Specwriter

4 hours ago, MartiMoser said:

I'm pretty sure they were hustling their a*ses off peddling produce & didn't get too involved in the punctuation & grammar. There may also be a few participles dangling in the weekly circulars. 

I like your comment (and I officially "liked" it as well ) but I wasn't referring to the people creating the flyers. The person or persons who created the rendering are most likely educated architects or graphic designers and should know how to write the plural possessive. Anyway, this looks like a great project. I hope it will be seen as Houston's version of the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.

5 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

These are apparently now condos called The Chesterfield:

$341 per square foot in that current neighborhood and $323 per month in maintenance fees with no pool, exercise room, or other amenities to justify it? Also, electric cook top - ugh. Good luck!

1 hour ago, swtsig said:

why in the hell do we have multiple posts in row debating bronze sculptures when we have a new rendering???

 

 

Indeed. Forget the bronze stuff. I like this.

Apologies for going off in the weeds. We old men who yell at clouds tend to do that too.

Those sculptures bring to mind the old saying, "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." I cannot think of a Classical or Neo-Classical sculpture where the figure's mouth is open with teeth showing.

The original Lucy sculpture doesn't look remotely like her. It doesn't look like Janet Reno or Eleanor Roosevelt either.  

6 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

 

December 11, 1983.

Thanks, mkultra25. I do remember that building too.

9 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Is that in the shape of Indiana?

It looks more like Venezuela to me but I couldn't tell  you why it is that shape.

What was the date in 1983 of the Borden explosion? Though a Houston native, I was living in San Antonio at the time. I completely missed Hurricane Alicia as well in August of 1983 (lucky that).

Ironically, since tomorrow is the 33rd anniversary of the event, I was in San Antonio on May 30, 1985 when the Lone Star ice plant experienced an ammonia explosion. Four people were killed and 23 were injured including 17 fire fighters in that disaster.

Maybe my definition of kitsch is a stretch but the Amazing Body Gallery of the McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science with its colossal body parts seems to fit the bill. It is also quite a contrast to the stately appearance of the building's exterior. In any case, dbigtex56 has a point. If a little kitsch inspires someone or just makes him feel a little bit more upbeat it has served a positive purpose. 

3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

An aside: many years ago I worked in the R&D building of a well-known instrument manufacturer. That building had no windows whatsoever. No one liked it, but the engineers still came to work.

Years ago I worked on a 500,000 sq. ft. tilt wall building that had been used as a ware house. The design called for installing sky lights which defined corridors in the space and a mezzanine in part of the structure to increase the office floor space. The employees loved it because the alternative was to build an new facility further away from where they all lived and with the diffuse lighting from the sky lights the space was actually pleasant. The city loved it because it kept the tax base strong.

18 hours ago, Materene said:

Simply because starting in the early 70s all store fronts that were plate glassed became favorite targets for the thieves and they were literally stealing merchants like Sears into bankruptcy. They became eyesores once the massive bricking took place, you would have to be born in my era to appreciate the vast difference in the mindset of America in just a few short years, I hope that explains it.

So true and unfortunate about the plate glass windows being covered up. I remember the great displays in the windows of the downtown Foley's for Christmas time and imagine those large windows presented the same vandalism issues.

I took j_cuevas' comment to be primarily about the metal cladding higher up that obscured the Art Deco detailing. I agree with Purdueenginerd: a good cleaning will make the details easier to appreciate even though the overall look is somewhat subdued.

14 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why this building was every covered up. A little TLC and this thing is going to be beautiful!

"Modernization" circa early 1960's. Yes, this will be a novel building once again when restored.

I miss the Houston City Club.

4 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Why did you post a uterus diagram? Is there a women's health component going into this?

 

The similarity occurred to me many years ago but, being married to a UT grad and having several others in the family, "I kept my vision to myself."  

Regarding the kitsch factor of the double helix as it becomes familiar the public will inure to it. Also, renderings are usually taken from a bird's-eye view, or at least an elevated perspective, that most people on the ground will never see so the association will not be as obvious.

16 hours ago, htownbro said:

 

I don't mean government housing when I say affordable housing.  I mean for working people or middle class who can afford to buy a home but want to live downtown instead of out in the burbs.  It's more affordable to buy homes further out as opposed to downtown.  There are single people and couples who dont have children but want to live downtown...or even empty nesters.  People whose income is probably less than 100k annually.

I also wasn't thinking government subsidized house either but, like cspwal mentioned, something a family making $40-60k a year could afford. Yes, I overlooked the Randall's. I should stop in there one day and see how it compares to those I am familiar with. Another HEB near by like the one at Alabama and Dunlavy would be great, or maybe an Aldi.

Heck, I'm just grateful something positive may be happening with this building after all these years.

52 minutes ago, htownbro said:

Yes I agree .  Affordable condos for sale or apartments for rent.  Everything downtown doesn't have to be for the uber rich.

+1 on htownbro's comment. The people who work in the hotels, restaurants, and bars downtown probably cannot afford the rents for most of the apartments there. I ride the train each weekday from the medical center to downtown and I see who gets on the train in mid-town (office workers) and who gets off (service workers).

