Jax

Wouldn't the Uptown line connect directly to the University Line, which connects with the Red line at Wheeler Station (no need to go all the way downtown to the intermodal terminal if you're heading to the TMC).

I agree with C2H that having one popular place on that block sure beats having nothing.

Thanks, CDeb!

Thanks! Not my best work but I thought they were worthy of being posted here. I love going for a walk with my camera and just taking random photos along the way.

I took my camera with me when I went to vote yesterday, and took some photos on my walk along Main Street (I decided to walk back from Preston to Main Street Square after voting). I took these photos between 6:15 and 6:45 and it seemed that there were more people around than usual in the middle of the week after the offices close.

Inspired by Boris's recent downtown photos, I tried to include people in some of them.

EDIT: I think I posted this in the wrong group. Could somebody move it to "Houston Photos" for me? Thanks.

I agree with you Musicman. The current Mia Bella is really nice. I am surprised they didn't try to come up with a different concept for the restaurant at HP (or maybe that will change?).

What about Red Cat? Is there any rumor of them closing the Market Square location?

I guess I'm in the minority too. Give me a nice townhome inside the loop over anything in the Woodlands, Katy or Sugarland. I just don't see any reason to live way out there. So bland, uninteresting and chain infested. Sugarland seems ok but I still couldn't live there either. Inner city living imo has the best stores, restaurants, culture, museums, nightlife, mature trees and everything else.

Totally agree with you there. If I stay in Houston there's no chance I'll live in the burbs. It's more likely that I will move to a different metro area than move to Katy or Sugarland.

Well both Redcat and Mia Bella have locations close to the Pavilions (walking distance on Main) and more accessible (metro rail) than the Village outfitters, and they are opening up in the Pavilions. I think UO could work downtown as well as in the Village. Although they already have 3 locations in the Houston area (Village, Galleria, Woodlands), and that's more than they have in most metro areas.

American Apparel has a location on Westheimer which is pretty close by car, and they are opening a new one up next door to the Pavilions.

Thanks for all of the help guys. Yeah, I totally wish I had more time. Sunday I've got a half day and the rest is just going to be after 5, and with the time change that doesn't mean too much daylight. Oh well, can't complain because it's free! I might just have to skip out of the conference early on Wednesday for some last daytime exploring before my plane leaves (afternoon).

Here's the storefront that's being renovated beside the Sakowitz building. I snapped this as I walked by today.

when one makes a statement like "Yes you can have density but not too much of it," it reminds me of what the southhampton people are saying about the 1717 Bissonnet project. So once a certain level of density is reached you would be for limiting growth. Who is to determine that density? The area residents? The city?

You're totally not getting my point. You're picking at the details and not seeing the big picture of what I am trying to say.

I'm not saying I'm against density unless it's in my back yard (that's the message I'm getting from Southampton). I don't think what I am trying to say is hypocritical.

And I'm not saying anybody should or will make these decisions. I'm only saying that there's a certain level of density that is desirable. It's not all or nothing. I'm saying that there's a desirable middle ground somewhere above what Houston has now and below places like Hong Kong.

That's why I was saying that asking me where I am "for limiting growth" is a stupid question. It's not really something I can be fore or against because nobody makes those choices (or maybe they will some day?). But if you mean, would limiting growth be desirable, I would say yes if growth/density get out of hand. I don't want to live in a city where my entire family will live in a 500 square foot room. But I also think that having a few vibrant urban pedestrian oriented neighborhoods is a good thing for a city (in additional to suburbs with nice big houses and big yards). Increasing the density of a city like Houston's inner core is a positive thing, until it turns into Hong Kong. But I don't see that happening in Houston. Not in this century anyways.

What do you mean am I for limiting growth? What sort of growth do you mean? In what situation? You act like it's a simple yes or no question. In certain cases, I think anybody would be for limiting growth. In other cases, definitely not. I would not be for limiting growth in Houston at this point in time, if that is what you mean. I think the city needs better planning though.

Once a certain level of density is reached, I guess I could say I would be for "limiting growth". I don't think that infinite density is desirable. I'm just saying that a certain level of density is desirable.

I don't want to live in a city where there is one person per square foot, but I also don't want to live in a city where I see empty lots and abandoned buildings on every other block, and I have to drive everywhere I go. There is definitely a happy medium.

It seems to be outdated.

There's some interesting info here:

In addition to improved bus service, this plan includes 64.8 miles of new light rail lines. This plan was designed to be implemented in two phases, one consisting of lines to be opened before 2012 and another consisting of lines to be opened from 2012 through 2025.

METRO plans to open extensions in pieces, a few miles at a time. This spreads out funding, design, and construction.

I like to hear that they are going to open extensions a few miles at a time. That means we might not have to wait all the way until 2012 to have some new lines opening.

