The Allen: Mixed-Use Development At Allen Parkway & Gillette St.

[bobruss]

I agree that the whole area is now called Uptown, however I don't think that became a popular moniker until they started building the Uptown development, on the north end of Post Oak.

The Galleria is technically a lot more than a mall. There are several office towers, and hotels, and much of the area around the Galleria doesn't mind telling people how close they are to the Galleria. People will call it the Galleria forever. I'm sure a lot more people know the area as the Galleria just because it was the magnet that drew everything to the area, and that's pretty hard to change. I usually call it Galleria-Uptown. That way I know people know where I'm talking about.

[iah77]

29 minutes ago, bobruss said:

I agree that the whole area is now called Uptown, however I don't think that became a popular moniker until they started building the Uptown development, on the north end of Post Oak.

The Galleria is technically a lot more than a mall. There are several office towers, and hotels, and much of the area around the Galleria doesn't mind telling people how close they are to the Galleria. People will call it the Galleria forever. I'm sure a lot more people know the area as the Galleria just because it was the magnet that drew everything to the area, and that's pretty hard to change. I usually call it Galleria-Uptown. That way I know people know where I'm talking about.

I think a lot of people from Houston call it the galleria area, when it first was built there was literally nothing around there. Uptown is a much more recent invention I feel. When Sakowitz was there it was just the post oak area. 

[LBC2HTX]

I get it, it's like referring to the entire area in Santa Ana / Costa Mesa around South Cost Plaza as "South Coast".  My specific peeve is when people say something like "I'm in the galleria" or "I live in the galleria" when they mean the area not the mall. But i'm just weird like that. 

[iah77]

15 minutes ago, LBC2HTX said:

I get it, it's like referring to the entire area in Santa Ana / Costa Mesa around South Cost Plaza as "South Coast".  My specific peeve is when people say something like "I'm in the galleria" or "I live in the galleria" when they mean the area not the mall. But i'm just weird like that. 

It's not just the galleria though, its common here. Lots of people who live by 1960 just say "willow" as in willowbrook and then until recent citycenter area was all just  Town and Country meaning they were referring to a mall that hasn't even existed for a decade.

[bobruss]

Look at how many developments that aren't even in River oaks call themselves River Oaks. 

River Oaks district, the RO, River Oaks Chrysler which is on Kirby  south of 59. 

[pm91]

My family living here for 4 generations has always called it (aka Uptown) the Galleria. Uptown is a new term. Much like Greenway is more familiar with the older residents than Upper Kirby is. My Granny used to work in what is now Midtown but she had no idea what area I was talking about when I referred to it as Midtown instead of what she knew it as being the 4th ward.

[LBC2HTX]

33 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Look at how many developments that aren't even in River oaks call themselves River Oaks. 

River Oaks district, the RO, River Oaks Chrysler which is on Kirby  south of 59. 

Right, but that's a slightly different topic. I won't further derail this one. 

[mattyt36]

5 hours ago, iah77 said:

It's not just the galleria though, its common here. Lots of people who live by 1960 just say "willow" as in willowbrook and then until recent citycenter area was all just  Town and Country meaning they were referring to a mall that hasn't even existed for a decade.

Calling the 1960 area “Willow” ... now there’s a new one for me ... 🤣

[Montrose1100]

1 hour ago, mattyt36 said:

Calling the 1960 area “Willow” ... now there’s a new one for me ... 🤣

Grew up in Klein and never ever heard it addressed as willow without the brook.

[mattyt36]

14 minutes ago, Montrose1100 said:

Grew up in Klein and never ever heard it addressed as willow without the brook.

I suppose it’s efficient ... I might start calling Humble “Deer” to save a syllable.

[por favor gracias]

7 hours ago, LBC2HTX said:

I get it, it's like referring to the entire area in Santa Ana / Costa Mesa around South Cost Plaza as "South Coast".  My specific peeve is when people say something like "I'm in the galleria" or "I live in the galleria" when they mean the area not the mall. But i'm just weird like that. 

Carlin fan?

Edited January 10, 2020 by por favor gracias

[swtsig]

13 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Grew up in Klein and never ever heard it addressed as willow without the brook.

same. spent many a summer near willowbrook mall, specifically shannon's skate shop... never heard it referred to as the willow haha

[H-Town Man]

15 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Grew up in Klein and never ever heard it addressed as willow without the brook.

 

Last time I checked it was Champions. First thing out there was Champions Golf Course. I guess before the golf course the only thing around there was Bammel, but Bammel got depopulated by a giant oilfield blowout.

 

[Highrise Tower]

Thank you for inviting me up.

 

[citykid09]

On 1/9/2020 at 1:24 PM, bobruss said:

I agree that the whole area is now called Uptown, however I don't think that became a popular moniker until they started building the Uptown development, on the north end of Post Oak.

The Galleria is technically a lot more than a mall. There are several office towers, and hotels, and much of the area around the Galleria doesn't mind telling people how close they are to the Galleria. People will call it the Galleria forever. I'm sure a lot more people know the area as the Galleria just because it was the magnet that drew everything to the area, and that's pretty hard to change. I usually call it Galleria-Uptown. That way I know people know where I'm talking about.

Coming into the city from the Bryan-College Station area (29 to the west loop), it never fails, someone in my family or a friend that I'm riding with will always say  "Wow look at downtown (referring to Uptown). It never fails. I would prefer them call it the Galleria instead of Downtown. I always point over to the East (direction of downtown) while its still visible from the freeway and tell them "That is downtown."

