Almeda Road The New Entertainment District?

[Subdude]

This was from a few weeks ago.

“Washington ave is already done. . . . Whats next you ask….Almeda (59 to med center)….two bars opening right now and four more planned on the way. Wide streets, lots of empty places to park, a community who wants the crowd and can handle it better than wash or mid town. The two bars that are going in are building out in empty spaces right now but more on the way with some new buildings planned.

Swamplot link

To me it is astounding that Houston has this endless cycle of bars migrating en massefrom one neighborhood to another. Richmond strip to Shepherd Plaza to Downtown to Washington Ave to Almeda. Do other cities have anything remotely like this? I should imagine the residents around Washington Ave will be thrilled to see the "scene" move.

[houstonmacbro]

This was from a few weeks ago.

Swamplot link

To me it is astounding that Houston has this endless cycle of bars migrating en massefrom one neighborhood to another. Richmond strip to Shepherd Plaza to Downtown to Washington Ave to Almeda. Do other cities have anything remotely like this? I should imagine the residents around Washington Ave will be thrilled to see the "scene" move.

It's because we have all this space. In other cities (like Washington, DC for instance) there are not that many places for new 'hot spots' to migrate too. Georgetown, Adams Morgan, or U Street. It's pretty confined.

Here, you can keep expanding inside the city in an almost endless choice.

[TheNiche]

It's because we have all this space. In other cities (like Washington, DC for instance) there are not that many places for new 'hot spots' to migrate too. Georgetown, Adams Morgan, or U Street. It's pretty confined.

Here, you can keep expanding inside the city in an almost endless choice.

Bear in mind, the political boundaries of Washington D.C are 68 square miles; Houston's inner loop is 97 square miles. Yet, I suspect that the number of plausible bar migration locations may as well be confined to 68 miles, even if you lump in the Uptown area.

...in the end, though, this analysis is meaningless. People and bars can and do exist outside of municipal boundaries and freeway loops.

[AtticaFlinch]

People and bars can and do exist outside of municipal boundaries and freeway loops.

I haven't seen a bar since I moved out to the 'burbs. All we've got up here are churches, TGIFriday's and more churches.

[ToryGattis]

I suspect pretty strict zoning codes constrain 'entertainment/nightlife districts' in other cities. Not in Houston, so we have these odd cycles of migration. I guess once a place is too hot, it's too expensive and the new ones migrate somewhere cheaper. I was disappointed they were somewhat driven out of downtown (via strict noise and other enforcements). That was the logical place. Plenty of parking and relatively few residents to bother (and the ones that are there probably want the street life).

[ricco67]

Well, there will always be a washington strip, midtown, and other entertainment areas, they all have enough "local" population enough to support a good local bar scene for those areas. Will all the bars survive? Doubtful, but there will be more in the future then there was even 5 years ago.

[RedScare]

I suspect pretty strict zoning codes constrain 'entertainment/nightlife districts' in other cities. Not in Houston, so we have these odd cycles of migration. I guess once a place is too hot, it's too expensive and the new ones migrate somewhere cheaper. I was disappointed they were somewhat driven out of downtown (via strict noise and other enforcements). That was the logical place. Plenty of parking and relatively few residents to bother (and the ones that are there probably want the street life).

I am unaware of a single nightclub leaving downtown due to noise and other ordinances. Could you name a few that you know of?

[JLWM8609]

This will be interesting. I wonder if the new clubs and bars will cater more to the urban professional set given Almeda's proximity to Riverside Terrace? We can only hope that this area doesn't adopt some name like AlmSo (Almeda/Southmore) to attract the d-bag set. That's the last thing Third Ward needs.

[Subdude]

I suspect pretty strict zoning codes constrain 'entertainment/nightlife districts' in other cities. Not in Houston, so we have these odd cycles of migration. I guess once a place is too hot, it's too expensive and the new ones migrate somewhere cheaper. I was disappointed they were somewhat driven out of downtown (via strict noise and other enforcements). That was the logical place. Plenty of parking and relatively few residents to bother (and the ones that are there probably want the street life).

