Specwriter

9 hours ago, billyf said:

The freeze of December 1983 was the final straw and they just let the yard go for several years other than mowing and edging.

Ah, the freeze of 1983; that's probably a subject that deserves its own thread. It got so cold the regulator on our gas meter froze (apparently a bit of moisture was in it) and stopped the natural gas from flowing into our house and, of course, the furnace. My father and I constructed a tent over the meter from a sleeping bag and put a 100 watt light bulb in a work light and placed it under the "tent." The set-up worked and the meter thawed.

18 minutes ago, Mark Resident said:

Why do they keep building apartments when the market is so saturated?

That's an interesting question, Mark. Generally developers want a return on their investment in a reasonable amount of time but they also want to take advantage of opportunities and position themselves in a way they believe the market is headed. On thing the pandemic has proven is a lot of people can work from home or other remote locations and shop on-line with home delivery. Perhaps developers are asking what is next going to be in demand, commercial office buildings (not if more are working remotely), retail space (not if more are ordering on-line and having goods delivered to their doors), hospitality and entertainment (who knows)? Besides, if I had to guess, I would think garden and podium apartments are less expensive to build than office buildings and retail centers.

On 1/2/2021 at 1:01 PM, JLWM8609 said:

Turns out I've known @Specwriterfrom another organization since before I joined HAIF. It wasn't until a few years ago that we put two and two together and realized it and met up for lunch.

And what a pleasant meeting it was. I hope we can do that again someday JLWM. I hope all is well with you.

I don't believe I know Firebird 65 but he is very familiar with the Aldine area where I grew up. I would not be surprised to learn that we have mutual acquaintances.

On 12/17/2020 at 6:45 PM, zaphod said:

they should keep the skueomorphic look instead and just clean it up a lot with higher quality renders and whatever.

I agree. Keep something us "chronologically enhanced" folks can identify. 🙂

I would have named it "The Knosh." 😁

11 hours ago, Texasota said:

Michael Graves never should have been allowed to practice architecture. 

I wonder what is going on at the Federal Reserve Bank with the brick being removed.

Michael Graves, at that point in his career, was a design architect. Like Robert Venturi and Philip Johnson he came up with the concept and image. It was left to others to work out the details. This is why Philip Johnson, for example, teamed up with the office of John Burgee on many projects.

Some designers understand enough about the "nuts and bolts" of actual construction to avoid working against the reality of what can be reasonably accomplished. Other times the technical architects and engineers are pushed into a very tight situation that manifest in latent problems.

8 hours ago, august948 said:

 

Good third option, yes.  Cheaper than both, no.

 

The google maps distance between downtown Dallas and downtown Houston shows 241 miles.  My f150 averages about 13 mpg which comes out to about 19 gallons one way.  We'll round that up to 20 and multiply by $1.60 per gallon (close enough, I think I paid $1.55 the other day at sam's club) and we get $32.  That's $64 round trip in direct cost (not including the inevitably expensive Buc-ee's stops).  Just to quell the "but, but oil, tires and maintenance!" arguments we'll round that up to $100 round trip.  Is that even close to round trip airfare and whatever round trip hsr tickets will cost?  Probably not.

 

 

When I travel from the company office in Houston to the one in Dallas I am allowed 250 miles each way for reimbursement purposes. If the current rate the IRS allows is $0.55/mile that comes to $275.00 for a round trip by personal automobile (fuel, wear and tear, insurance, etc.). That compares very favorably to round trip air fare + transportation to and from Love Field to the Dallas office + parking at Hobby. An added advantage is I can stop at any one of several Dairy Queens along the way for a DQ treat. ☺️ If I took HSR I would still need transportation to the rail station from the home office and to the other office or hotel.

20 hours ago, zaphod said:

Back then it seems like sedans were almost like squat SUV's whereas now that segment doesn't try to do those things. This was all way before my time of course(I was born in the late 80s)

"Back then" sedans were body-on-frame, mostly rear wheel drive vehicles with big V8 engines. In that regard they weren't too different from a pickup truck except they held more passengers and were better appointed. SUVs and the popularity of crew cab pickup trucks meant for families instead of oil field workers has pretty much made large sedans superfluous.

