Specwriter

My sister went to Navasota today to see the train pulling in. She lives in Magnolia so it wasn't a long trip for her. She sent a video. People were able to stand very close to the tracks. It was awesome I'm sure.

Some umpires seem hell bent on putting themselves out of a job with their abject incompetence.

In my mind Texas Country Reporter is the fitting successor to the iconic Eyes of Texas hosted by Ray Miller and Ron Stone. I wish Mr. Sauceda all the best. I will be watching.🙂

I wonder if those baseballs are still spherical after the way he swatted them this afternoon!

Not only did Jones play possibly the most significant role in commercial development of Houston in the first half of the 20th century, through the Houston Endowment he and his wife, Mary Gibbs Jones, defined philanthropy in the city and around the state.

Might Hanover build the warehouse for its own use? I understand Hanover does some of its own construction.

"Turnverein" translates to exercise gymnasium though they usually included more than that. Of course, if a mid-rise multifamily was built on this site there is a good chance it could have an exercise room for the residents. Indeed, one can hope.

And the Astros gained another game on the Mariners tonight. 😃

These look very much like the Northwind Apartments on the I-45 access road at Robert Lee (just inside loop 610). We had friends who lived at the Northwind Apartments right after they returned stateside after a few years working overseas. They moved into the apartments in 1967 and they were a few years old then, but only a few years old.

A good friend of mine and his wife own a Birdsall P. Briscoe house on Courtland Place. He and John Staub designed some wonderful residences in this city.

My mother was born at St. Joseph's. I was born at that "other" Houston hospital: Hermann. 🙂

I like that on the dedication plaque an individual, Melba Williams, was named as the interior designer. Pearson English is an established and well-respected interior design firm in the city. Kudos to Person English for giving due credit to one of its associates who must have had a significant role in the repurposing of this building.

This is a very interesting building despite its size and normal, for the time, appearance. I was inside this building about sixteen years ago. In the basement there is a granite slab at about waist height which, I was told, was the place where bodies were prepared for viewing. I took that to mean embalming and perhaps applying makeup. I've been to many funerals in my lifetime and I cannot recall one time when the deceased, woman or man, adult or child, did not have some form of makeup. There is also a walk-in vault in the basement but it is quite small. I was also taken to the fourth floor where there were/are monitor windows (sort of like skylights) that faced true north so they are off the grid of downtown and askew to the walls of the building. I was told this space was used for cotton factoring (grading) which needed to be done under diffuse north light. When I visited in 2008 or 2009 (?) the building was occupied primarily by bail bond firms and a few attorneys. Thank you for posting, Highrise.

I'm not sure but having done design work for many projects in the TMC it might be because some of the extremely sensitive instruments and devices in the hospitals may not do well with vibrations caused by implosions. Besides, as fun as they are to watch, implosions are VERY dusty. Who knows what may be in that dust from a medical facility. I do agree though that is seems to be taking an overly long period to demolish this building even though it is a large one.