sidegate

later at night it's a different story I'm sure but during the day, and especially on the weekend, it's a hive of retail activity. Evidently this has caught the attention of higher end retailers who are beginning to expand their footprint along those blocks. I'm anxious to see who will occupy the two vacant blocks on the north side on either side of Woodhead (one's already under development).

Never ceases to amaze me how quickly houses disappear once those guys descend on them. I'm amazed they didn't just drive that caterpillar right over the trees.

Reminds me of this article on Andres Duany in which he opined "[Houston] can't put two walkable blocks together". I guess he should spend more time on lower Westheimer....

Check out the article on lower Westheimer retail in today's Chronicle Business section.

Chronicle Business section article

The last line is one the more insightful observations I've read in recent times:

"And Lewis, the asset management executive, noted the value of having a group of such stores in one place. "People say walkable retail in Houston won't work in Houston because it's too hot, but it's more about environment," Lewis said. "Climate is just one part of environment. It's more about what you're walking past and what you're walking to.

"If you're walking past little cafes and boutique shops and resale shops, you're going to walk as far as it takes you, but if you're walking to a parking lot, you'll wind up walking right back to your car."

this is all very depressing, all the more so when you look at GHPA's new endangereddeco.org website and see just how long those buildings have been there and the thought that went to creating that space. how long does the mighty buck have to prevail here?

what was also cool was the little restaurant patio on the sidewalk beside the hollywood, also gone now unfortunately....we need more of that stuff along that strip of westheimer...

It's a lesbian bar....they had a fire a while back - that's why they are remodeling...

I know there's a bar behind the diner, but I thought the diner was a separate structure...maybe not...

good post.

i hate the way hollywood doesn't use the entrance on westheimer. it's a real downer to look into that big dark space and see pools of liquid in various stages of putrefaction, plus of course the odd vagrant taking a siesta. if they used that entrance, it would take care of the vagrant problem (at that location at least), plus really open the shop up to pedestrian traffic. but the way the parking lot which serves that location is set up, people would have to walk ten yards further to get in the store after parking their cars. this being houston, the car wins every time.

plus, what's the deal with the diner opposite (the one that says "Eat Here". I used to eat in there after a night on the tiles many moons ago, but it's been completely dead for several years. Any plans for redevelopment there?

i heard they were going to keep the current retail there, incl black lab. I sure hope so....