I think that is true, that other cities may have areas with heavy concentrations of clubs, but zoning provides a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from the sort of roaming entertainment district thing that Houston has developed. I also agree that if there needs to be an area dominated by bars that downtown made sense. But were they driven out of downtown? I wasn't aware of that. My assumption was really that it came to be seen as old news compared to Washington Ave.

Was it always like this in Houston? I know that Market Square was the hot place back in the 1960s, but were there other bar clusters prior to Richmond strip?

[RedScare]

I think that is true, that other cities may have areas with heavy concentrations of clubs, but zoning provides a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from the sort of roaming entertainment district thing that Houston has developed. I also agree that if there needs to be an area dominated by bars that downtown made sense. But were they driven out of downtown? I wasn't aware of that. My assumption was really that it came to be seen as old news compared to Washington Ave.

Was it always like this in Houston? I know that Market Square was the hot place back in the 1960s, but were there other bar clusters prior to Richmond strip?

While it may be true, there has been no evidence provided to even suggest it, making the suggestion that zoning prevents roving bar districts in other cities nothing more than rank speculation. In fact, there has not even been anecdotal evidence provided that other cities do not have roving bar districts. Perhaps a little history may help. In the 1970s, many of the larger bars located on Westheimer Road. Over time, they closed down as new ones sprouted on Richmond, only one major street south of Westheimer. The general Westheimer/Richmond strip lasted well into the 1990s. For a short period of time, Shepherd Plaza was hot in the 90s. By the late 90s, the 'scene' had moved downtown. While it is past its prime, some of it still exists today, mostly populated with hip-hop style clubs. Some larger venues needing lower rents popped up in old Chinatown. As Midtown grew from 2,000 poor residents to 25,000 young professionals, the bar and restaurant scene followed. The trendier nightclubs found a home on Washington. This is where we find the scene today. A closer inspection might show that, far from zoning restrictions or noise ordinances, what really happened is that the inner loop became attractive to young upper middle class whites again, and that the 80s and 90s trend of super clubs...very large venues with large parking requirements...died out. The super clubs worked well in the suburban style Westheimer/Richmond area. As smaller and more urban clubs came into vogue, the bar owners simply moved to where the people were, Downtown for awhile, but more permanently and conveniently, in Midtown, and later, Washington Avenue.

The reality is that Houston has only had perhaps 3 club districts in the last 40 years, Westheimer/Richmond from the 70s through the 90s, Downtown from 97 through the mid-2000s, and Washington Avenue from the mid-2000s to today. Midtown has always been a more subdued collection of bars and restaurants serving the immediate neighborhoods, and old Chinatown has never had more than 3 or 4 bars and clubs.

Now, let's look at a city with zoning, Dallas. Just like Houston, Dallas went through the super club era, with numerous large venues up around Northwest Highway. Large buildings with large parking lots in the near suburbs was the norm in the 70s and 80s. Like Houston, that gave way to Greenville Avenue with its smaller venues, though there is some overlap with the 2 districts in the 80s. In the mid-80s, West End Marketplace popped up in downtown, but it, like Houston downtown, was only a 'scene' for less than 10 years, before it became a tourist trap. Deep Ellum became the rage in the late 80s and 90s. Now, Uptown/McKinney Ave. is all the rage. West End and Victory have not disappeared, but are not the 'scene'.

Overall, there have been perhaps 4 club districts in Dallas over the last 40 years, and a 5th that tried. Houston has had 3, with 2 others that tried. One city has zoning, the other doesn't. Zoning is an easy copout, both for proponents and opponents. A closer look shows that zoning/lack of has no impact. All of Houston's club districts would have allowed the bars if zoning had been in place, as the bars located on major streets in retail or commercials districts.

All that being said, Almeda is not a new club district. 2 bars does not a scene make.

[AtticaFlinch]

Personally, I can't stand a "scene". If a city has a concentrated bar scene like a Bourbon Street, Beale Street or Sixth Street, that's an area I'll go out of my way to avoid. They're full of too many people, most of which are the garden variety douchebags who have a tendency to ruin many a good time, and the drinks and covers are overpriced. The day I pay six bucks for a warm PBR is the day AtticaFlinch is ready for the straight jacket.

My preference is for a neighborhood bar, the kind of place with regulars, the kind of place that doesn't need bouncers and is conspicuously free of popped collars.