hadooga

I saw that yesterday, too. It is cool.

One question: Do they change out the seat cushions or whole seats themselves for Aeros games? They look to be a different color when the ice is out.

Yeah I noticed the color change, too. We have season tickets for the Aeros, but I've never been to a Rockets game in TC. Does it just appear that the color changes because they actually go row by row & lift up/put down all seat cushions before a Rockets game? I have no idea, but I'm sure they do a lot more to get the place 'nice' for the Rockets games than they do for the Aeros. They don't seem to like us hockey fans too much (most likely because there are so few of us) so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they completely changed cushions. That does seem like a lot of work, though.

It's 11000+ sf on a 20,000 sf lot, so yes it is more than 50%, however, it still appears to be appropriately set. Imay be with you on this one Niche.

My mistake.

I incorrectly thought Niche was referring to the house at 4901 Cedar, which is a block back & the other side of 2nd. I forgot about the bigger, newer one over there. I actually don't like the one on Bellaire Blvd. that much. Like I was saying with the Glass House, I might like it more if it was in another location. I'd still like to see the inside, though.

The one I was thinking of is (according to HCAD) 2965 sf on a 7000 sf lot. So it's pretty darn close close to half!

I don't hold anything against 8,775-square-foot lots. I don't think that that's a key criteria in judging whether something is a mansion or McMansion. There's a home at the northeast corner of Bellaire Blvd. and N. 2nd Street which by lot size and home size might be confused for a McMansion--if somebody is just browsing tax rolls--but it has a contemporary/minimalist design that was very clearly a one-off home, built to the owner's exacting specifications. It is surrounded by McMansions but it is not a McMansion.

I'm pretty sure this house was built by the architect for himself/his family. It was on a home tour a few years back & it's quite nice. It is big, but I do think it's less than half the lot size. We have lots of 3,000+ sq ft houses on 5,000 sq ft lots around here. And about the large & larger McMansions: the first wave of the McMansions did not have wine cellars, butlers pantries, the grand entry/staircases, 'quarters' and so on. They weren't as gauche as the newer ones. They were also less square footage on the whole, and that's why they list at ~$600,000 and the newer ones go for closer to a million.

We live in a 1,200 sq ft house in Bellaire. I never thought it was 'small' until we had the kiddo. We have 3 bedrooms which is more than enough, even though they are small. One bathroom is starting to get tight with 3 people vying for it, so I'd add that if I could. The kitchen is tiny, but again - didn't seem so tiny when I wasn't buying groceries for a family. I never missed having a pantry back then.

Beyond the size, though, and going back to the house mentioned above - it was architect designed for a specific client (be it himself or not.) The McMansions, to me, are so cookie cutter, stamp it out, straight from the book of plans, boring. Why would I want a 2nd floor balcony to look out on my neighbor's roof (if the small house still exists next door) or on to his postage stamp sized backyard, and mine (if it's been mowed down for a McMansion already.) Or even better - I can sit out there in the morning and have my coffee while watching the traffic go by on 610. Why?! Who wants this? Obviously, some people do or they wouldn't sell. It's like Johnson's Glass House - I love it and I think it's gorgeous, but I wouldn't build something like that in the middle of a block in Bellaire (there's one that reminds me of this off Bissonnet.) We go look at houses all the time, McMansions included, and some of them just make no sense to me at all. The layout is strange; they'll have one huge bedroom and then 3 tiny ones; the house itself is enormous but there's really not much storage space ... that kind of stuff. Some are better than others, but I'm still waiting to tour the McMansion that I could actually imagine living in.

I used to go to this place quite a bit, but in earlier years than you. I did go back once to see The Matrix, I think, so that would have been more in your time frame. The two dollar theaters we went to often were Westminster and Briargrove. We ended up at Westminster a lot more since it had more screens(choices).

Serbin is having a hard time getting rid of the last half of that lot (Houck house was demolished 04/2007):

He passed away towards the end of 2007. I remember seeing the obit & his name only being familiar to me because of this Houck house connection.

If you want to carry more than keys, wallet, and a phone, there's nothing wrong with a guy carrying a bag. I don't know why there's such a macho stigma there.

Seriously. If you want to carry a bag, carry one!

HCAD says this property belongs to Memorial United Methodist & has since 1989. Did they sell it recently?

Did Jason mention to buy the book?

We are not going to be able to make the tour The 25th is just a bad day for us. We do plan on going to the Modern Market, though - will we be able to buy the book there? Or just pick it up later from Houston Mod?

Hmmm...every store I've bought cigarettes in the last 3-4 weeks has already been charging the "tax."

Every pack I've bought lately has been $7-8, and several places in the last several weeks have actually told me it's because of the new federal tax.

That's quite a surprise to hear that the tax goes into effect TOMORROW, when I've already been paying the "tax" for a month!!!

The tobacco companies went ahead & raised the prices a couple of weeks ago.