The car with the boat and trailer is definitely a different car. My guess it it a 1967 Buick Electra. If it was possible to focus on the badge near the bottom of the rear fender it would confirm. I know it is not a 1968 Buick because there would be a side marker light near where the name badge is on this car.

Buicks must have been great cars for towing. A neighbor had a 1969 Buick Electra which was optioned for that purpose (heavy duty radiator, transmission fluid cooler, etc.) which he used to tow a 26 foot Airstream trailer. They went all over the western states including the Rockies with that car pulling the trailer and he said it was a breeze.

On 11/6/2020 at 7:41 PM, Former Sunilander said:

I realize this post is old. I worked for Suniland from the late ‘70’s until they sold out to Shanks. I have many pictures of the old buildings & employees. They we’re going to be thrown away, but being the pack rat I am, I took them. Contact me if you still have any interest. I’m 71. When I go, they’ll be lost.  

Please consider donating them to the Houston Metropolitan Research Center housed in the Julia Ideson Building of the Houston Public Library. Here is a link to the HMRC web site: https://houstonlibrary.org/research/special-collections/houston-metropolitan-research-center . Thank you also for holding on to the pictures. They may have more significance than you might suspect.

54 minutes ago, Reefmonkey said:

And then of course DiBella's in Galveston sadly closed last year too.

Ah, Di Bella's; I thought the food was very good and I felt like I was in a scene from "The Godfather" when I ate there. It wasn't on Seawall Blvd. so there were few, if any, tourists.

On 10/19/2020 at 10:52 AM, samagon said:

 

it's a currently popular method of weather treatment. you have to do it to the level you see on the left most example.

 

rather than calling it 'charred' since the technique is borrowed from traditional Japanese methods they call it 'shoshugibon'.

 

the 2 examples on the right are options if you want to create more drama in the natural wood before completely sealing whatever furniture project you're doing.

Shoshugibon is supposed to make the wood more resistant to insect and fungal attack. Consider that there are Japanese temple structures that have been so treated and have been around for more than a century.

I had to introduce shoshugibon to some architect interns who persistently referred to fire retardant-treated wood (chemically treated to resist burning) as "fire-treated wood." I explained to them that there is a such thing as fire-treated wood but it was not what they intended. Most all of them thought shoshugibon is a very cool and I agree.

15 hours ago, ljchou said:

 

I'm thinking this just means they're gutting it for potential future users. Pretty sure EBR refers to the electronic review. '12 IBC refers to the construction code it needs to remain compliant to and SPK may mean sprinkler systems to remain intact? This is just from googling, could be wrong.

Can you attach the permit?

12 IBC is the 2012 International Building Code (why "international" when it is a United States thing IDK). That is the code the City of Houston follows with its own amendments. Yes, there are more recent versions of the IBC but adoption by a governmental authority usually takes action by the legislative body. In this case that would be City Council. That does not necessarily mean the 2012 code is deficient nor that the more recent editions have introduced undesirable requirements. Other municipalities have adopted the 2015 IBC or the 2018 IBC.

I'm sure SPK  means sprinklered. For years codes have been written to encourage installing sprinklers in buildings.

I sure want to see this building occupied. It is a great example of an early 20th Century commercial structure.

13 hours ago, Amlaham said:

I drive from 59 to Holcombe on buffalo speedway everyday and I can't believe it's going to get rebuilt. That portion of buffalo speedway is in EXCELLENT condition. Its so strange to me that this excellent portion is getting rebuilt, yet the portion of buffalo speedway from Holcombe to Main is an absolute nightmare and isn't planned for reconstruction anytime soon. This scenario is similar to Westheimer being in excellent condition in Upper Kirby and 3rd world condition in Lower Westheimer 😕

You are so right, Amlaham. Actually Buffalo Speedway between Holcombe and N. Braeswood is a fairly recent rebuild and in good shape though you can see (and feel) some subsidence of the pavement already. South of the bayou to S. Main is terrible though. I don't even drive the speed limit (35 mph) along that stretch for fear of hitting my head on the roof of the car. 😟

Even though Buffalo Speedway will remain "open" during construction I imaging a lot of through traffic will move over to Kirby between Holcombe and the Southwest Freeway. Won't that be fun. 😧

9 hours ago, cityliving said:

I wonder how they do it to weave all those metal wires together like a basket? Looks very complicated.

