Specwriter

There was also a Ruggles in the Rice Village at Rice Blvd. and Chaucer. I've visited Ruggles Black on Kirby between Richmond and US 59 a few times recently. The latter has some unique keto and paleo dishes but I am especially fond of their cocktails. 😋

I do not know if any of the restaurants were "related" but I would suppose there is some connection.

I believe I'm way to old and no longer so mobile as to be a yuppie. I am still a professional though, FWIW. 😊

You are correct Naviguessor as previous AIA Houston architecture guides will attest. The architecture firm was MacKie & Kamrath the same firm that designed Temple Emanu-El on Sunset Blvd. near Rice University. As you see both are highly influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

C2Ag93, I believe you are on to something with the last two digits of the zip code. See this site: https://www.oldstuffonly.com/zip_code_date.asp . By the way, the current postal (zip) code for St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church is 77025 so it is plausible that your parents were referring to the Towers Motor Hotel which was nearby.

I think this unit has an outdoor grille on its balcony. Nice but also risky(?) I would expect there is a fire suppression system too in case something gets out of hand. It would be integrated into the vent hood as in commercial kitchens.

The metal blade ceiling fan also hints this is an outdoor space but that is not a certainty. My outdoor ceiling fans have metal blades. The heat and humidity here would ruin anything else.

I'm pleased to see the building that once housed Adkins Antiques so nicely restored. The landscaping is great too.

The cap is very nice but maple syrup . . . yummm! Enjoy, ekdrm.

2 hours ago, mollusk said:

All four cars are '65s - Catalina, Catalina, Tempest, and the grille of a Ford (most likely Galaxie).

 

That was in my prime car spotting days - I could even tell what year a given VW Beetle was. 🤷‍♂️

 

It takes a good eye to differentiate a '64 from a '65 Beetle, mollusk. I do recognize a few running changes like the increasing size of the tail lights over time. I'm glad you mentioned the Galaxie. I noticed it but was already far enough off-topic. Ah, the OHC 6; if only more people had been enlightened in the day.

Tumbleweed, I'm pretty sure the light colored 4-door behind the 2-door is a 1965 Tempest (Pontiac's intermediate comparable to a Chevrolet Chevelle). When I zoom in on the image I can see a name badge low on the rear fender. It's not distinct but it looks more like "Tempest" than "LeMans" which was the up-level trim on that particular car just as the Chevrolet Malibu was a trim upgrade of the Chevelle.

My 4th grade teacher (who was a tennis player and had an uncanny resemblance to Chris Evert) had a blue 1965 Tempest. The back fence neighbor had a 1966 full-size Pontiac wagon and the mother of my 3rd grade crush drove a 1965 Catalina 4-door sedan. My father was a Pontiac guy (would be still if Pontiac was still around). He had five of them between 1957 and 1986.

I remember shopping with Dad along Milam back in the day. His 1964 Catalina 2-door hardtop with the Ventura trim option was lost in a garage fire in early 1968. Of course he was looking at Pontiacs but the cousin of a good friend of his, a salesman at Bland-Willis Cadillac, hooked him up with a 1967 Cadillac that some River Oaks dowager had turned in on an almost identical 1968 model(!?) Ah, the mysterious lives of the wealthy.

The Caddy was a heck of a road trip car. It swilled gasoline like Capt. Morgan drank rum but covering 600+ miles a day was a no-sweat proposition. When Dad goes on a road trip he really goes.

Otto, I think auto-correct (auto-incorrect in my experience) has pulled a trick on you. Is this not the Gerald D. Hines Waterfall Park? It is a great image. Thanks for posting.

1 hour ago, FilioScotia said:

And the downside was?????

I'm guessing knowing that a person, maybe two, was murdered there. More likely it could be the asinine questions some people would inevitably ask the current owner about events that happened +/- 35 years before. It may also be the number of gawkers who slowed down or stopped to stare at the house - were they just curious or casing the place?

and a Domino's just beyond the Taco Bell.

