IronTiger

From what I heard Greenspoint is still doing extremely badly. There was a nasty comment left about Greenspoint Mall here. It's mostly complaining about the mall, how it's overrun with crime, in poor physical condition, rumors of Dillard's Clearance Center calling it quits, etc. etc.

Quick question: how long was it between the complete demolition of Town & Country Mall and the groundbreaking of CityCentre?

According to 1974, this section was completely different. In 1974, if you were looking east from the Pelican Island Causeway, instead of a lake near some industrial areas, it was all completely different warehouses and stuff. The swampy lake area happened AFTER 1974...

Also, Google Earth has updated Galveston recently as well with a 1974 pic. And I haven't seen the Galveston pic on Historic Aerials. While not nearly dramatic as Houston I did find the swampy area north of Harborside Rd. was some sort of warehouse area. The Pelican Island rail spur is also fully intact.

It is implied in this thread that toward The End, the tracks were in really bad condition. Can anyone confirm this?

I'm mostly exploring and finding history via Google Earth and Street View, because the MKT just didn't run in areas that I've been in Houston. When I was younger, I didn't pay much attention to the railroads below (I wouldn't have seen it easily going past the 610 exchange), the inner-city parts were areas not explored (except for the museums), and by the time I got to driving on I-10, the MKT grade was completely gone. It was basically gone before I knew it.

- Well, the spur does go behind where St. Arnold's Brewing Company was as of June 2009 (I don't know if they've moved yet) - According to satellite imagery, it looks like said spur was abandoned in the early 1990s. - From Google Maps, it does look like 7th Street was dangerously close to the railroad. - I just saw a video of wigwags in action. It looks a little disorienting (a moving, flashing red light at night...that's crazy!) - At Old Katy Rd., it looks like the railroad ROW is way too close to the road, but it seems that they expanded post-abandonment. - The railroads were at least intact in 1995. By 2002 it was completely gone. Scars existed (such as Gessner Rd.) I'd still like to know the abandonment date. At least now I know the main reasons for the MKT's abandonment. 1. Redundant trackage 2. Traffic problems with road 3. Dangerous and antiquated crossings.

About Dacoma, it's a bit hard to see on Google Maps, but it resembles a railroad crossing thing with one light. Is this what it looks like (sort of?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wigwag_signals_near_Devil%27s_Lake.jpg On a slightly related note, said railroad spur goes straight to where St. Arnold's Brewery is (was?) Was 7th Street (near the Cortland crossing) lit at all?

On a slightly related note, I thought that the gates at what I think is the access road for Barker-Cypress Road (now gone, but Google Maps still traces it) went down awfully late for the train rolling down...

Sears is closing at Greenspoint in May 2010. And I thought Greenspoint was going back uphill.

Not really a sighting per se but on Burn Notice (USA) there was a character on an episode whose backstory was that he worked as a cop in Houston trying to catch child abductors.

Yeah, the I-10 ones are gone. In the Google Maps shot, the BW8 one remained even after the intersection was redone in the early 1990s, but met death in the second reconstruction in the 2000s. The wooden MKT bridges in the Heights were often subject to arson attempts, I heard.

I see! I was thinking that the MKT crossed them at grade. I don't have Google Earth 5 installed on my computer (because of slowness and a messed-up motherboard that ruins graphics) but if I looked again on the other computer with GE5, the 1978 shot would've shown it. According to Google Maps, the bridges that the MKT crossed are all still intact (but the ties have since been removed for the Heights Bike Trail, sadly)

Yes, but that's impossible. The train is seen going past an office building in an open area (what is "Park 10"?), a small railroad crossing, and then under a road underpass. Where would that be...?

I've been fascinated with the late MKT ever since I discovered an old ROW across from Memorial City Mall, but one thing that continues to confound me is MKT in the Heights: after it crosses Heights Blvd., it parallels 7th Street and cuts straight across 7th and Cortland, making two nasty railroad crossings at two ends of the intersection. While blurry aerial photos and the "property lines" on Google Maps confirm this (by the way, the house on the southwest side was built later) I just can't see this working out in 1990s Houston. (link) 1. Does anyone remember the strange/dangerous railroad crossings at Cortland and 7th? What were they like? 2. When exactly was the MKT abandoned/stripped? 3. Does anyone have any photos? I mean, the whole thing looks just so surreal to me. I mean, just looking at Arlington Road, it's an extremely suburban-type area, and a railroad barreling through there just less than 15 years ago is...odd.

Hmm...I must be confusing it with the nearby China Wok, which used to be a chicken place called Golden Chick.

One of my colleagues mentioned a two-level buffet on Villa Maria, now defunct. Anyone know what that was?

Kylejack: to me, the sentence still looks like it's implying the Heights to be crime filled. But you may be right and it's just a poorly written sentence.

That's not what I meant. I meant like murders that involve, if you were the victim, not knowing the murderer. There's few of those, I mean. So, I was right in the fact that 30% of murders are not "unrandom" and instead in commission of another crime. Sorry for the misunderstanding. And furthermore, what about non-violent crimes? Any neighborhoods suspect to break-ins?

Who said anything about a laundromat?

Crime really shouldn't be the number of murders. Most murders (as opposed to drive by shootings) aren't just some poor guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most are deliberately planned, often outside of the neighborhoods. And although I don't want to seem racist, general statistics seem to show that poor minority neighborhoods get the most crime. That's why I suggested the Fifth Ward. Nor do I think that crime in the Heights (or River Oaks) will dramatically increase and cause the area to "go downhill".

Recently, I read an article about the Heights fires that surprised me. It was the 22nd arson that has taken place since August in a historic Houston neighborhood called the Heights, known more for its comforting small-town feel in the midst of big city sprawl than for being the center of criminal activity. Most of you live in the Heights, don't seem to be the criminal types, and, today at least, generally like living there. But it still surprised me. Sure, the Heights is a really diverse neighborhood, but the "center of criminal activity" in Houston seems a bit harsh. Prior to reading the article and some research afterward I have/had a few candidates for crime centers: CANDIDATE #1: Greenspoint AKA Gunspoint, Greenspoint has had 18 homicides in 2008...and that was a major drop. However, Greenspoint is attempting to clean up its act and remodel its dilapidated shopping mall. CANDIDATE #2: The Fifth Ward The Fifth Ward is still very poor compared to the rest of Houston and there are no national chains there. Not even Fiesta. Like Greenspoint, it was bad in the 1980s, got a nickname ("The Bloody Fifth", apparently) but is cleaning up. CANDIDATE #3: Southwest Houston (Sharpstown) This is another area of Houston that I haven't heard good things about. I don't know. I think that the SE Houston, inner-loop, has a fair amount of crime...or at least, that's what I think I heard. What do you think?

HIGH SCORE! I've been looking for an interior photo of Town & Country Mall for a LONG TIME. Thanks!

A 1978 aerial confirms there was outdoor mall north of Joske's. I also recall reading somewhere that Joske's opened in 1969. Sakowitz is closed, but what's there now?

I find it odd that nearly every highway has added at least four lanes (two in each direction) since 1978. Katy Freeway has the biggest "improvement" overall. Watch the ol' MKT right of way disappear! Also: The Woodlands had more trees than it does now. Easy to say when EVERYTHING was REAL woods.