Htowngirl Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 That's another problem. Too many "downtown organizations", each with their own agenda.Amen.They also will start one up, only for it peter out.Just to name a few...http://deda.org/ [pretty decent, but I think only "paying members" get mentioned on their website]http://www.houstontx.gov/ [the gov't website that SHOULD be the place to go]http://www.centralhouston.org/ http://www.visithouston.org/ [gone]http://www.uptown-houston.com/ http://www.houston-intown.com/http://houstonbeat.com/And there's also the publications' websites that have potential of being a "central location"... but I really think it needs some City Of Houston participation to really work as a central website. http://houstonscenemagazine2.com/002mag.combarstoolmag.comhttp://envyhouston.com/Right now I think that citysearch is probably the best thing we've got... and they definitely have an "agenda."What I would LOVE is to see a website like this for downtown:San Diego Gaslamp District. Look at this map. How awesome would that be for downtown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Don't forget the Downtown Managment District ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 i was just wondering, did they stop the lighting of the reliant energy building at night? (The building that changes colors). I've driven through downtown at night and notice it hasn't been lit lately. It's a shame, because the christmas lit buildings never miss a night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 My wife and I were headed for Vegas from NY when we were grounded in Dallas due to high winds last Saturday. A third of the flights had been cancelled so no Vegas flight till late Monday. We decided to rent a car and visit the folks and siblings in Houston instead.Had to stop at Walmart to buy a new wardrobe, our luggage managed to get a flight to Vegas, no problem.Anyway, we parked at Herman Park last Tuesday, and rode the light rail Downtown and walked around. I worked downtown in the early 80s (Superior Oil) when it was a hustle and bustle place, lots of traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, but now it was quite quiet. Obviously, Main Street diverts vehicle traffic away, but why so few people walking around. This was around 2:30 in the afternoon. Except for the former Foley's (now Macey's) there doesn't seem to be much shopping, but I saw several restaurants, though, that weren't around in my day. In the old days, downtown didn't roll up it's sidewalks till after 6.Anyway, took a look at the former Rice Hotel Lobby which was cool, and noted all the new court buildings and general cleaner look up that way, which used to be quite scuzzy back in the 80s. I'm assuming it's not usually so quiet during the week, that something was up that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Had to stop at Walmart to buy a new wardrobe, our luggage managed to get a flight to Vegas, no problem. Did you really HAVE too support Wal-mart?. You could have at least hit a Marshall's or TJmaxx, or maybe Target; don't support that rubbish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. Gee, I have no idea why it was so quiet. Lunchtime was over, perhaps? People were at work, as opposed to posing on the sidewalks and street corners for you and your wife?Come on, dude. Of COURSE it was quiet at 2:30. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I worked downtown in the early 80s (Superior Oil) when it was a hustle and bustle place, lots of traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, but now it was quite quiet.Definately DT activity is quieter now, you should have gone to Rice Village, that is pedestrian traffic for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Definately DT activity is quieter now.You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. What were you, about 2 years old in 1983? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 i just got back from chicago (loud and busy all of the time) - coming back to home, it was serene and peaceful - obviously downtown isn't dead, but we sure do have an interesting street scene for a "large" city Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. What were you, about 2 years old in 1983?5 actually LOL, but you don't need to be there to know what it was like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Of COURSE it was quiet at 2:30.That is not exactly an 'of course' or given. Especially for someone who was just returning after years of being in downtown and hearing about all the progress. 2:30 in any other downtown would still usually be peak hours. To be fair we still have a bustling tunnel system unfortunately, our retail for the most part is still confined to the lunch crowd, and don't expect Downtown's 3000-4000 residents to jam pack the streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 5 actually LOL, but you don't need to be there to know what it was like.I was there in 1983, and I am there now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 That is not exactly an 'of course' or given. Especially for someone who was just returning after years of being in downtown and hearing about all the progress. 2:30 in any other downtown would still usually be peak hours. To be fair we still have a bustling tunnel system unfortunately, our retail for the most part is still confined to the lunch crowd, and don't expect Downtown's 3000-4000 residents to jam pack the streets.True, and the skywalks don't help much to make the sidewalks more lively either, like ants in tunnels we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Come on, dude. Of COURSE it was quiet at 2:30.Hey, maybe people don't smoke anymore, in early 80s you had more people standing outside building entrances taking a smoke break than were walking Main Street in '07. Main Street wasn't always quiet at 2:30, people coming in and out banks, Woolworths, Palis Royal, coffee shops, video arcades, newstands, hopping on and off busses, running all kinds of errands the couple hours before rush hour.I guess what I was looking for was did light rail kill Main Street, or did the business that derserted Main Street stiffle it, fewer people work downtown now, or had the hub bub of downtown shifted away from Main to somewhere else? Between 1966 and 1985, Main Street was always busy before 6:00 pm. Something happened since then, I was curious what it was.I live