sevfiv

sorry to hear this

the sewer disconnect permit:

Project No:

07060569

Date:

7/11/2007

USE:

DEMO RES/SEWER DISC

Owner / Occupant:

AGNES DOYLE

Job Address:

945 HEIGHTS BLVD

Tax ID:

0400202270000001

that's why i said in most instances. if there was sufficient demand for retail, it would be built.

at the risk of sounding silly, how is the demand determined?

Does the "New West Building" have any historical significance?

well, that's relative

it was built in 1912 as the Beatty Building (David R. Beatty - oil business) and designed by Henry C. Cooke (Magnolia Brewery).

the original James Coney Island location was there, too

here's a thread about a restoration that never happened:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=1114

and a postcard from that thread:

sorry if silly question, but why can't you look up the articles on the internet and print them from there? legal reasons? thanks

the chronicle only has online access back to 1985.

also, these are on good quality paper, and hopefully look better than a standard microfilm photocopy (although they are copying from microfilm, too, so who knows). and with the frame and matte options (and the overall price), these are meant as more of an art piece.

usually a copy is okay for personal use because of copyright laws, but older stuff doesn't even apply...

I think that hole pushes it up though.

yes, six stories

well, six centerpoint stories

centerpoint energy plaza is 47 stories ~ 741 ft.

i've heard of stones/bodies facing east/west to see the sunrise or sunset, but nothing about criminals facing the other way...interesting

In many, but by no means all, early New England burying grounds the graves are positioned east/west. This east/west orientation is the most common orientation in other parts of the country and world as well. The earliest settlers had their feet pointing toward the east and the head of the coffin toward the west, ready to rise up and face the "new day" (the sun) when "the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised" or when Christ would appear and they would be reborn.

http://www.gravestonestudies.org/faq.htm

I wonder where Frank Liu's Duany-designed development is in relation to the Astroworld property, Reliant Park, and Fannin South. Any HCAD wiz's in the house?

from HCAD: looks like IntownHomes (Liu) owns the land at 9300 Knight Rd., which would be right about where Niche mentioned.

Throw my $.02 in on this one... On musicman's side, I agree there is a big difference between Great and Rubbish... It is a nice new parking garage, taking open land, with retail available, but a better facade and a better location wouldn't be a bad thing. But, with GovernorAggie, no way this thing is complete, it looks sooo raw yet.

As for great parking garages, how about floors 2-9 of Two Shell Plaza, all parking garage, no idea from street level.

well, they made this land "open"

concealment is nice, i guess, but this isn't topped out with office space, either - since this is an independent structure it has nothing in which to blend, so why not make it interesting. Hines had the means, i assume...

i don't think i've ever heard anyone say "wow, that is a GREAT parking garage"

it would be really neat if we could say that for a first time...

just sayin

Joseph Mashburn replied to me:

So there you have it. A Taylor bites the dust. I'll drive by and take a picture just in case it's still there.

Jason

thanks for contacting Mashburn.

i went by yesterday evening and it was long gone - pictures are at home, though

there are some remnants of tile on the lot and a sago palm, though

Discount Tire Co.

i recommend them - the tire insurance has been great (i have had more than my share of flats)

TireMax

A good friend of mine owns the chain, he started with one store nine years ago, he now has them all over Texas (soon to be all over the US). Chris has done it with hard work and determination. If you visit the Spring Store (across from Planet Ford) you will actually see him busting tires in the back with the rest of the guys. He guarantees to beat any price and will have you in and out in 30 minutes or less. He offers all the same warranties as Discount Tire, with customer services second to none.

www.tiremax.com

i'd check em out - maybe someone will open a franchise in houston...

wow - here is the list of past owners:

http://www.hcad.org/records/Ownership.asp?...mp;taxyear=2007

including Mashburn and even Dossey himself...hmm

well, gather your pictures and memories, because the dominoes are about to begin falling.

and all this after the Planning Commission and HAHC involvement, letters, emails, the petition...

went by it yesterday and the fence has been removed (not sure when exactly that happened, though)

there was a fence, right?

