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A family member once witnessed the Exxon maintenance folks clearing out a space, so it could be remodeled. One the executives was walking by the dumpster on the way out, stopped and peered inside, then joked to another saying "Well, there goes another load of research!".

Balfour Beatty? Hmmf. I would have picked someone else, like a Linbeck or a Bellows, but Hines can choose whoever they want. I'm sure the finished product will be good enough for most folks.

It was probably River Oaks Lincoln Mercury. I saw a nice 88-91 Mercury Grand Marquis last week that still had the River Oaks Lincoln Mercury decal on the trunklid.

Was'nt it called Snelling Mercury at one time. I seem to remember a cougar image on their logos.

According to the City of Houston boundary maps, Baybrook Mall lies within the City of Houston, while most of the surrounding tracts are cobbled up between Webster, Friendswood and League City. So the big sales tax winner in this one is Houston.

Merged with who?

Afton Oaks, I should have known.

Those folks fighting the Ashby Highrise should have engaged the Afton Oaks peeps. Maybe the outcome would have been different.

The Cruise Terminal business has more to do with the Port of Houston charging fees below market, and below ROI, just to get someone in their empty building. The Port of Houston built the cruise terminal on the assumption of "Build and they will come". Well when they did not come (with the exception of post Hurricane Ike business), the Port of Houston lowered their fees to fire sale levels just to lure away whoever they could from Galveston.

I have actually seen aircraft in some Google imagery, but as you zoom down on top them they disappear. There was an aircraft over the intersection of OST and Griggs for sometime, it is now gone. A larger passenger jet showed up over Mykawa and Dixie Dr. but it is no longer there either, and didn't stay posted for long.

No, the log cabin sits on Hermann Park land.

This project most probably is on land that once belonged to the Shriners.

You're missing the artwork inside the building - that's what makes the cost of the structure worth it. Like all the previous buildings in the campus, this is supposed to have a special filtering of natural light

Fifty Shades of Grey.

There was another thread a few years back, where someone spotted the original indian statues at a place of business up near Lake Somerville.

One would think they could keep the brands in whichever sub-market they are strong, while creating savings by merging purchasing, transportation, back office functions etc.  That would be a typical hedge fund play.

I hate hedge funds. Really, why can't they just leave regular companies alone? Go invest in gold or pork bellies like they're supposed to do. And don't tell me that they even things out by taking some of the risk out of the markets. That's a bunch of hooey.

Just heard that Albertson's is buying Safeway. How the worm does turn.

Total Independent Confirmation? You'll get plenty of that here on HAIF!

We had friends that lived in Galveston. In the 60's mosts homes on the island had an outside antenna that had a remote dail inside the home that changed the aim of the antenna toward each broadcaster's tower as you changed stations on your set. Us kids got a kick out of hanging out of the upstairs window just to watch the antenna move around. (cheap entertainment).In the ealy 70's a company named Telepromter Cable entered Galveston and offered better reception for local VHF and UHF stations, along with some variaty including Beaumont and Chicago television stations (Probably WGN). You could even watch Galveston City Council meetings on a local access station. We did not have that kind of service in Houston until years later.

Correct.  What is happening over time is that the grocery market seems to be gradually bifurcating into higher-priced niche marketers (Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's) and discounters (Walmart, Aldi, dollar stores).  Consequently it is getting increasingly tough for the traditional mid-market stores (Kroger, HEB, Randalls) to compete.  Those that can't stay on top of their game won't last in the long run.  Think of it as the food equivalent of what happened to old mid-line retailers like Sears and JCPenney.  

There are some people like me that will never shop at a Whole Foods are a Trader Joes'. Just ain't happening. The market will balance out and shift around, but Krogers and HEB will not be going away.

The store was added on to several times. You would notice as you walked around that the floors would slope up and down as you went from one addition to the other. The Men's and the shoe department's that faced Yale were in the original store. The entrance that faced 22nd street was a later addition (probably late 40s) and then the entrance on the back, facing the parking lot was the last addition (late 60's). I remember at Christmas time they hired security guards that posted themselves in little elevated huts in the parking lot to watch out for purse snatchers.

I remember Abe, a salesman in the men's department, gave me a back of house tour once. There was a little employee breakroom that required you to traverse up a small narrow stairway. There was also a narrow passageway around the back of the store that led to the offices and storeroom located above the newer section.  Cool memories!   

Nobody said that Sears as a whole was profitable, but this single location apparently is. I'll continue to shop there as long as it is open. It's convenient and has the merchandise I need at a reasonable price.  When it closes I'll be forced to go somewhere else. 

Pssst, but won't be Target!

With Sears having bought a Kmart a decade ago, you'd think they could've remerchandised it to better serve the community. It certainly is an old building, and if it survives the year, it would've been operating for 75 years as a Sears! Incredible!

Actually KMart bought Sears. KMart Holdings then changed it's name to Sears Holdings. Not that it makes a difference now, they are both endangered species.

I've shopped at both this Sears and the one in Texas City. I find everything I need. It is convenient to park and pay.

I've been inside a Target a time or too. Never found anything I wanted to purchase. They don't have tools, automotive, hardware, appliances, or anything that I want to but..............except for their popcorn. So go ahead and build your Target store, so that one more middle aged guy can drive by it on his way to Sears.  

I have a suggestion that some may agree to, others of course will not. There are several acres of Hermann Park land south of the zoo across Cambridge (McGregor, Outer Belt) that is really unused, except by Ben Taub emergency room smokers, and an old log cabin. The "Pioneer" cabin can be moved into the park somewhere, or to another location. The smokers can smoke in the middle of the street for all I care. The land sits idle, as a buffer between the Medical Center and the park. Why not let parking garages be the buffer. The garages could be connected to the park with wide pedestrian bridges over Cambridge. (The only problem would be keeping medical center employees from parking there during the day..........or maybe not)

It would not be surprising for Texas Children's Hospital to acquire the adjoining St. Lukes properties on Bates and Bertner. They are already attached, sharing infastructure, heating, cooling and other life safety systems.

What is the construction going on south of the existing shorter hospital building next to this site? Does it have anything to do with this Methodist expansion? I like the flow of the planned buildings.

That would be St Luke's on going deconstruction of their orginal 1954 buiding. Thay have started and stopped this project several times in the past years. Now that they have a new owner they may get the thing finally deomolished.

I never liked shopping at Randall's in the past because it consciously did not sell beer or wine for years. It was almost like the owners were trying to force their morality on the shopping public. I even remember one of the companies that I worked for back then made sure to hand out "Randalls" gift cards at christmas time to it's employees, thinking that they were doing us some kind of favor by not allowing us to spend the card on beer! I would always give my gift card away anyway, usually to one of the apprentices'.

So for that reason alone I never made Randalls one of my grocery shopping choices.  

However, I did go to the one in Galveston yesterday to get soft drinks, and their prices were competive. The store was clean, fully stocked with all of the choices that Kroger or HEB have. Not sure why they are having trouble these days because this store looked fine to me.

I would be suprised if this ever gets built. There was a proposal for a similar amusement park one exit down (next to the Gulf Greyhound Racetrack). It never happened, just a sign on the property for several years. 

Notice the pink porta potty in post #23's pictures. Ladies used to have to share with the guys back in my days in construction. 

Cussing, foul language, and smoking were normal activities on construction sites of yesteryear. Things have improved so much in recent years.