I'm not a social scientist but I do believe there is a need for a range of housing options, in term of cost, in a given area. I also believe these different options need to be somewhat dispersed and not concentrated in discrete parts. Consider how the mews (former stables and workshops) behind the stately houses in London were repurposed as housing for those with lower wage jobs.

One big problem existing today for the former Holiday/Days/Heaven on Earth Inn is that it is in a food desert. Of course, proximity to public transportation will mitigate that somewhat.

19 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

Houston food truck Victorian's Barbecue is moving to 19 N York St in the Second Ward.

 

At the new place, patrons are going to be able to watch meat get sliced on-demand behind a cafeteria-style serving area.
 

I like the idea that Victorian's will have a 'permanent' location on the East Side. There are several places to get good bar-b-que in the city but there is always room for another good one. No pun intended. I also think it is great Joey Victorian will be able to use pecan wood on the site for smoking meat and that there will be a shipping container bar.

I'm in a playful mood this Friday afternoon so I am also pleased I will be able to "watch meat get sliced on-demand." I can just imagine going into the restaurant and telling the person behind the cafeteria line to "Slice some meat!" I will probably even buy it and eat it.   Really, most bar-b-que restaurants I frequent work in just this way. Perhaps the copy editor for Food Finder needed a few more lines to fill space.

On ‎12‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 9:54 AM, cspwal said:

Why does this not connect to the street grid?  Would be so much nicer

Not necessarily. It is probably easier to exit onto Sharman Street than Cavalcade especially so close to the major intersection with Fulton. If I were driving into town I would exit the complex turning south on Sharman then take the next street east toward Fulton. I that way I wouldn't be at the mercy of someone on Cavalcade letting me into the queue at the light.

On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 9:24 AM, texas911 said:

High end homes generate more income than tax free schools!

and even high end homes do not generate the property tax and sales tax income that commercial development does.

21 minutes ago, mollusk said:

 

Though their ghostly images remain, sorta like various visions in tortillas, toast, and screen doors.

 Don't forget potato chips.

It looks like we are on our way to a great 2018 season as well. Hopefully the strengthening of the bull pen will pay off. One can hardly ask for a better season than last year's but a repeat WSC would be wonderful.

BTW, my parents' house took on water in Harvey so they bought about $4,500 worth of furniture from Mattress Mac to replace some of what they lost. Guess what? Free furniture! Go 'stros! and thank you, Mac, for supporting your community. 

13 hours ago, Earlydays said:

Called "swamp coolers" in Florida....usually on the roof.

Refer back to my post on May 25, 2011. A swamp cooler is essentially what I described on the '48 Buick. Air was cooled as it passed over evaporating water. That is way it works best in a dry climate. Swamp cooler seems an inaccurate name then because I've never been to a swamp with low relative humidity.

The small towers usually seen behind houses up until the early 1960s were indeed part of a true air conditioning system. They were scaled down versions of what larger commercial buildings still use today. Whatever the refrigerant used, be it a halogenated hydrocarbon, ammonia, or something else, it gets hot as it is compressed. Just as modern systems use a fan blowing air across the piping to dissipate some of the heat the older systems used water to 'take away' the heat. Having the water fall down the slats of the tower allowed the water to give up its heat to the atmosphere and repeat the process. So the water cooled the refrigerant and the tower cooled the water.

The process of compressing  gas then letting it expand until it reaches a greatly lower temperature is called the adiabatic process. It is one of those aspects of physics I find fascinating. In modern systems the water is treated so it does not promote bacterial growth such as Legionella species.

3 hours ago, IronTiger said:

When did Houston stop using Botts dots for marking lanes?

I don't remember when but I think I know why. They just don't stay put. I imagine the force of a 4000+ pound vehicle hitting them at 70+ mph eventually breaks them loose from the pavement. They are adhered with a very good adhesive but can only take so much. Cars and trucks are much heavier these days and we probably drive faster too.

I rode past the now closed Sears on Main about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. There was a truck in the parking lot on the north side of the building taking core samples. That can only mean someone is thinking of erecting a structure on the site and needs to know the soil conditions to design the foundation. Exciting!

22 minutes ago, SkylineView said:

Other GWP buildings (when originally numbered) include(d) the two condo's, the Koch building, and stuff all the way down to Wesleyan @ 59.

 

LINK

 Thanks for posting that link, Skyline. I do remember that map. The Kock building was known as Innova at one time. I know that there have been different property managers of GWP over the years and perhaps a sale or two. Maybe that is what accounts for some buildings no longer being included in the development. At any rate, the proposed development at Alabama and Buffalo Speedway looks really great. I hope it is realized much the way it appears in the rendering.

37 minutes ago, Cyndi Averyt Levit said:

 I could write an article on how amazing this place was and wish so many people I know now that weren’t around there could understand the true institution this store was.

Ms. Levit, thank you for posting. I do understand and I appreciate deeply how amazing it was. Jamail's wasn't just about a great grocery store with excellent merchandise. It was the experience one had when shopping there that came from the care and consideration the employees had for the customer. That attitude came from the leadership down to everyone who worked there.

Isn't it interesting that phase "customer experience" has become popular lately. At one time that then un-named concept existed in many places and was simply the way things were done. No label for it was needed. Kaplan's Ben-Hur was another such place.