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Specwriter

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Everything posted by Specwriter

  1. Specwriter
    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.
  2. Specwriter
    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.
  3. Specwriter
    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.
  4. Specwriter
    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.
  5. Specwriter
    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?
  6. Specwriter
    and a Domino's just beyond the Taco Bell.
  7. Specwriter
    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.
  8. Specwriter
    and they don't even have phones in them.
  9. Specwriter
    Is this the building that had the fire yesterday (October 17th)?
  10. Specwriter
    "SoDo isn't any more artificial than EaDo." I agree, august948. SoDo is neither more or less so than Eado. 😊
  11. Specwriter
    Hopefully, if something is too artificial it will meet a justified demise.
  12. Specwriter
    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.
  13. Specwriter
    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.
  14. Specwriter
    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.
  15. Specwriter
    Looks like "how not to demolish, but renovate, a building Houston style.
  16. Specwriter
    The logo looks fine to me. When is the expected completion date? I'm looking forward to the re-opening.
  17. Specwriter
    I was skinny and had long hair in the '70s too. What the Hell happened?
  18. Specwriter
    Thank you, Cluffs, for sharing that. I have to say Lonnie Yancey was the type of person who created good memories and that will always be special.
  19. Specwriter
    NYC F.A.O. is definitely as much a tourist attraction as it is a retail outlet. I think what a revived Toys R Us needs to avoid is competing with on-line stores (perhaps even itself) and focus on the new and unusual in its brick-and-mortar stores. People will want to "test drive" innovative products and buy them if they like them. This may have been what made Sharper Image an initial success. Are there any of those stores still around?
  20. Specwriter
    Is Toys R Us trying to become F. A. O. Schwarz? Why not? I was at Rockefeller Center in June about 11:00 am on a Tuesday and the place was packed.
  21. Specwriter
    I get the realities of "progress" and I hope for the best with whatever replaces Southern Importers but it is sad to see this one go away. What fun we had buying costumes here for various parties and other events.
  22. Specwriter
    I had a studio instructor in architecture school who thought it would be a great idea to turn the old rice silos along Allen Parkway into a columbarium for cremains. I don't think he envisioned individual urns but to just pour ashes into the silos much like the grain had been stored. Novel or bizarre, or both? 🤔
  23. Specwriter
    It would be great if "REMUV" was on the drawings for a demolition contract. 😊 I've wondered for sometime if this thread should be merged with the 801 St. Joseph Parkway thread in Crater Houston Alliance. Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.
  24. Specwriter
    How about a replica of the Laura, the first steam ship to navigate Buffalo Bayou to Houston in January of 1837?
  25. Specwriter
    I like the photo with the palm too. I wonder how Tradition compares with Brookdale further north on Buffalo Speedway price-wise.
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