Stay away from the Mission District at night unless you like a dense urban experience. You'll be glad that it hasn't reached Houston yet.

What do you mean?

I didn't say LA is too developed, I said LA is too developed to change. Downtown LA seems to be a certain way and its doesn't look like it's going to be easy to change that. Downtown Houston on the other hand has lots of empty space, therefore change is possible. I don't have a problem with density, or downtown LA for that mater, I just don't see a lot of empty space in those photos of LA.

My thought was that it's so developed, dense, and busy, that it won't be likely to change.

Downtown Houston on the other hand is not busy at all, there are lots of empty lots, abandoned buildings, and therefore more opportunity to grow in a way that it won't end up like LA (major crowded, claustrophobic, stifling, push/shove, madness/smog).

You tend to look at things as black and white, Musicman. There is clearly a happy medium between being too dense and being too sparse. Does every city with density automatically resemble downtown LA? Obviously not.

There are different types of density and different amounts of density. I'm sure downtown San Francisco and downtown LA both have population density but in different ways.

Yes, you can have it both ways. Yes you can have density but not too much of it. Yes you can have density but not the wrong type of density (ugly crowded, claustrophobic madness etc.). Downtown Montreal has density but I don't consider it ugly, too crowded, or claustrophobic.

I think Fisherman's Warf is on the list of places to see (the girl wants to see the seals that live there). How far is it from Embarcadero? Is it an easy walk? I should be able to see the bay from my hotel, but it will be nice to see the harbor area of San Francisco too. Hopefully there will be some good views and photo opportunities.

Are there any good spots for taking photos of the skyline? We're going by foot and on a budget and with limited time, so taking a boat ride might be out of the question.

Thanks for all of the help!

Old news, but good news. We've been discussing that on here for weeks.

Thanks for all of the info. I'll definitely bring my digital camera and a laptop to download photos each day, so I will have lots!

So what is a good BART stop to get off at so I can explore the city by foot/trolley? I know there are probably lots, but what is a good central place? It looks like "Embarcadero" or "Civic Center", or somewhere in between might be a good place to start. What do you think? I'd also like to see Chinatown.

Unfortunately, I only really have Sunday after 12 pm, and Monday/Tuesday after 5 to explore, so I probably won't get to do everything I want to do. I'll be on a tight budget, so I'd like to get a good feeling for the city without paying for too many tourist things.

Nobody wants downtown to be only a hot club/restaurant scene, we want it to be a good all around place to be. It would be nice if downtown was a place that would impress visitors because it's often one of the first places people who visit Houston see. I think the key is to have a good mix of things downtown so something is always happening, rather than busy 9-5 and otherwise dead. Downtown LA looks like it's too developed/crowded to ever really make a major change, but I think Downtown Houston has still got a chance to do things right.

I'm going to a conference in San Francisco next week. We leave on Sunday morning fairly early, so we'll have the afternoon to explore the city, and then monday and tuesday after 5 (when the conference is over). Our hotel is near the San Francisco airport which kind of sucks, but that's where the conference is and Rice is paying so I can't complain. And it's supposed to be near the BART with free shuttles, so I'll definitely use it while I am there.

I was just wondering if anybody has any recommendations of what to see/do, where to go, etc. while I am there. If I take the BART from the airport area, does anybody know what the best station to get off is if I want to walk around and explore downtown, and some of the inner city neighborhoods?

The only part of the East end I've really seen is the area bounded by Highway 59, the ship channel, York, and highway 45. I need to get out and explore some more I guess.

An Urban Outfitters downtown would be really awesome. Especially since its demographic is the type that would rather go downtown than to a mall (well some of them anyways).

And yeah, there's tones of empty retail space on Main that can be used.

Haha, I noticed that nobody says it needs a liquor store. When I hear liquor store. I think of bums.

I agree, the area has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I think the chinatown is completely dead, except for maybe a few restaurants. For some reason the Asian community here seems perfectly content with the new Chinatown (aka stripmall town) and nobody has any reason to move back to the East end. That's really unfortunate though, becuase I'd love to see a Chinatown like San Francisco's or Toronto's or even Montreal's (which is very small, but also very high density, walkable, and in the heart of downtown).

I agree that the area needs sidewalks and major landscaping/streetscaping to make it look more hospitable. The first time I walked through there (before I had a car), the neighborhood really freaked me out. I know it's not how it seems but first impressions are really important.

The East End might even have more potential than Midtown to become a real urban district. The East End doesn't have the problem of the Greyhound Bus Station and the heavy traffic out of downtown at rush hour, which seems to favor suburban style establishments like the CVSs and drive through banks that keep popping up.

I just thought I'd repost these photos since we're talking about downtown LA again. I guess it's not this crowded at night. Except maybe with zombies!