 

Much of it can be done on the ground or even off-site then it is craned into place like a big woven steel blanket but the "blankets" need to be tied or welded together. It is tedious but the pros make it look easy.

Here is an article from the July 9, 2005 Houston Chronicle: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Historic-locomotive-rolling-out-of-Hermann-Park-1491046.php 

On 9/23/2020 at 5:57 PM, Zahir said:

How does one determine a rear building line along an alleyway for a residential lot in the Montrose Neighborhood of Houston?  The alleyway is 16' wide.  The project calls for an addition onto an existing residence.  No deed restrictions have been found.  The Survey that we had performed turned up nothing.  Calls to the City of Houston planners have been unsuccessful (no responses).  Does anyone have any ideas about how to determine this rear building line in regards to a building addition to the main house?

 

You need a better survey or surveyor. Did the survey involve a trip to the county to look at old title transfer records? Those may have that information. At least it may turn up utility easements which are very important in determining where NOT to build. If you are planning to build, or add on to an existing building, a simple metes and bounds survey is not sufficient. The survey needs to show clearly all easements and setbacks else you risk making an expensive mistake.

I'm all for letting sign owners convert to LED without losing grandfathering status. It will save energy and brightness can be controlled.

There does need to be something in the ordinance about brightness too. There is a sign in Kemah (or used to be) at SH 146 and FM 2094 that would cause momentary blindness. In fact, it was so bright (lots of white color too) that it was difficult to read.

As for "signs" with no sign - empty frames that are rusting away - I say declare them a hazard (they could fall over), demolish them, and send the owner the bill. He hablado. 🙂

15 hours ago, gmac said:

Not great quality at all, but this is from the January 28, 1955 Chronicle story about the opening of the dealership.

1955 was a great year to open a Chevrolet dealership. Advertising for the 1955 models called them "The Hot One" and they were with COMPLETELY NEW styling and an all new overhead valve V8 engine replacing the venerable but not nearly as powerful "stove bolt" six cylinder engine. The building was certainly not that exciting but, in those days I guess, the cars sold themselves.

1 hour ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Wow.  Ever knew that. Any pic?

I could not find a picture of the Jimmie Greene Chevrolet dealership at 2611 S. Shepherd but I vaguely remember it though. I don't remember the last iteration of the building being anything unique like Knapp Chevrolet at the intersection of Houston and Washington Avenue. I did remark in this forum (Old Car Dealerships) in January of 2010 that I was told the owner of the property got a princely sum when he sold it for development as a shopping center.

Mr. Slovak's farewell shows a lot of class. I will miss his reporting and I wish him all the best.

3 hours ago, mls1202 said:

What I want to know is what happens when a pigeon lands on top and sh*!ts through the grating, leaving a nice streak on the inside of these tubes...

mls, do you remember the chimney sweeps from the movie "Mary Poppins"?

Since it appears to be  floor to ceiling glazing I'm thinking the glass is tempered. Tempering puts the glass under stress and heat soaking the glass is a way to relieve that but it is costly. Here is an explanation of one source of spontaneous glass breakage: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/spontaneous-glass-breakage-why-it-happens-and-what-to-do-about-it/   Scroll down to the explanation of nickel sulfide inclusions and their role in spontaneous glass breakae. Temperature extremes can also promote spontaneous glass breakage.

I believe I saw that Edsel station wagon on a morning walk in my neighborhood several months ago. If it is the same car (and how many turquoise Edsel station wagons can there be even in Houston) it is in very good shape. I love the boomerang tail lights.