Subdude

I love the plan, especially the Alcatraz Island where the bayou diversion would be cut. Unfortunately, Houston has a really poor record getting plans like this accomplished, so it would be something of a miracle if any significant gets done. Jeez, it's taken the city years and they still can't manage the bayou bike path part.

I used to think this was a really ugly building, but it's grown on me. Now I think it is just a somewhat ugly building. Apparently well-built, though. During tropical storm Allison it didn't flood even though everything around it did. The building is sometimes said to have inspired Michael Graves' Portland Building:

That is such a funny design, with the pinkish color and the Earth Wind & Fire top.

Kirby group seeks businesses' advice Power lines, median beauty leading the list By ANNE MARIE KILDAY Chronicle Correspondent A "community outreach" program to get ideas from business owners on Kirby Drive will be conducted by the Kirby Coalition in an effort to resolve some of the more controversial and costly proposals to improve the street's appearance. Those proposals include limiting driveways, relocating overhead power lines and installing a tree-filled median between Bissonnet and the Southwest Freeway. The Kirby Coalition was formed last year to advise the city of Houston on rebuilding Kirby, as the $40 million Kirby Storm Sewer Project is completed. The four-year project involves replacing storm sewers under Kirby with huge box culverts, which are designed to alleviate flooding in the Texas Medical Center and surrounding neighborhoods. Seventy-five percent of the project is being funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a response to flooding in the Texas Medical Center during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001. As construction started last month on the sewer project, leaders of the coalition met with residents and businesses near Loop 610 South to explain their efforts to include amenities when the Kirby is rebuilt. With engineering for the rest of the project about 50 percent complete, the coalition decided last week it needs more involvement from business owners about the more controversial aspects of rebuilding the street. The controversial elements include restricting curb cuts to business driveways, relocating utility poles, and the median between Bissonnet and the Southwest Freeway. The median issue, which earlier had divided merchants in the Rice Village and residents of nearby neighborhoods and communities

One of my favorite public art works is the decoration in the passage that connects Terminal B at IAH to to the Terminal A/B parking garage. It's a beautfiful mosaic of wetlands. Small metal fish are embedded in the floor.

Well it's about time. That's great news if is true. It's just unbelievable they've waited this long, but then again this is the Chronicle. Just as amazing is that they don't have a Spanish edition, just occasional stories in Spanish buried among the English. They're such an embarrasment - a small-town paper that somehow ended up stuck in a big city.

Well, I'm the first to accept that my taste in sculpture isn't what it might be. A friend has informed me that I am in effect an ignorant boob for being unable to appreciate the Dubuffet. There's a junior version of that cello player in front of a house off Westheimer near Avalon. Does the one in front of the Lyric building still play music?

Nah, don't like the Dubuffet, although the cello player is kind of funny. Maybe part of the problem to me with the D. is its placement in that awful plaza at 1100 Louisiana. The sculpture is probably intended to somehow liven up the plaza but it seems to somehow just emphasize its barreness.

The sign says something like "Stowers Market, A home for Houston retailers" so it sounds like they will have space for local guys. Nice idea. It's a beautiful building, so it's great to see it redeveloped.

The Finger sale never went through. Not enough parking, too many development issues, stupid owners.

I would crater the Dubuffet in front of 1100 Louisiana. Main Street does make sense for public art, especially near the train stations. It would be interesting to see a progression of art from the MFAH into downtown.

That sign has been on the Ben Milam since MMP opened. To my knowledge no serious redevlopment plans have ever been announced for the property. The postponement/cancellations of Ballpark Place and Ar'talia seem to indicate that devlopers do not see much potential for residential in that neighborhood for the near future. As much as I would love to see Ben Milam redeveloped, I really don't expect to see it happen for a long, long time.

