trymahjong

hmmmmmmmmm not sure about the bland bit . . . . they bring out that big pepper mill and crank away. I liked the idea of this place, I'm always charmed that the building was saved and I liked the space. I always walked so the parking thing wasn't a problem. Somehow most times I went, they seemed a bit stressed, as if one server hadn't shown up. I got an email that, they are serving a huge Christmas Dinner, Dec. 18th. I hope it's a full house, so they can have a bit of financial cushion.

Wasn't it the old LULAC building?

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2012/11/30/feast-a-best-new-restaurant-to.html I liked this place. Now I worry that Restaurants on this part of Westheimer have a harder time staying in business-- first Don Julio's and now them :/ I wonder if L'Oliviers will make it?

Have you ever been inside the Morrow chapel at this church? One whole wall is a stained glass window by Kim Rentaria and there is a huge painting by Kermit Oliver over ther alter.

Thanks for posting this--- This is a lovely church.

The discussion at the meeting shared these views, till it was brought up that the architect was still living and perhaps a small bit of respect should be considered. Okay-- I can understand that. What's harder to understand is the incorrect information on the plaque. Midtown and Montrose might "meet" there but it's a bit of a stretch to include the Museum district. Maybe the elephant in the room during that discussion of the "fabulous signage" (a sign will be erected there) to make the public aware (branding) of Who the Montrose Management District is . . . . The M sign seems to send a message of its own.

The MMD also talked about their intention to place "signage" at a dozen or so of the 36 entrances (street thoroughfares) that lead into the district. When signage was mentioned the "M" statue at Elgin and Bagby was discussed----------not much love for that statue in that room :{

Heard Bill Calderon speak at Neartown meeting tonite. The MMD has arranged for Christmas decorations to be placed in the median across from Niko-Nikos. Also MMD has taken steps to get the 7 bridges over I59/SW freeway relighted! ---at least getting the lightening on the bridges renewed, anyway. New technology will allow state of the art colors, patterns, etcetcetc ---------probably will take 2 years.

I don't think the age of the building is the problem. Lamar seems to be doing a fairly good job in the education department within it's historical building. It has the largest IB (International Baccalaureate) in the world! hmmmmmmmmmm having the largest IB = a good thing might be a different question-- still Lamar does a commendable job with this endeavor. Lamar racks up as just about as many National Merit Scholars as any other HISD High School.Schools. My kid graduated in 2008-- I volunteered at the school weekly. The building didn't seem to be a huge problem but overcrowding was. The principal at Lamar tried to get the magnet program moved out of Lamar to help with overcrowding----all the parents with kids in that program refused to have that even considered. Personally I liked the idea floated around in 2006 to make the old HSPVA a 9th grade center for Lamar when HSPVA built their new school at Grey & Taft. Neither of those things happened. Overcrowding continues. It worries me that Lamar has 3200 student currently and the proposed building will be built to have 3100. I'm not sure enrollment in Lamar will decrease by 2020.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm maybe I was in a fog the entire meeting but it really sounded as if the spokesperson said the words-- only the facade will remain and the rest will be new----the blog may say one thing but Veselka came out of retirement to be the spokesperson to answer questions like those posed at this community meeting-- when he (Veselka) said only the facade will remain-- It caught my attention. It caught the attention of the people at my table, who spoke about their disapointment that only the facade will be saved. The foyer of the Auditorium is unique (the inside is charming also--Yes it needs updating but not demolition) reflecting the period it was built in--I like it and think it should be saved-- So I was listening for reassurances-- He didn't point out the entire building would be saved. Plus I was troubled by his lack of enthusiam ( as HISD spokesperson) concerning retaining the right type of architect to get the type of results like those at Reagan and Carnegie Vanguard. I attended all of the meetings when Lamar was developing it's MasterPlan and was part of the Charette it held. I got to hear what the surrounding community wanted for Lamar. I'm not sure that was reflected in what HISD has planned for Lamar.

Veselka said it would cost $700 per square foot for this project-----it that the going price? The total cost of these bonds makes my head spin. Really though I'm not sure the part that really rubs me the wrong way is abandoning the current location after meeting with the local residents and assuring them that that property was being improved to help with the overall improvement of that neighborhood.

No one asked---for me I guess my head was spinning that 38 schools would be demolished or renovated by 2020 with a payback cost (term bond) of 3.7 billion. I hope someone might have some insight----- One of my kids went to Lamar (grad 2008) All the buildings are pretty cool---especially the auditorium that has begun renovations through private funds.

At the meeting problems with Parking, Traffic& Public Transportation were brought up. Then a huge discussion about elevators and high School students as well as what a schlep it was to the other performing venues---plus a long discussion about why the HSPVA is being moved when millions are being spent right now on the current building. I have to admit I find it hard to believe no one at HISD has any idea what will happen to current building on Stanford.