in a town of 50,000 people and our main street is busier at 2:30 than Houston's, but we don't have the Galleria, (actually we do have "a" Galleria) Greenway and dozens and dozens of other retail centers and office parks to syphon off traffic from our downtown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feufoma Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Maybe people are actually working instead of milling about? I've always found that interesting when you see so many people out on the road and or streets during business hours. Get a job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. What were you, about 2 years old in 1983?Yeah he was crawling around lookin for the nearest jumbotron to watch the smurfs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Did you really HAVE too support Wal-mart?. You could have at least hit a Marshall's or TJmaxx, or maybe Target; don't support that rubbish! Funny you should say that, my wife and I don't shop at Walmart at home, and both had just read the book "The Walmart Effect." We even mentioned should we look for somewhere else, but when you are in a totally strange city, Dallas in this instance, and have been in flight or airports for 14 hours, and need 2 or 3 changes of everything (socks, shorts, pants, shirt), plus toothbrushes, paste, etc. and a duffle bag to carry it in, there literally is no place like WalMart. Starving, and needing to find a hotel, I'm afraid I wasn't thinking about the children in sweatshops who probably made a dime that day making my shorts, or that the couple pairs of Levi's I bought were made of inferior denim, and had a cheap slide fastener, instead of a snap, and the belt loops are probably going to pull away in a couple months. I needed cheap and quick, and that's what Walmart is at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night, near DFW. At home, I do most of my shopping online, and if I have to go to a store, it's Target, Home Depot, Whole Foods, anywhere but Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Maybe people are actually working instead of milling about? I've always found that interesting when you see so many people out on the road and or streets during business hours. Get a job...No, thanks. My wife has one. But seriously folks . . . not everybody works the same schedule, night shift, or afternoon shift change, 4 10-hour days with 3 days off, etc. And some folks' job is being on the street, delivery, repair, etc.. Shoot, people take lunch starting from 11:00am to as late as 2:30 in the afternoon. Add in retired folks, tourists, people taking a couple day off, stay at home mom's (yes, there are still a few around) and part-time workers, you have have a bit of a crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I needed cheap and quick, and that's what Walmart is at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night, near DFW. yep - walmart is reserved for "oh ____!" situations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webdude Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 (edited) Maybe people are actually working instead of milling about? I've always found that interesting when you see so many people out on the road and or streets during business hours. Get a job...Not everyone works a M-F 9-5 kind of job.For comparable sized cities, houston downtown is very very quiet.Maybe its because other comparable cities has some tourist element built in. Edited March 1, 2007 by webdude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 houston downtown is very very quiet.But the other downtown (Uptown) is booming during the day.The 50K of us downtown keep our noses to the grindstone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webdude Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 But the other downtown (Uptown) is booming during the day.The 50K of us downtown keep our noses to the grindstone.Or they could be in their offices surfing the web and visiting forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian De La Ghetto! Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Downtown ped traffic usually is from 6-9 (get to work) , 11-2ish (lunch) , then 3-6 (go home). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Or they could be in their offices surfing the web and visiting forums.And getting rich all the while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 At home, I do most of my shopping online, and if I have to go to a store, it's Target, Home Depot, Whole Foods, anywhere but Walmart. I will let it slide this one time. Or they could be in their offices surfing the web and visiting forums. No me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Or they could be in their offices surfing the web and visiting forums.Dang, that's what different, the internet was in it's infancy in the 80s, people had to physically sneak out of their jobs to do fun things. Now, they can just sit at their desk and do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 While working in DTfor over 16 years we always stayed underground, air conditioning and hardly any desperate homeless folks to bother us. Was well worth it. Evenings are becoming even more desolate, people hear horror stories of the rail crashes, being ticketed for jay-walking, extreme homeless people that won't take no for an answer, auto getting towed and being taken in for Public Intoxication just for exiting a club. I don't blame them at all. Television news did a big story last weekend on how the nightclub/restaraunt scene is fizzling out. Sorry all don't mean to sound so dismall just quoting everyday stories and local news. I'm wearing my helmet so start the pelting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I'd imagine the DT employee population is greater than 50K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Hey, maybe people don't smoke anymore, in early 80s you had more people standing outside building entrances taking a smoke break than were walking Main Street in '07.Have to respectfully disagree with that observation. In the early 80s (indeed, until the mid-90s) smoking was permitted in most office buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I'd imagine the DT employee population is greater than 50K.I was thiking the same thing. The Medical Center has more than that. Isn't it about triple that #? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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