market whenever some turned up there, since the usual wholesale suppliers couldn't get it.

On 7/26/2023 at 4:48 PM, Houston19514 said:

Correct, it is not uncommon, especially when there is a change of composition, but this change pretty clearly has nothing to do with the very minor change in our composition.

They did not change the north Texas metroplex name as you stated. Dallas-Plano-Irving is the name of a metropolitan division, a subset of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. Neither has changed in some time. (The western side of the metroplex is the Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine metropolitan division.)  FWIW, their combined area is named Dallas-Fort Worth.

You're right - I was going by how the Bureau of Labor Statistics displays metropolitan area definitions. In 2022, and recent years, they only list the MSA of Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington:

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Definitions

However, if you look at the historical data for earlier years, for example 2015, the data field used to capture MSA names in the downloadable files they provide is AREA_NAME, but in addition to MSA names, they will occasionally populate it with a metropolitan division name. Such is the case with the two Dallas-area metropolitan divisions you mention. I had assumed it was a name change when in reality they just started providing data for the MSA instead of the two separate divisions.

21 hours ago, hindesky said:

I got the banh mi from Cali, they have been my go to since Les Givral's closed. The Cali combination is really good.

Ah, OK. I read that too quickly and thought you were talking about the other place (that obviously hasn't opened yet). 

When I used to work downtown, Cali was the preferred go-to whenever anyone in the office was in the mood for a banh mi, but I haven't been there in quite a while. Good to know they're still a benchmark. 

Saw a post on Nextdoor about this. I don't think many of the commenters there were fully aware of the history of these properties, but most of them seem to realize that buying one wouldn't end well. 

17 hours ago, hindesky said:

Malai Thai Street Eats coming to 2900 Travis St. B. It's going to be next to Cali Sandwich and Pho. Picked up a banh mi today from there.

So how did the banh mi compare to Cali's?

It's not uncommon for the larger Metro Areas to occasionally have name changes, particularly when they change the composition of the Metro Area. In the past few years Dallas changed from Dallas-Plano-Irving to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

Another John Staub mansion bites the dust:

Astros owner Jim Crane buys $24M historic River Oaks home only to tear it down

8 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

I know, but thank you. I only noted Oso EaDo because it's what's on the Arcgis plat map. I included both Soso EaDo and Oso EaDo so it's searchable. That way if anyone is looking for the plat in the group and the associated topic using either name, they can find it. 

Frankly, "Oso EaDo" would be a better name than "Soso Eado". Which would you rather have, a name that represents an apex predator, or one that is a well-known synonym for mediocrity?

"How is it? Eh, it's so-so."

11 hours ago, editor said:

For example, there are zero cooling centers in downtown Houston.  The nearest one is a 40-minute walk, mostly in full sun, in 100+° heat, and heat indicies over 110°.  

As I understand it, the Central Library had previously been designated as a cooling center, but that designation was removed recently due to unspecified "safety concerns".  But the homeless can apparently still use the library as a de facto cooling center as long as they follow library policies (have to wear shirt/shoes, no exposed undergarments, etc.). I haven't been to the Central Library in some time, but the last time I was there, there were more than a few homeless folks hanging out inside. They weren't bothering anyone, and no one was bothering them. Perhaps things have changed more recently.

7 hours ago, Nate99 said:

Tend to agree, though for drip coffee these days, Dunkin or even McDonalds seem to do a better or at least more consistent job. To indulge off topic for a bit longer (though coffee is foundational to any downtown, I would say), I find the taste of Starbucks drip coffee to be all over the map, but I have had a bad run lately. Maybe the opening crew of the store I've been going to skipped some training or something. Their "dark roast" seems to be mercilessly overpowered by the roasting, it's the IPA of coffee.  I miss the old Yukon and Breakfast Blend.

On the infrequent occasions I go there, I rarely get anything but a flat white or a cappuccino, but I had to laugh at "the IPA of coffee".

21 hours ago, editor said:

The "burned" cliche grew out of people who were used to drinking coffee not being used to espresso. 
 

When Starbucks became popular, most  people were used to Dunkin' Dishwater, and Taster's Choice. 

No doubt in the pre-Starbucks era the bar was pretty low for coffee, just like before the craft beer movement took hold most Americans' frame of reference was defined by Budweiser and Miller Lite.  I will say that the guy I've known to have most consistently complained about Sbux tasting burned over the years is European, and quite used to espresso.