Wasn't one of these buildings going to become a maharishi yogi training school or something? Too bad that one didn't go through...

That would be the Holdiay Inn. The Yogi's still own it.

yeah - it operated as hotel for a little while, then apparently the Vedic school until it relocated somewhere in Rice Village back in 1998.

it has changed hands quite a bit, too:

http://www.hcad.org/records/Ownership.asp?...mp;taxyear=2007

there is alot more information in the Days Inn/Holiday Inn thread

The Heaven on Earth Inn, a downtown hotel operated by Transcendental Meditation devotees, has closed the hotel and restaurant portion of its operations.

The 31-story hotel at 801 Calhoun now will be called the Maharishi Vedic School.

The head of the organization, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, formerly was the spiritual adviser to the Beatles in the 1960s.

The Maharishi's group bought the hotel, which had been a Days Inn, in 1993 for $2 million.

Officials decided to close Heaven on Earth Inn because it was losing money, said Russell Hebert, director of the Vedic School.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1994_1226611 (login required)

In 1993, the World Plan Executive Council paid $2 million for the hotel, a former Holiday Inn and Days Inn, and it was renamed the Heaven on Earth Inn Inc. The maharishi's Vedic University occupied the hotel's 20th floor, which was unoccupied Thursday.

The university evidently has relocated to the Rice Village area. University officials did not respond to calls seeking comment.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1998_3085341 (login required)

I didn't see it in person but I believe the pool was in the front yard hence the privacy fence. I think that contributed to ackward parking.

yes - i can see that now...

in this image (from local.live.com) you can see the pool directly behind the front fence:

i checked on the HAR home value finder - this link may hold up for a little while:

http://www.har.com/HomeValue/dispSearch.cf...;ptCity=HOUSTON

says it listed for $319,000, and building sq. ft. was 2275...not sure about the mcmansion status of the area

pictures aren't great, but it was lived in:

back yard:

I'm not sure, but I think the ugly old motorbank across the street is being used by one of the parking lot management companies. I wish they'd demolish it as well...along with the Savoy, the parking garage, and that giant ugly concrete head. I guess the old 1616 Main building (the one NEXT to the newer Savoy) could be restored, since I thought I read that it's got a bit of history behind it. Frankly, the entire block could be sucked into the bowels of the planet and it would be fine by me.

yeah, the bank across the way is strictly parking now.

as far as the Savoy Apartments (the older building), i can't even be too hopeful - it is only a matter of time before it collapses...the structural supports aren't helping too much - it's the stuff lawsuits are made of

no roof over at least half of it:

huge cracks over windows:

walls falling apart:

anyone familiar with this home or the architect (John R. Dossey) who is supposedly building its replacement?

The 1955 home is gone (or very soon to be), and was located just south of Beechnut between S. Rice and Ferris.

http://i18.tinypic.com/5zmspas.jpg

can't find any records except that it is owned by "Bell Realty Corp."

the hcad record shows a value for improvement, but no details on the improvement

it was kind of an odd place - i'll check some city directories when i get home

aerial image from local.live.com:

from Kinkaid's post in this thread:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...showtopic=10147

4) Hines of Houston are denying the rumors but they are still out there that the firm is planning to build something at the junction of Main, Walker, Fannin, and Rusk on what is described as the last "seedy" block on Main. No other details.

this may be the HBJ article referenced (and the topic of the above thread), but there is no talk of a project like that:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto.../12/story1.html

ah okay - i see now you can choose unframed

they use Fuji crystal archival paper, too

I just noticed that the Chronicle is offering a reproduction service for single pages from past issues.

At first it sounded great - they seem to be good quality, or at least a big step up from microfilm photocopies...

The catch is that they seem to only be available matted and framed, and if the article runs off the first page, you have to pay extra for the remainder.

The cost of the print is about $90, but you can apparently choose the size, up to 18x24.

Anyone else used/seen have comments on this?

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/houstonchronicle/item.html