Subdude

The Rossonian (later the Ambassador) was on Fannin at McKinney. The site is now the entrance to Two Houston Center.

I think it would be surprising if the developer could get the economics to work. I'm assuming that since high-end residential hasn't taken off downtown (eg Shamrock), instead of going for large units with high rents, he is going for very small units with low rents and hope for sufficient occupancy.

Interesting, but they seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouth, as it were. Link to full article And another

It seems we have a HAIF European contingent.

There is a thread about the Carrousel here. Try the search function - there are a number of discussions about the old Gulfgate and pictures of Houston from the 1960s. Welcome to HAIF!

OST in Houston was built in the late 1930s as a bypass route. For more information, look here, or here, or here.

Get a bike and ride around to see different neighborhoods, especially inside the loop. Houston is flat and it is easy to cover most of the city on side streets without a lot of traffic, making this a fantastic biking city. Use your judgement, but there are few neighborhoods where you have to worry about being attacked, although the far Southwest is supposed to be pretty dicey now. Avoid the Galleria area due to heavy traffic and lack of side streets. That is probably the least bike-friendly part of town. And welcome to Houston!

Wood paneling is common, isn't it, or stone-finished planters? A good reference source for mod interiors is "Atomic Ranch" magazine.

I'm sure the people in the adjoining bungalow are thrilled having that next door.

You have to take lists like this with more than a few grains of salt (Bellagio Hotel #22 ), but it is depressing to see that Houston isn't more prominent. The Houston buildings that made the cut were the Astrodome, Williams/Transco Tower, and Pennzoil.

The comparison of Galveston and AC is right on the money. AC does have a decent beach and nice boardwalk, but Galveston has the Strand and some nice historical buildings.

But hey, no problemo. For you see, there is a socially optimal number of deaths from pollution. Seriously, if we are concerned about Houston's image and perception, as being discussed in another topic, here's a good place to start. Cleaning up the neighborhood would certainly be more productive than trying to locate "cool" people.

The "best" fuel depends to a large extent on the type of power generated. Coal, hydro, and nuclear are often used for base load because they are relatively cheap to run on a per mwh basis. Gas isn't often used for baseload because the price tends to be more volatile, but it is common for peaking plants. Wind power is just a supplement. I think it is foolish to overly rely on coal unless the emissions can be sufficiently scrubbed. Yes, coal is cheap, but there are hidden costs in pollution. It is not realistic to try to eliminate coal as a fuel, but it needs to be balanced with other alternatives. Nukes are expensive, but they are cleaner and I think the price will drop as the regulatory and licensing regime is standardized as is proposed. It's obviously a balancing act between the pros and cons of the alternatives.

You make some very valid points. There are a number of small projects that are very nice in Houston, and some larger ones like 2727 Kirby as you pointed out. For instance there have been articles about Houston's large number of "tin can" houses. But I think it is also natural, if perhaps somewhat unfair, to focus on the larger, more visible projects when assessing architectural quality. There aren't many projects of the scope of, say, the Reliant building, so I want each one to be world-class.

Great info, thanks and welcome to the board!

Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown, or almost anything from Almodovar. Nation of Origin Spain Language Spanish Actors/Directors Almodovar. Motorcycle Diaries Nation of Origin Argentina? Language Spanish Actors/Directors Gael Garcia Bernal

Keep it on topic here folks. If you just want to swap insults then take it somewhere else. No one else wants to read it.

I don't buy it. A city the size of Houston can afford some top-rank architecture. In any event, it's not just an issue of hiring expensive "starchitects" for their name value. Good architecture doesn't necessarily have to cost more. Laughed when I read that, but it certainly doesn't agree with the impression I had of Johnson. I pictured him as more the Keating type. There's no way we can quantify the degree of interest in local architecture that you would find in different cities. I admit for me it is really a matter of impression. But in other cities I have seen debates about buildings in letters to the editor, and wide selections of books on local buildings. To me, the lack of an architecture critic in the Chronicle is one indicator, but the problem is really apparent in the quality (or lack thereof) of most recent major projects.

I would say that is a genuine MCM pattern.

Many are certainly trying to. Coal is too dirty, but wind is too unreliable and can't be shaped to serve load. To me nukes are the best alternative.

There's an excellent MCM furniture store on Milam a block north of Mais (can't remember the name). The owners seem to know their stuff and care about what they are selling.

Note merged topics.

Can anything be done to change that and encourage more public interest in architecture in Houston?

Somehow I don't quite think that Virgin will be choosing its US routes based on an internet poll. Cute publicity gimmick though. I voted for Houston.

Well, sometimes it's a tough crowd, but welcome to HAIF. I don't have an escrow account at the moment, but I just have a monthly automatic deduction for taxes.