citykid09 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 What If The Texas Oil Boom Never Went Bust?What Would Houston Look like? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 I think if the oil boom never went bust Houston would be one of the United States main three cities.#1?#2?#3? I don't know. Do you guys think it would be bigger than New York or LA? Mabe. Also It wouldn't just be Hoston, Dallas, and other cities would be larger also. What do you guys think the skyline would have looked like? Houston would be HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Houston might have been number 3, I don't know if it would have passed LA and New York.Im sure Houston would have beaten Chicago in pop. and maybe skyline, but I dont think it would have passed LA in pop, although it's already past LA in the skyline department IMO. And I highly doubt it would have still passed NYC.Too bad that we did go into a bust though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincoRanch-HoustonResident Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I believe it would have surpassed Chicago in population, but not skyline. We might have had 3 million right now, with our metro at 6.5 milllion. You never know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 If the bust never occurred, the city would have probaly imploded under the weight of unbridled population growth and inadequte controls against development. And you think traffic is bad now? LOLThankfully now we are *slightly* more sophisticated about growth. OK, a little less than *slightly*...Travelguy_73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Houston would probably have all all types of rail, Commuter, Light rail, Monorail, even a subway. Thousands would live in the downtown area, and the suburbs would probably extend to Bryan/College Station. There would also probably be commuter rail extending from Bryan/ College Station to Houston, and instead of a dozen or so condo towers going up, there would be probably near a hundred going up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I think if the oil boom never went bust Houston would be one of the United States main three cities.#1? #2? #3? I don't know. Do you guys think it would be bigger than New York or LA? Mabe. Also It wouldn't just be Hoston, Dallas, and other cities would be larger also. What do you guys think the skyline would have looked like? Houston would be HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think Houston would perhaps be #3 right now had the BOOM continued..... It is hard to beat NY's 21 million metro and LA's 17 million metro. BUT....I think Houston still has a chance to beat Chicago......maybe not by 2010....but 2020... looks possible. In fact.....I think many Houston leaders are banking on it. Have any of you seen Houston 2025.?.... check it out if you haven't......it is pretty cool. As a wannabe architect(i suck at math, so i am content to just draw)..... I have drawn several "possible" Houston skylines. I would love to see a 900+ building downtown with a spire. I love the diversity of the highrises downtown and in the Galleria area, BUT I think they are all blunt at the top......... to give some sort of continuity.......I think a spire is in order. BUT........I also realize the residential highrise market is more likely than commercial right now, so the likelihood of a 900'+ skyscraper is improbable. Am I right in this assumption??? Tell me I am wrong.........give me hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I believe it would have surpassed Chicago in population, but not skyline. We might have had 3 million right now, with our metro at 6.5 milllion. You never know... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I tend to agree (although reluctantly) that Chicago would still be #2 in the skyline department. I have nothing against Chicago.......it is just I have a certain fondness for Houston and always want to see her do well and prosper. Living in LA now, and it does have its advantages, but when I get back to Houston.......once a year.........I definately see the changes occuring to the skylines (there are several........that's one of the things I love about Houston) ......... I think Houston will come into her own in the next decade. It is amazing the amount of money coming into the city. When one looks at Forbes magazine......and you boil down all the subsidiaries...........many economic roads seem to lead right to the Space City. That's a good thing. I would love for Houston to reach international status....... for something other than Enron........... or a botched Superbowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Oh, and Houston would have a theme park much better than Astroworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I think it's meant to be. Cities like L.A. New York, Chicago their old cities trying to merge as a modern city, but Houston on the other hand is a modern city. A brand new city that people have to realize. I think Houston well get there, it's a matter of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I think it's meant to be. Cities like L.A. New York, Chicago their old cities trying to merge as a modern city, but Houston on the other hand is a modern city. A brand new city that people have to realize. I think Houston well get there, it's a matter of time. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any thoughts on a time frame? Living in LA for 10 years now, I have become spoiled by the plethora of culture (yes, believe it or not LA does have SOME culture that does not involve botox or celluloid ) I am considering moving back to Houston....or even moving on to NY..... but I must say the "urban" renewal is tempting me to move either in the Galleria district or Downtown....... I tend to enjoy the southern culture (being a native Texan and all that)...... I just want something a bit more urban than Houston's sprawling suburbs like Katy, Sugar Land, the Woodlands, Kingwood, or the Clear Lake area...know what I mean? Any thoughts or suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 LA is a new city also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincoRanch-HoustonResident Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Marc, you could move some place like Midtown, or the TMC area. We might have had a better theme park than Astroworld, or like a Disney, or Universal, or Sea World theme park. Lots of things would have been different: traffic, worse sprawl, and possibly more major coproations headquartered here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I think housing prices would also be much higher. When I came here in '92 I bought a 1500 sq ft house in Spring in a clean, quiet, deed-restricted neighborhood with a built-in pool for 55K, and a VA assumable loan to boot, which meant the 30 yr mortgage had already been paid down by 14 yrs. Coming from CA, I was in awe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted February 16, 2005 Author Share Posted February 16, 2005 I think the core of the city would also be much more dense. With the kind of growth from the oil boom The inner city would have filled up so quick that they would have no choice but to go up. There would be a lot more dense areas with, high to midrise development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Houston would have been the place to be! If the population growth, High-rise construction, and business' expanding, Houston would have defintly passed Chicago and LA in population (city, not metro). But more then likely, Chicago's metro. Think of it, if they would have built the HOUSTON CENTER! 42 High-rises in SoDo. (Its heaven!) and the tram system, and BotSWT, Block 265 Tower, and think of all the ones to come. I bet we coulda hit 1,000 Highrises, oh I wish it will happen one day.Even though were not Utopia now, we still have the chance, because Houston has potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Any thoughts on a time frame? Living in LA for 10 years now, I have become spoiled by the plethora of culture (yes, believe it or not LA does have SOME culture that does not involve botox or celluloid )I am considering moving back to Houston....or even moving on to NY..... but I must say the "urban" renewal is tempting me to move either in the Galleria district or Downtown....... I tend to enjoy the southern culture (being a native Texan and all that)...... I just want something a bit more urban than Houston's sprawling suburbs like Katy, Sugar Land, the Woodlands, Kingwood, or the Clear Lake area...know what I mean? Any thoughts or suggestions? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> IMO I would say to stay out of Katy. It's not that it's a bad place to live but getting into town is just a nightmare. I came from the Galleria area but had a kid and had to move to the burbs. I miss the area so much. If you can afford it anywhere between Uptown and downtown is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.