Cigarette prices go up ahead of tax

Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro, Benson & Hedges and other brands, kicked off the price hikes on March 9 by charging an extra 71 cents a pack -- 62 cents for the higher excise tax and 9 cents for the increased cost of doing business, spokesman David Sutton said.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco followed March 16 by raising prices 44 cents a pack on its brands, including Camel and Winston, and eliminating discounts. The company instituted the price increase two weeks early ''because large tax increases can cause disruptions in the buying patterns of wholesalers and retailers,'' said company spokesman David Howard.

Well, you're a much better researcher than I because I didn't see the address either. But every time we've driven by, my husband and I both comment how empty and unoccupied the house seems. We have yet to catch any lights on. I certainly don't mind the design of it, it just sticks out in Bellaire, like I said, it seems more suited for The Heights' style of architecture. And it is absolutely HUGE! They don't seem to have done anything with the yard, no landscaping, fencing, pool, etc., and there definitely appears to be enough room for all of that including a tennis court!

So funny, but when I drove by it this morning there is a little 4539 sign in the yard. So I guess I was right on the address, at least! I really didn't think anyone lived there, either, because like you said - they've done nothing at all with the lot. And when you just drive by, it's a quick view & for sure this morning it looked empty again. It was only the lights being on the other night that made me think otherwise. Most of those lots on Bellaire Blvd. are insanely big. At least it makes more sense to plop down your huge McMansion on a 20,000 sq ft lot than it does to try to cram it into a 5,000 sq ft one. I know what you mean about it looking like it should have been built in the Heights, though. It's definitely that style. I just laughed at "it sticks out like a (really large) sore thumb" because that seems like about 80% of the houses around here now!

I know which house you're speaking of - I think the street address is 4539. I usually don't pay much attention to it as I pass, but tonight I did and it does appear to be occupied. It is a huge house, but so are most others on Bellaire Blvd. Certainly the newer ones! When I drove by tonight, the right side of the downstairs was lit up and it does look like there is furniture & stuff in there. As big as the house is, I doubt there is a huge family living in it, so that was probably just where they were hanging out at the time.

If I have the address right, HCAD says they've owned the property since 2005 and the house was built in 2007. I kind of assumed there was an older family member or something with the way the wrap-around porch is ramped to the driveway & all. I kind of like this house, actually. I guess mostly because it doesn't look like every other 5,000+ square foot house they've built around here in the past several years. It has no turrets!

Where the old Luby's used to be?

Yep.

These are the top 25 searches that brought people to HAIF in the month I've been monitoring:

1. haif
   

I bet a bunch of those were me. Somehow I lost my HAIF bookmark, and for at least a month, I just typed 'haif' into the google bar of my browser to get here. I probably did this 2-3 times a day. Don't ask me why I didn't just create a new bookmark until about a week ago.

Now where exactly this location now?

Buffalo Speedway, between Bissonnet & Westpark. Just noticed it as I drove by today 'cause the butterfly roof stood out. I can't really imagine getting that excited over a new grocery store, but if it ends up looking really nice - I might change my mind.

Took a few pictures today - I like it even more after seeing it more closely, and halfway want to move it to the Houston Mod section..

Thanks sevfiv, for these pics. I have always admired this old station, too. It reminds me quite a bit of the current Bellaire fire station, which will be gone soon enough.

Thanks, Flipper, for the pictures. It was obviously a great house & it's sad that it was neglected so.

Also, sevfiv, that's so funny about the sign. Even though I've seen them a million times, and obviously remembered JTB - I never noticed their little graphics. "The wrecking ball against the city, the bulldozer against the world" is going to be part of my vocabulary now.

Not to completely derail, but is JTB the 'only' demo company in town? They just knocked one down across the street from me a couple of days ago and I was thinking about how every house I see go here (in Bellaire) always has the JTB sign in the yard.

'In the Year 2525' by Zager and Evans

What a great house. I definitely want to see it on Sunday!

The 70s pop band, "The Eagles". Ever seen "The Big Lebowski"?

I really wanted to reply to the "what are you talking about?" above with the Lebowski quote, but I realized it wouldn't be family-friendly.

We don't really go out that often anymore. We did used go to the Kelvin Arms quite a bit, and I always liked their jukebox. If we go out now, it's usually to Hans' and while there isn't a ton of stuff that I'd play from the default selection, I'm always able to find what I want if I switch to the internet bit. It's lame that those songs cost more, but hey - at least I can play them.

What a coincidence! I just happen to be reading Huckleberry Finn now! I guess I'm all kinds of offensive these days.

I've actually grown tired of the Father Ted stuff. I think I'm going to try to find a cat for my avatar.

How can you get tired of Father Ted stuff? Especially Father Jack? "I'm a happy camper!"

Is my cat offensive?

Mrs Doyle: Now come on Father, what would you say to a nice cup of tea?

Jack: FECK OFF CUP!!!!!!

Father Jack is my favorite, too. When I saw you'd changed from Dougal to Jack, I really wanted to reply on some random thread and say "I love my brick!" Decided it was too random & off topic, though. Who knew they'd get their very own thread?!

Careful now! Down with this sort of thing!

I love Bellaire Broiler Burger. My family went there so much when I was growing up, and I love that it hasn't really changed that much.