Officials do more groundwork to land MLS franchise Practice facilities sought to help bid for Earthquakes By BILL MURPHY Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Officials are surveying local soccer facilities to determine whether any could serve as practice fields for a professional team that might land in Houston. ADVERTISEMENT The search is part of local officials' efforts to sell the city to a Mexico City group that might buy and relocate the San Jose Earthquakes, said Oliver Luck, CEO of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, on Tuesday. The University of Houston's Robertson Stadium likely would serve as the Major League Soccer team's home field, and UH officials say increased use of the field would require installation of artificial turf. Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of the San Jose team, is considering selling the Earthquakes to Televiso, a Mexican network that owns Club America. The Mexican group has told local officials it would move the team to Houston or San Antonio. But AEG, which also owns the Los Angeles Kings and Staples Center in Los Angeles, has given potential investors from the San Jose area until Sept. 17 to buy the team. AEG also has been discussing with the Santa Clara, Calif., City Council a plan for that city to build a stadium, said Earthquakes spokesman Seth Burton. Luck said his staff is working hard to find out which area soccer fields could serve as practice sites. An alternative would be for the city or county to build or help build practice fields, he said. Dave Maggard, UH's athletic director, said UH could be willing to lease Robertson Stadium to an MLS team. But the grass field would not hold up for UH football games, women's soccer games, three or four Texas Southern University football games and 15 MLS games, he said. The Club America group "may want to put in Field Turf for us," Maggard said. It would cost about $800,000 to install Field Turf, considered the best of the artificial surfaces by many college and pro players, at Robertson, he said. The Club America-Televiso group has retained Ricardo Ampudia, who served as consul general in Mexico's Consulate in Houston in the 1980s, to advise it on whether it should move the Earthquakes to San Antonio or Houston, said Councilman Adrian Garcia. "He knows the city well. That's got to help," Garcia said. While on other business in Mexico City next week, Garcia said he will meet with Ampudia, who toured Robertson Stadium about a month ago, and Club America officials to reiterate the city's interest in professional soccer. "Houston has got a lot to offer," Garcia said. "We've got a strong Hispanic population. Soccer is alive and well in Houston." Link

I would imagine they were all destroyed. Remember, these old hotels had been operating basically as flophouses for years. The former Brazos hotel operated under different names after the 1940s.

OK, one more noir diner dame and I'll stop (remember I'm trying to make as many meaningless posts as I possibly can in a short time ) Mildred Pierce:

OK, one more famous noir-ish diner denizen: Mildred in "Of Human Bondage"

Thanks for posting this. I saw it but don't have access to the online edition. In the former forum there was a long discussion about the pros and cons of lighting downtown more vividly. Do you have today's WSJ article about the Latin American art exhibit at MFAH?

There are a couple of other "missing" downtown streets. Szabo and Frederick ran north-south in the downtown part of Fourth Ward. Szabo disappeared when Smith St. was extended southward to Midtown. Frederick was removed when the street grid was reconfigured to build Allen Center. It ran through what today would be the middle of the Enron Building.

As a result of Houston

The childhood home of cosmetics mogul Mary Kay Ash (nee Mary Kay Wagner), founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, is threatened with demolition. The diminutive house at 2111 Kane Street was Ash

Somewhat old news. On Monday July 26, the owners of 1713 Lubbock in Houston

Dora Lantrip Elementary School at 100 Telephone Road will receive an extensive makeover as part of Houston Independent School District

From Houston Neighborhoods Council: For more than 65 years, Tin Can Alley secured a spot in Houston history. Located in the northwest corner of downtown, Tin Can Alley was actually a street, one block in length and oriented from east to West. The eastern end of the street terminated at Buffalo Bayou. The street was located within a wedge-shaped city block formed by the convergence of Preston and Washington avenues, just south of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad yards. It was situated on undulating terrain with deep gullies, which drained into the adjacent bayou. An early description of the area noted a preponderance of

Surprising to see this is still on, especially given the current downtown hotel glut. It was first announced a couple of years ago but not a word since. Good news in any event.