NenaE

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/search/query:flooded/fields:all/mode:all/op:and/alias:p15195coll32/page:1

from U.H. Digital Collections - Houston Fire Dept.

Downtown Houston - flood photos 

wiki

4747 Southwest Freeway

Houston Post Building (1970)

Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson

style: "new Brutalist mode"

designer: Ralph A. Anderson, Jr.

... labeled "freeway architecture...strong, yet simple enough to apprehended from a a speeding car". 

Love it.

source: AIA Houston Architectural Guide (1990)

thanks for the pic infinite_jim.

it looks deserted...not good for it's survival.

I remember the rocket sign on the Gulf Freeway and the jingle for Tommie Vaughn Ford. It's fitting that the first signs in the U.S. were  for a car dealership in Los Angeles..."Packard". 

In reference to IronTiger's photos - IMO...The first two building designs - nice.

I've read that Brutalism has never been a favorite style among the general public. I've come to appreciate it's bold nature.

I'm amazed that the Houston Post building is still standing.

The roach is in Subdude's post, above.

The Mobil pegasus was always a favorite of mine. 

http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/media/magazine/articles/30-2-a-blaze-of-crimson-light-the-story-of-neon.aspx?page=3

...a link about the first neon signs

I think of concrete and 1970's with Brutalism.

Nice discussion on Brutalism. To me, it's a building that totally dominates the space with its simple lines and massive scale, or heaviness. Maybe, just maybe, the architects intentionally left the designs ambiguous, or open to interpretation, like so much art is. Or they liked blending or experimenting with styles.

IronTiger, do you have an address or nearby x-street for the 59 Crowne Plaze hotel?

Almeda Genoa at Gulf Frwy.

source: GoogleEarth... not the best quality, but documents what is there. 

Smith at Elgin. is it still there? The restoration was nice. Once again...Too bad they want to wreck it.  looks like it was originally a grocery store. In the '70's there was a pet store with an animal yard out back. Think it may have been in this bldg. Anyone remember? 

uh...that kind of makes me nervous... Hopefully the house will be ok. 

In reference to IronTiger's comment, I don't have a clue how to pronounce it...was thinking it was probably pronounced "Ee - Dow". They should have just gone with E2. (from East - second ward). Sounds like a parking lot no. but at least you know how to say it. 

I recently started using Pixelmator, an Apple app., much like Photoshop, but probably much easier to use. Hope you don't mind, I captured a few still shots from that video, just for reference. That crumbed brick building looks like it was across Milam, south side of the street. I thought it was the one right by Magnolia Brewery. You know, the one with the glass facing the bayou. But it's backside got ripped apart by the force of the flood. So it's orientation isn't right. 

Consider that after 1952, the line that separated black residents from white residents in the area moved progressively southward. In 1952, the line was Alabama St. Blacks traditionally stayed north of Alabama while south of Alabama was white. When Jack Caesar moved in, the line moved south to Cleburne, then Blodgett. By the late 50s when this brochure came out, the line was just past Southmore, and that's when you saw businesses opening up in homes such as Wyse Barber Shop and Bill Clair Mortuary.

The area was still mostly white in 1958, but demographics were obviously changing. A few years later in the mid 60s, the area was 50/50 black and white. Around that time, the line was at Brays Bayou, which was finally crossed by 1970, and then the area became majority black. I think part of that reatively late crossing of the bayou came from the fact that black residents displaced by the construction of 288 decided to stay in the area and moved south of the bayou (such as my uncle and aunt who moved from Rosedale St. to Rio Vista Dr.), while white residents took their eminent domain checks and went to places like southwest Houston.

Informative, JLWM8609. TY. It's always been a favorite neighborhood of mine. Along with Meyerland's architectural gems, I cherish the diversity of Riverside's homes. I love its mix of home styles and the rolling terrain. The smaller ones are just as nice, in my eyes. Talented architects got to see their residential designs built in Riverside, when much of Houston was trying to exclude them. The neighborhood of Riverside Terrace started out as the dream of a Mr. MacGregor, a man of Scottish or Irish ancestry, obviously. His wife carried out his vision, after he died. It's a unique place, among so many cookie cutter neighborhoods. It's a real shame that Hwy. 288 destroyed it's original layout. The racial discrimination is a large aspect of the story, and it needs to be remembered. Yet, I'm happy Riverside Terrace fell and hopefully continues to fall into the hands of people who love, cherish, and protect it's uniqueness, no matter what color of their skin, religious background, or sexual orientation. It's my hope that it keeps it architectural cohesion in an age of such rapid gentrification. It's hard to keep estates (especially large ones) intact when owners pass. 

Side note: I read recently that in the early days of the Houston Ward system, the residential ethnic lines were faint, or non-existent. 

Wow, what a loaded paragraph. Mongrels, hmmm...Makes me think of gypsies. Well, it's a little too late now. It's a smorgasbord out there.

Just to clarify - I was speaking of the zoning...per my quote below. 

So much is being razed. The developers probably don't want to bother with what they may perceive as just a hinderance (salvage). On a somewhat positive note, I've seen many small homes on blocks near downtown packed up, ready to move, not dozed. One paper I ran across had the addresses of previous slave's homes, along with stories of their lives. I looked up the two Houston ladies homes, both were gone, empty lots. That's sad.

I'm taking photos of as many as possible. The neighborhoods are changing, fast. I'd be ok with it, if they would keep some historic structures, to save the identities of the neighborhoods. Maybe the little corner store. I just don't see it happening. I do see a lot of churches. So many generic town homes are replacing full streets of homes. I'm afraid everything is gonna look the same. It's boring, no matter what name they conjure up. I often wonder...What would Peter Papademetriou and Stephen Fox say? 

I was always fascinated by this sign. It scared me, reminded me of a James Bond torture device. Little did I know, as a young child, it was a microscope. Had an ominous, colorful, blinking display. It was located right before Hwy 288, on OST. The building is a nice 1960's design, for a mere car repair shop (pre-Micro-Club). Had a nice planter box on the front, brick facade, and two covered carports, one on each side, at one time. 

First photo source: Houston: an architectural guide (AIA) 

post moved.

Wow, what a loaded paragraph. Mongrels, hmmm...Makes me think of gypsies. Well, it's a little too late now. It's a smorgasbord out there.

It's not. We are talking about 3 McEvoy locations, two business and 1 residence. The thumbnail is one business location.

Here's a HC Block Book map, with the estates you mention, H-Town Man. I was just reading about it, recently. It's also been discussed on HAIF, before. Can't find the link. It was very close to the McGowen house, pictured in Post #1.

Yeah... that's it. It's a shame, was recently built. Loved the look of those Italian Cypress trees against that white bldg. 

Speaking of Lucky 7 - 3100 Block of Liberty. TY GoogleEarth.

Yeah, thats the one...RiversideT. and I agree. It has sat vacant for quite a while. Nice to know it's still there. Hope it gets some love. We have an old thread here, on HAIF, that talks about it. Yeah, ArchFan, I agree, salvage or re-use what you can, if it's being wrecked. Unfortunately, the freeways chop up original neighborhood plans, leaving a mangled version. Those houses on the outskirts of the neighborhoods are especially vulnerable. It's a shame. I'm guessing they are hoping to sell the land for future high rise development. 

Nice find, Devonhart. Thanks for sharing. Two major rainfalls flooded Downtown, during that period, 1929, then 1935. Yeah, guess they thought they better do something. Its nice to see a moving pic, for a change, I've only seen stills, before. That crumbed building has always intrigued me. I think that's the recently constructed Sears building at about a minute into the film. Can anyone confirm?