Ronnie Veselka HISD spokeman at Neartown Community meeting this morning. He said HISD will tear down all of Lamar High School except the relief sculpture over the auditorium and build a whole new building. Lamar was built in 1937 to accommodate 2200 students but has enrollment of 3200----the new building will be built to accommodate 3100 students. Interestingly, the Carnegie Van Guard and Reagan High School were offered as examples of building and renovating by HISD and how well they turned out. But when It was brought up that the same architect was used for both, community input was sought etcetcetc and would HISD be willing to go through similar steps with Lamar High and the other High Schools slated for demolition------he said the most important factor was getting everything built by 2020 PERIOD!

Sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. I attended the Neartown Montrose Community meeting this morning on HISD bond proposals and heard Ronnie Veselka (HISD) speak. He wanted us to know that all the proposals of building and renovating would be finished by 2020. He said 1300 Capitol street will be the new location of HSPVA campus because of it's location to performing arts venues. Really?!? Plus after several questions over what would become of the building on Stanford where the HSPVA is now--answer-No one at HISD has any idea what will become of this building. There is a huge sign outside of HSPVA that speaks to the remodeling being down right now. Peter Brown spoke against the 1300 Capitol location and said land along the Washington corridor had been offered--even proposed/ donated to keep HSPVA being located on Capitol street. What's going on?

I saw Charlie Rose ordering pizza at MKT market today at lunch------------- is there a big news item going on?

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2012/09/openings_closings_81.php

Will Southside Espresso by Uchi's be able to fill the gap?

Community Charrette on Homelessness Community Action Plan Meetings August 20, 21, 23 and 28 Experts from across the country will speak at a four-day Community Charrette on Homelessness to help develop a plan to prevent and end homelessness in Houston , Harris County and Fort Bend County . A Charrette is an intensive planning process that jumpstarts and streamlines how a community develops or updates its Community Action Plan. The public is invited to attend all of the free Charrette sessions which will address the causes and propose solutions to the multiple facets of homelessness. The four-day meetings will be held at the Harris County Department of Education, 6300 Irvington Boulevard, Conference Room 502 (located in the parking garage), Houston 77002 on Monday, August 20, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday, August 21, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thursday, August 23, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and the final report will be presented Tuesday, August 28, 10 a.m. - noon. (See full schedule below.) Free parking is available in both the Department of Education garage and its parking lot across the street. Mayor Annise Parker will give an opening address to Charrette participants on Monday, August 20 at 9:15 a.m. For information on how to participate in the Charrette, contact Mary Itz, City of Houston Housing and Community Development at mary.itz@houstontx.gov or call 713.865.9314, or contact Gary Grier, Director of Community Engagement, Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County at ggrier@homelesshouston.org or call 713.739.7514. To learn more about the City of Houston Department of Housing and Community Development, visit www.houstontx.gov/housing/. The Charrette is sponsored by the Coalition for the Homeless, with support from the Corporation for Supportive Housing. For additional information visit www.homelesshouston.org. Charrette Schedule and Topics Monday, August 20, 2012 9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Overview 9:30 a.m.- 11:30 a.m. Integrating Housing and Services 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Performance and Accountability 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Right Sizing Continuum of Care Housing Models Tuesday, August 21, 2012 9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Overview 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Prevention and Diversion 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coordinated Access 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Building Political Will/Advocacy Thursday, August 23, 2012 10 a.m. - noon Open office hours for Community Feedback 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presentation of Initial Findings/Community Feedback Session Tuesday, August 28, 2012 10:00 a.m. - noon Presentation of the Final Report

got this email-- Kicking off our 30th Anniversary as Houston's most daring multidisciplinary arts center, DiverseWorks is thrilled to announce a new organizational home! After 20 years in our warehouse space north of downtown, DiverseWorks is relocating this fall to 4102 Fannin Street in the heart of midtown. This move, the third in our history, signals a commitment to midtown as a geographically critical area for the arts in Houston. It also precedes the highly anticipated construction of the Independent Arts Collaborative, of which DiverseWorks is a founding member. Located at the intersection of Fannin and Cleburne streets, DiverseWorks' new home was once part of the original Cleburne Cafeteria (1941-1969) and, until recently, housed a small manufacturing facility. At just over 5500 square feet, the facility features a sizeable gallery for exhibitions and a flex space specifically dedicated to public programming, including performances, film screenings, special events, workshops, and other activities. Our last day in our current location at 1117 E. Freeway is October 31st. Stay tuned for more information regarding our fall programming and a close-down celebratory event! MOVING SALE! Friday, August 17, 9 am - 5 pm and Saturday, August 18, 9 am - 12 pm 1117 East Freeway, Houston, 77002

right! Trinity now owns the entire square block. The church doesn't have many resources so I hope the mansion can be preserved and restored. Apparently first owner, Frank Bering was relative of Berings hardware family

Actually Francis and Fannin street. It's the Frank Bering house, that I posted the picture of . Here's an advertisement I found.

I was invited to view the Frank Bering Mansion 3400 Fannin Recently purchased by Triinity Episcopal Church. The interior is fairly remarkable, considering it has been retail since at least 1979.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/gallery/NAACP-delegates-tour-Freedmen-s-Town-45855.php

Maybe like this?