[por favor gracias]

1 hour ago, citykid09 said:

Coming into the city from the Bryan-College Station area (29 to the west loop), it never fails, someone in my family or a friend that I'm riding with will always say  "Wow look at downtown (referring to Uptown). It never fails. I would prefer them call it the Galleria instead of Downtown. I always point over to the East (direction of downtown) while its still visible from the freeway and tell them "That is downtown."

 

About eight or nine years ago, my mom came here from VA with her friend, who to my understanding had never left the Richmond, VA area his whole life (I think he's around 75 years old). My mom used to live here, so she knew about our multiple skylines, but I just remember that they stayed at the LaQuinta Inn on 610 near what is now the Amegy Bank building, and we were about to go to Ninfa's on Navigation. I remember her friend asking where it was, and when I told him it was near downtown, he looked around at all the buildings in the Galleria area and said "this isn't downtown??"

[enriquewx91]

15 hours ago, citykid09 said:

Coming into the city from the Bryan-College Station area (29 to the west loop), it never fails, someone in my family or a friend that I'm riding with will always say  "Wow look at downtown (referring to Uptown). It never fails. I would prefer them call it the Galleria instead of Downtown. I always point over to the East (direction of downtown) while its still visible from the freeway and tell them "That is downtown."

My family from Dallas don't travel to Houston often and to be fair they moved to Texas from California. They came in once and we went to a restaurant in the River Oaks area and they were telling us how they liked downtown Houston (we passed by Uptown not DT). I told them yeah that's not even downtown, I took them to downtown and they just said why do you need so many buildings! Dallas has nothing like this.

[htownbro]

15 hours ago, citykid09 said:

Coming into the city from the Bryan-College Station area (29 to the west loop), it never fails, someone in my family or a friend that I'm riding with will always say  "Wow look at downtown (referring to Uptown). It never fails. I would prefer them call it the Galleria instead of Downtown. I always point over to the East (direction of downtown) while its still visible from the freeway and tell them "That is downtown."

I think alot of visitors to Houston are confused about which skyline is downtown.  As the developments continue, it will get even more confusing for them. 

[Houston19514]

2 minutes ago, htownbro said:

I think alot of visitors to Houston are confused about which skyline is downtown.  As the developments continue, it will get even more confusing for them. 

 

Indeed.  I was driving inbound on the Southwest Freeway with a visitor last week when he spotted the Medical Center skyline. He commented, "oh there's downtown".  I said, "do you mean over there to the right?... no, that's the Medical Center."  He was dumbfounded and it took a bit to convince him we were talking about the same skyline.

[shasta]

We are developing more like an Asian city than an American one. We will have visible skyscraper nodes in many parts of the city.

[samagon]

On 1/9/2020 at 12:53 PM, LBC2HTX said:

It's not. The article is a piece on the office project on San Felipe between Arabella and Target. Only the bolded tidbit is in reference to The Allen. 

 

In any case, a pet-peeve of mine is when people to refer to Uptown as "The Galleria" (not that you did). The Galleria is a mall, not a district, much less one that extends to the other side of 610. 

 

uptown is a TIRZ. it was created in 1999.

 

the Galleria area is what it was called before the TIRZ existed, and I call it the Galleria area, but I know where someone is talking about when they say Uptown. 

 

there's really no reason you should be peeved by the colloquial names used for an area. if anything you should be peeved that someone's taxes went to some marketing department so they could spend it on a renaming convention. when someone calls it the Galleria area all it shows is that someone has lived in Houston for more than 20 years. 

 

As another example, I grew up in Alief, it will always be Alief, it will never be the International District, but I'll still know what you mean if you call it the International District.

Edited January 13, 2020 by samagon

[rechlin]

21 hours ago, samagon said:

the Galleria area is what it was called before the TIRZ existed, and I call it the Galleria area, but I know where someone is talking about when they say Uptown. 

 

And before it was called the Galleria Area, it was called the Magic Circle.

[cspwal]

My grandmother told me stories about going dove hunting as a kid out on Westheimer where they eventually built the Galleria

[Highrise Tower]

 

[hindesky]

[Highrise Tower]

 

[hindesky]

[Highrise Tower]

 

[Subdude]

On 1/13/2020 at 12:27 PM, samagon said:

 

uptown is a TIRZ. it was created in 1999.

 

the Galleria area is what it was called before the TIRZ existed, and I call it the Galleria area, but I know where someone is talking about when they say Uptown. 

 

there's really no reason you should be peeved by the colloquial names used for an area. if anything you should be peeved that someone's taxes went to some marketing department so they could spend it on a renaming convention. when someone calls it the Galleria area all it shows is that someone has lived in Houston for more than 20 years. 

 

As another example, I grew up in Alief, it will always be Alief, it will never be the International District, but I'll still know what you mean if you call it the International District.

 

Before the Galleria area was Uptown, "Uptown" was the area around Main and Holcombe, which was a rapidly growing part of the city.  There was kind of a line along Main St:  Downtown, Midtown and then Uptown.  

 

 

[dbigtex56]

On 1/14/2020 at 10:05 AM, cspwal said:

My grandmother told me stories about going dove hunting as a kid out on Westheimer where they eventually built the Galleria

One of the first people I met in Houston was Jay Hollyfield (of the Hollyfield Laundry/real estate family) who grew up on Westheimer. Their house was located where Sakowitz was built.
At that time, Westheimer was a dirt road west of Post Oak. Imagine that.