This is an abomination. I only learned about it this morning from an e-mail sent to Preservation Houston membership. I guess it was a "middle of the night" type of thing even though it occurred in broad daylight since I saw nothing previously from Preservation Houston. It also seemed like the demolition permit "flew under the RADAR" since the structure was located in Pasadena instead of Houston.

I am heart-sick about this. If someone wanted to develop the land around the mansion why not keep the building as a reception space/fitness center/other amenity? If the new development is perceived to be multi-family, or even mixed-use, this would have been something to consider.

One has to wonder why the anti-demolition covenant as part of the 1991 sale (per the Preservation Houston e-mail I received) had an expiration date. That seems ridiculous. I guess historic status is meaningless in some places.

I'm not a superstitious person but I have to think there will be a curse attached to any future development of this site due to this heinous action which preceded it.

Years ago when I worked "up the street" on Waugh I would enjoy a Guinness Stout or two on a Friday afternoon at the Black Lab. Ah, the good ol' days.

and they don't even have phones in them.

Is this the building that had the fire yesterday (October 17th)?

"SoDo isn't any more artificial than EaDo."

I agree, august948. SoDo is neither more or less so than Eado.  😊

On ‎2019‎-‎10‎-‎01 at 5:15 PM, august948 said:

 

Once you get professional marketing folks involved it's all downhill (DoHi).

Hopefully, if something is too artificial it will meet a justified demise.

3 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

You're right. The Gribble Stamp & Stencil Co. building at 121 St Emanuel St, Houston, is being renovated into a Soccer Shots facility.

From Soccer Shot's Facebook last year in May:

We are incredibly exhilarated to share a major update: the location of our new home! Our future permanent headquarters will be located in EaDo, on the corner of Navigation and St. Emanuel, in the old Gribble Stamp and Stencil building. We have a lot of exciting renovations planned over the next year and a half before we officially move in, but are eagerly awaiting the day the restoration is complete. We earnestly expect our central location to allow us to continue to increase the positive impact we are able to have on the city that we love!

https://www.facebook.com/SoccerShotsHoustonTexas/posts/1827691807295419

This location was a good move for their headquarters with BBVA Compass Stadium in close proximity. 

 

 

Yay! 😊

Tonden's Jewelers, 3921 Richmond Avenue just east of Weslayan. Tony and Denise will treat you right.

7 hours ago, FilioScotia said:

The restaurant was Raffles, a high pay grade fine dining restaurant. Raffles has restaurants, resorts and luxury hotels all over the world, but, not in Houston anymore. Don't know when it closed. Maybe when oil went south in the 70s and a lot of big companies folded or moved out of Houston taking a lot of Raffles' deep-pockets clientele with them. 

Good memory, FilioScotia. I could vaguely remember the name started with an 'R' and had a double consonant but I knew it wasn't "Ruggles."

2 minutes ago, samagon said:

I have never had a problem at Fiesta.

 

Granted, I've only stopped at the midtown location twice. The Wayside Fiesta is closer to my home, so I go there. Never had a problem.

My guess is the Fiesta on the North Freeway at Airline Drive is the one most likely to have parking lot mischief because it is so easy to get away from the property on the access road or Airline. In any case, do not let your guard down.

I've also switched to KPRC weekday mornings. It has much better traffic reporting and the weather reports are more concise. I don't really care why it is going to rain, or be hot or cold - especially in such excruciating detail.

Also, the KHOU weekday morning "news" has  become too chopped up in its presentation and the behavior of the people in front of the camera is just plain silly. Both, I think, is something that was dictated by some marketing "genius." I do miss Lisa Hernandez' professional demeanor and measured delivery too.

What occupies the Jim West mansion now? I drove past last Wednesday (Sept. 25) for the first time in a long, long time and it looks like some sort of plant nursery. I was driving and conversing with the passengers in my car so I was really not able to take an extended look at the place. It is no longer Hakeem's specialty shop that is for sure.

Looks like "how not to demolish, but renovate, a building Houston style.

The logo looks fine to me. When is the expected completion date? I'm looking forward to the re-opening.