Jump to content

ArchFan

Full Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    563

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Everything posted by ArchFan

  1. ArchFan
    As I recall, the first dorms set up for UH-DT were in the building that was formerly the Travelodge Hotel at Main St. at the SE corner of its intersection with Buffalo Bayou. Travelodge was a chain that I saw all over the western US in the 60s ... and had a sleepy bear in a sleeping gown as it's logo mascot.
  2. ArchFan
    I've heard people refer to them as "tiaras", which is consistent with how many of them are pretentious and kitschy (at least in my opinion). But ... better a tiara than another Justice League Superhero HQ like the one off Gessner and I-10 :-)
  3. ArchFan
    As far as high-rises, you can add Montebello, Villa d'Este, the upcoming Belfiore, Highland Tower, off the top of my head. I think there are others going up, too. Also The Austonian in Austin, which amazingly is not clad in beige brick like so many of the rest. As for mid-rises, The Gables Tanglewood, The Briarglen, and the development off Weslayan @ West Alabama (I forget the name). Apologies for not just pointing to their web page (which I've visited in the past) ... but I'm just trying to demonstrate how highlight they seem to have captured that market in Houston.
  4. ArchFan
    I'm guessing that the relative lack of success with Commerce Towers has discouraged other condo conversions (or even new construction) downtown. I was looking downtown at one time, but as a consumer, I found CT a real turn-off; I don't think it was a very well done conversion.
  5. ArchFan
    I agree about the Embassy Suites ... a really wasted opportunity. But, I imagine if the downtown hotel market is as tight as they say, the owners are probably doing quite well. Frankly, I wouldn't expect them to give a hoot about our opinions on the design.
  6. ArchFan
    It's amazing, I agree. But ... there are people out there who have accumulated a lot of money over their lifetimes. For example, someone who started a business and sold it for $20 million might retire and invest that money. If they (conservatively) spend 4% of it per year. That's $800K, or $66,666/month to spend. I've known some people who were smart, aggressive, and business-minded who did stuff like that. I don't know their numbers exactly, but I think that's in the ballpark. They are not the Oprahs, Kinders, or Mark Cubans, but they are quite comfortable.
  7. ArchFan
    The design strikes me as a bit "blah", which is disappointing for a building that one would expect should represent a high standard that the students within should strive for. That said, I don't hate it, either. A lesser point: I am conflicted about whether I like the continued play on the school's name (or the acronym for it) in public relations for it. I mean, the bumper stickers that say "HighSchoolforthePerformingandVisualArts" have long lost their freshness. Having "HSPVA" as the most prominent element of the facade strikes me as trying to hang on to an old advertising slogan. I may be wrong and I reserve the right to change my opinion, but right now it strikes me as wearing out a theme that was fun for awhile, but which became hackneyed after the passing of time.
  8. ArchFan
    I also had a feeling of deja vu. perhaps we are not always as anomalous as we might have assumed :-)
  9. ArchFan
    It appears to me that Parcels E and E were both cleared at the same time. However, the excavation for the Skyhouse seems to be occurring just in E, which already has chain-link fencing around it. So, I found the coincident demolition a bit puzzling. Not sure what is planned for "D". Aside from the projects attributed earlier to Pelican (C: mid-rise apts. and F: "town homes") and the office building (Parcel "B"), I have also heard whispers about a hotel. That would leave Parcels A, D, or G for that, assuming the current rumors are true. The other mystery regards the parcel (not colored in the pic above) on which Sullivans, Le Peep, and the convenience store reside. I think that some earlier renderings (pre-recession) of ROD included them.
  10. ArchFan
    Valencia Group has a very good product and I'm especially gratified to be able to say that about a home team (i.e., a Houston company). I think the addition of this hotel will really help Midway in their redevelopment of Green Street, in particular because it will draw a lot more people into its core.
  11. ArchFan
    Very cool. A Turkish geophysicist I know told me about discovering a similar cistern under the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul (which started out as an Eastern Orthodox Church before it became a mosque). Our cistern isn't in that class, but it would be nice to preserve it in whatever way we can. We've already lost so much physical evidence of the community Houston was in its early years. Even we locals tend to assume nothing ever happened here, but from time to time I read about unexpected events and things that are worth remembering.
  12. ArchFan
    I have heard that someone is proposing to put a hotel on one of those tracts. Anyone have more on that?
  13. ArchFan
    That's interesting to hear. My recollection is that construction of Terminal D was delayed long enough that once work was finally initiated, the 80s recession was already hitting Houston hard. Consequently, its scale was greatly reduced. Once Houston bounced back, long ago, it's been obvious that it is grossly inadequate.
  14. ArchFan
    I thought a bit more and remembered some stuff that's really going to date me. Before Woodlake Square was built, I remember riding horses at Westheimer Stables, which at the time was located there. As I recall, that seemed to be where Houston ended and countryside began, going west. Later, as Houston developed, Westheimer Stables seemed to keep moving west, at least one or 2 more times. (My big sister was the horse person in the family, so this is something i just noticed as a bystander.) Later, there was a driving range, a miniature golf place, and (I think) an 8-hole golf course on that land. Eventually Trammell Crow's company (out of Dallas) developed the shopping center that has evolved into what we see today.
  15. ArchFan
    My recollection is that the grocery store was called Handy Andy and it was identical to the store they had on Voss between San Felipe and Woodway (both later became Randalls flagship stores). I think, tho' I may be mistaken, that Handy Andy was an early attempt by HEB to enter the upscale market in Houston. Also, I recall that a restaurant there called the "Flying Tigers", or something like that, which I had seen earlier in California. I don't remember the early bars very well ... maybe I was too young. In the 80s, I remember going to one and seeing a guy dancing on top of the bar counter (people did this back then :-) who I recognized as someone who worked in the mailroom in my company. A very handsome black guy who had many good-looking blond girls admiring him ... he was a nice guy and I smile when I remember that. I ate at Rudy Lechners' from early on, including the sandwich shop next door that his wife ran. Both places were very good. They and their family members were very nice to people I knew at work and outside of work.
  16. ArchFan
    Yeah, but check out those needle-like heels ... kinda unnatural, maybe she just flew in to feed on a few humans? Poor dude, he'll never know what hit him ...
  17. ArchFan
    ... adding some lime-green polka dots on that yellow facade would make this one even more far-out-and-groovy! (I wonder if Austin Powers will occupy a penthouse here.)
  18. ArchFan
    While I'm glad ROD is getting another tenant, I'll never go there to pay $1400-$1800 for a pair of shoes. It seems strange to me: I pass by similar uber-upscale stores in the Galleria and they survive even though they seem empty. Many are even expanding their existing footprints in the Galleria. My guess is that they must prosper by having a relatively small number of customers, but a high sales amount per customer.
  19. ArchFan

