ttuchris

I went for a walk last night and stumbled across St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 1505 Kane St.  The priest was locking up, but generously invited me in for a tour.  Very interesting history.  This is the second oldest Catholic Church in Houston.  The current building was completed in 1901 after the original was destroyed in the 1900 hurricane.  There is some very beautiful brick work and stained glass.  Father Victor explained the church had a major fire in 1995.  I was only able to find one article about the fire.  He mentioned the bell tower collapsed in the fire and the new metal bell tower next to the church was built as a replacement. 

Does anyone have any pictures of the church before the fire?

https://www.houstonpress.com/news/restoration-man-6570958

I wish I would have taken pictures, but there is also this very interesting cactus sculpture/water fountain on Trinity St.  Seems like something for Atlas Obscura. 

Well, we have a parking lot.  It seems like a fairly simple base and thin asphalt layer.  They already striped the lot this morning.  Hopefully it is a temporary lot.  

I started this thread which has some history of the building.  

I went last night.  They are already out of several beers and food options.  They seemed to have a very reduced staff.  The waitress told me they found out they were closing on facebook and that the building is being tore down and replaced with a parking garage.  

https://collections.lib.utexas.edu/catalog/utlarch:ea7076b6-3eab-4db7-b910-4d097d88c198

Here is a good picture of the exterior.  Per Preservation Houston, it was build in 1927 for Rouse Drug Store #4.  

I took this photo from my apartment window several months back because you could really see the old Sovthern Drvg Company signage on 1511 Preston.  Does anyone have any history on this company and building?  Since it has been added on to so much, I doubt anyone realizes this is a historic structure.  Even though the South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility closed in 2016, the lights are still on in and out.  Seems like it could be a cool building if it were restored. 

All of downtown has been blue lately.  I did see where they had a rainbow pattern and an orange and blue pattern a few nights ago, but I was driving and couldn't get a picture.  

As much as I love development, I wish the Buffalo Bayou Partnership could afford it.  Greenspace along the bayou goes a long way toward beatification. 

I have walked by several times.  They put no effort into this.  Mismatched tables and chairs, terrible lighting, zero ambiance.  Hopefully this building will get the restoration and tenant it deserves one day.  

I went to both Kingwood Randall's today looking for Plated meals since Plated was bought by Albertson's/Randall's.  Both stores were dead.  I tried to pick up some flour as well and luckily I checked the date, because the "best buy" date was January 2019.  There was a large aisle of Christmas and Thanksgiving supplies and food for 50% off.  I thought they would have dumped this stuff at 90% off months ago.  They just don't seem to have enough business to move any inventory.  To top it off, these stores do not have Plated.  I since learned from the website that only the Memorial Drive and W Holcombe stores carry it.  

I worked at Randall's in high school and it was always a family favorite.  I hate to see it go, but I can't imagine these stores staying open with one new HEB and another on the way.  

According to HBJ, this is a go, late 2021 completion.  

Does anyone know what happened to Alexan?  I noticed the name was changed to 1414 Texas and it is now owned by ZRS Management.  Seems like a really quick sale.  The building has only been complete for 6 months. 

https://www.1414texasdowntown.com/

What is the history of the lots outside the seawall?  Were they originally city blocks that just erroded over the years?  

Are there any historic pictures of this space?  I went last night.  They preserved the original terrazzo and the columns appear to have the original stone.  There was also an original railing and air grate up in Swallow's Nest.  Other than that, very few historic details left.

I didn't pay attention to my meal price, but my friend did note her meal was $20 for a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a tea. 

A homeless man came in towards the end of our meal and asked if he could help clear our table.  I imagine they have some sort of control for this.  

Additionally, the pizza place was still closed.  Not sure what is going on there. 

It is probably parking for the Cambria Hotel going in across the street.  

Does anyone have any history or information on 1014 Prairie St?  I do not remember this building ever being occupied.  One listing says that it has been renovated.  It does have a new roof on it as far as I can tell from Google maps.  I just noticed some old ironwork poking out from behind the plywood, which made me wonder what it looks like behind the wood.  Also, a neat old "Dr. Henderson Dentist" sign on a second floor window.  I assume it is authentic.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/14604235/1014-Prairie-Houston-TX/

Has anyone seen any more information on Tranquility Park being renovated?  In my opinion, it needs more help than Jones Plaza.  I walked through this park and around City Hall over the weekend on my way to The Hobby Center.  The sidewalks are narrow and in extremely bad shape.  It seems like City Hall is used enough to justify improving this area.  This website says the fountains have been closed since 2013.  Maybe something will happen after the Bagby redo.  

Tranquillity Park Fountain - September 9, 2013 - Until Further Notice
Due to mechanical repairs, the Tranquillity Park fountain basin has been drained and the tall "stacks" will not be operational for the duration of the project.

http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/closedrepair.html

I believe it was an On The Border.  

I stayed at the JW Saturday, my impression was that the wall was to spruce the area up a bit for those people staying at the JW.  The valet is right in front of the old Battelstein's and the building is dark and dicey looking at night.  I imagine it will be covered with one of those banners that look like fake retail.  BTW - the JW has a lot of work left.  I stayed on floor 12, but wondered around a bit.  Floors 2-5 had a lot of work left on them.  Not sure how much is complete. 

The Kellum-Noble house in Sam Houston Pak is the oldest masonry Houston home in its orginal location.  Built 1847. 

Most if not all of the Christmas lights on the downtown buildings are permanent.  They are just turned off after the holidays.  I am not sure the exact specifications, but I have been on several downtown roofs and the bulbs look like a regular residential 60/100 watt medium base lamp bulb or globe bulb.  I think most of them are now fluorescent or LED.   

It appears Pepper Jack's closed.  It was dark tonight with a now leasing sign on the building.  I didn't get to read the sign on the window.  

Beware the scallop. It is not very good, raw, and tiny. Really not worth $10 or $2. I even told the waiter it was not very good, something I never do, he didn't seem to care.

I would say the Foley's/Hilcorp project is further along than people think. This has been a rumor for over a year and like Exxon/Chevron, they do not need to wait for pre-leasing. The tenants have been moved out of the Americana Building and of course, out of Foley's. I think we will see the plans by the end of the year and construction in 2014.

Any update here? Thank you.