Guest danax Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Houston has been described as a quilt. If so, then I suppose the streets would be the threads and the intersections the stitches. Each intersection has four corners, and each corner can have its own unique personality. As a "car town", we drive by, corner after corner, day after day, talking on cell phones and running thoughts through our minds, almost as if on automatic pilot, and so miss the thousands of details within each passing scene. The idea behind this topic is to allow us all to collectively park the car and get out and walk around as actually see this city we talk about so much. These four corners are just east of Downtown in the Warehouse District. SW corner. This old 30s-40s structure appears to be in the process of being adapted to modern reuse; a good thing. NW corner. Existing retail and a grocery housed in a classic shell; what all urbanites wish for, but do most nearby townhousers feel comfortable enough to walk there? Will "Grocery One" survive and adapt? Can they make a smooth transition from Mad Dog to Merlot? NE corner. Guandi Taoist Temple. The short story behind this place is that some Vietnamese immigrants experienced prosperity after praying to their chosen deity, and then built this temple as their offering of gratitude. I wonder if they feel that the area's newfound prosperity is a continuation of that, and do they welcome it? SE corner. Townhouse development is the straw that's stirring the drink of change over here. I briefly spoke to one African American woman walking an exotic looking Chow puppy (should've taken a pic). She was friendly and seemed happy amid the gentrification, although I shouldn't assume she's an old time resident, she might've just moved in. Just another speck on the map of Houston brought under the microscope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 i've wondered about the first building as well. it is classic art deco and would be a wonderful restoration project for someone. it's been in that state for quite a while now. i just hope it doesn't get dozed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 i've wondered about the first building as well. it is classic art deco and would be a wonderful restoration project for someone. it's been in that state for quite a while now. i just hope it doesn't get dozed.There's a part of it that I think was gutted by a fire. If I'm not mistaken, it was on the west side of the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokieone Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 nice topic, i live other that way, so i see that old building every day. it sat for a long time, they knocked down a part of the structure a while ago. lately they have been very busy gutting the remaining building. when i first saw it, i loved the outside and hoped someone would redo it. looks like they are now in the process of doing just that. i believe its owned by the same owner/ developer of the herrin lofts.leeland and delano has an opportunity the center of a nice little neighborhood - yes all new townhomes, but nothing has been added at the cost of historical buildings (yet). there is that hhn development there on leeland that is still building, midtown village further down delano, and then on the other side of the temple there are homes being built up to polk. i have walked down to that little corner market a couple of times, its a standard convenience store and comes in handy every so often. would like to see them fix up the external building some, but its not necessary given its business nature. a take out restaurant next door would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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