    METRORail Green Line

    ArchFan replied to a topic in Transit

    As a condition of selling the Westpark corridor to Metro, the railroad company insisted that Metro buy the entire extent of it, all the way out to Eagle Lake. Metro didn't have any plans for the way-out part, though.
  20. ArchFan
    The flat south and east sides of the Hanover tower are being clad with what looks like light-colored brick, in combo with a dark brick-like surface. The latter seems to echo similar material on the facades of the new buildings facing Post Oak. OTOH, the curved side facing NE looks like it won't have much, if any, brick. That's the side that most of the publicly distributed renderings have shown ... which is probably why the brick came as a surprise to us. In any case, the building is starting to look different than I expected. I'm reserving judgement on whether I like it or not.
  21. ArchFan
    That's interesting to know. I didn't know that it would go all the way to 30 stories.
  22. ArchFan
    Oh, you guys and your "game changers" :-) I apologize for teasing about that; i have similar feelings, but i have been through enough that i am a bit cynical. but, despite that, i think this area will develop into a cool place. Despite the nay-sayers, I think it is good to have people who are outspoken about wanting their city to develop into a place that nurtures what is best in human beings.
  23. ArchFan
    What Sellanious says rings true to me, also. My guess is that the rumors about a Woodlands-area campus probably have to do with "Chevron Phillips", which is a joint-venture between those 2 companies that is limited to producing chemicals. It is already based in The Woodlands. I used to work for Chevron and my boss there used to compare it to a large ship: it makes course changes very slowly. Consequently, it seems unlikely to me that they would suddenly decide to move most of their Houston employees to The Woodlands just because ExxonMobil is doing that, after planning it for years.
  24. ArchFan
    I've been in both buildings more than once, and the similarities (and differences, too) have always struck me. I've heard the Pompidou Centre described as resembling an oil refinery or a building turned inside-out, with the ductwork being exposed on the outside and painted bright colors. The GRB has similar ductwork, but it is mostly in the lobby, as I recall, not on the outside. OTOH, the exteriors of both buildings are painted with bright primary colors and have ventilation ducts that are very ship-like. When GRB was built, I had already seen the Pompidou Center and immediately saw that the latter had influenced the people who designed the former. I couldn't find a pic online of the GRB lobby, which has lots of brightly colored ducts. But, at least the 2 pics I attached here show the "ship smokestacks" they both share.
  25. ArchFan
    Oh, and the "walk" signs on the 610 feeders are meaningless. Pedestrians just have to wait for a gap in the traffic -- or the occasional courteous driver -- and run for it!
×
×
  • Create New...