Texas Tower: Office Skyscraper At 845 Texas Ave.

[toxtethogrady]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:16 AM, Cheewyn said:

This gotta be the least Houston photo. Public transit and dense development?

So then why do all the Houston rap stars include Metro in all their videos of downtown?

On 3/25/2022 at 1:22 PM, ArtNsf said:

Such an amazing and beautiful addition to Downtown !  Thank you Hines Corp.  Have I also mentioned lately how much we really need a couple more SUPER tall skyscrapers again in Downtown Houston ?  Just thought I'd add that in there.

Have a great and beautiful weekend everyone !  

All we need is a couple of high-profile tenants in those high-rises and we'll be set...

[H-Town Man]

On 2/27/2022 at 4:19 PM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Cliché downtown skyline shot with Texas Tower and Brava's bad side. 

Cool shot. I still don't know how I feel about the diagonal orientation. It looks like it's photobombing the rest of the buildings.

[Brooklyn173]

[BEES?!]

Beautiful shots! I especially like the second one- was that taken from the bayou trails?

[Brooklyn173]

On the Bayou with a Buffalo Bayou Partnership cruise. A nice day, highly recommend it.

[toxtethogrady]

On 4/17/2022 at 11:14 PM, cityliving said:

So I guess the white line on 609 is like the black line on nylons?

[BEES?!]

19 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

On the Bayou with a Buffalo Bayou Partnership cruise. A nice day, highly recommend it.

I’ve seen that they’re offering them. They aren’t too expensive, are they? I may have to give one a go sometime!

[august948]

1 hour ago, BEES?! said:

I’ve seen that they’re offering them. They aren’t too expensive, are they? I may have to give one a go sometime!

 

Copied this from their website.  Looks like a once-a-month thing.

History Tours

Time: 10 – 11:30 am

Cost: $40 per person (children under 4 are not permitted on boat tours)

Weather permitting. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Look back at Houston’s history while cruising Buffalo Bayou with a local historian. Your guide will share stories of the Allen brothers and provide historical information about the people, places and events along the bayou that helped shape Houston.

Upcoming Tours

• June 4

 

EDIT:  Looks like I didn't scroll down far enough.  There are other tours of different lengths and prices.

https://buffalobayou.org/boat-tours/

Edited May 16, 2022 by august948

[Brooklyn173]

I've done a couple of cruises. The pix I posted were from the Port to Port cruise. About two hours. I forget how much it cost.

As an aside, and as a new comer to Houston with a small addiction to walking and boat tours, I am often surprised at how little the 'locals' know of downtown's history.

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, Brooklyn173 said:

I've done a couple of cruises. The pix I posted were from the Port to Port cruise. About two hours. I forget how much it cost.

As an aside, and as a new comer to Houston with a small addiction to walking and boat tours, I am often surprised at how little the 'locals' know of downtown's history.

I’m very often surprised at how little Houstonians know about their city; not just it’s history, but even what it currently offers.

[Brooklyn173]

I just got this link in an email for shorter - and less expensive - cruises. In case you just want to "test the waters" 🙂

https://buffalobayou.org/event/buffalo-bayou-boat-tours-3/2022-05-21/

Remember to share your pix.

[cityliving]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:08 PM, toxtethogrady said:

So I guess the white line on 609 is like the black line on nylons?

I don’t know why you are so obsessed with that building with the white line? 
I posted this pic of the Texas Tower because it’s what this post is about not about a white line on a building.

[j_cuevas713]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:09 AM, Houston19514 said:

I’m very often surprised at how little Houstonians know about their city; not just it’s history, but even what it currently offers.

Yep me too. People are always asking, "Where is this at?" And I'm like, do you not walk outside? lol

[HOUCAJUN]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:09 AM, Houston19514 said:

I’m very often surprised at how little Houstonians know about their city; not just it’s history, but even what it currently offers.

I know, yet they all have smart phones. I don't understand it.

[j_cuevas713]

I ultimately think it's because of our car-centric culture. Walking or riding a bike gives you an entirely different perspective of the city. That's when you discover the little hole in the wall places. When you're in a car, you only see what you perceive to be there, and so unless someone tells you something is there to see, nobody knows about it. Cycling has opened the city up to me personally. I have a much greater appreciation for Houston at a pedestrian level. 

[Houston19514]

5 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I ultimately think it's because of our car-centric culture. Walking or riding a bike gives you an entirely different perspective of the city. That's when you discover the little hole in the wall places. When you're in a car, you only see what you perceive to be there, and so unless someone tells you something is there to see, nobody knows about it. Cycling has opened the city up to me personally. I have a much greater appreciation for Houston at a pedestrian level. 

All true, but I think Houstonians' general ignorance of their city is fairly unique, while our car-centric culture is far from unique.  I blame the Chronicle.   (I'm only partly joking.)

[arche_757]

Of course we are talking about a city which has grown from a metro area of ~2.5 million to 7.2 million in 40 years?  So, just in my own life the metro area has grown by over 4million.  So 1/3 of folks here today were either born here or lived here back in the early 1980s.  The other 66% are either younger or moved here or both.

Also, people generally do not know much geography or history.

[Twinsanity02]

10 hours ago, arche_757 said:

Of course we are talking about a city which has grown from a metro area of ~2.5 million to 7.2 million in 40 years?  So, just in my own life the metro area has grown by over 4million.  So 1/3 of folks here today were either born here or lived here back in the early 1980s.  The other 66% are either younger or moved here or both.

Also, people generally do not know much geography or history.

Very true.  An example is what happened in the freeze of 2021. The last vivious freeze we had was in 1989 ( there was another one in 1983). By the time the Valentines day freeze of 2021 hit, a large number of people in the Houston MSA had either been too young to remember or had moved from regions where such low temperatures either do not happen or do nor pose a threat. Hence many people did not drain their pipes and we had a repeat of 1983.

[Ross]

31 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

Very true.  An example is what happened in the freeze of 2021. The last vivious freeze we had was in 1989 ( there was another one in 1983). By the time the Valentines day freeze of 2021 hit, a large number of people in the Houston MSA had either been too young to remember or had moved from regions where such low temperatures either do not happen or do nor pose a threat. Hence many people did not drain their pipes and we had a repeat of 1983.

I remember 1983 and 1989. 1983 was pretty bad. I had gone to stay with my parents in Katy, and the thermostat on my car failed in the open position. Nothing like changing a thermostat in 12 degree weather, with your hands getting wet. 1989 didn't seem nearly as bad.

[arche_757]

I remember very vividly the 1989 freeze.  I was still a child, and recall putting on this puffy ski jacket and those LaCrosse “waterproof” boots.  I quickly found out if you shuffle your feet into snow/ice those boots tend to lose some of their waterproofing by way of seams and shoe laces.

[ChannelTwoNews]

8 minutes ago, arche_757 said:

I remember very vividly the 1989 freeze.  I was still a child, and recall putting on this puffy ski jacket and those LaCrosse “waterproof” boots.  I quickly found out if you shuffle your feet into snow/ice those boots tend to lose some of their waterproofing by way of seams and shoe laces.

Definitely remember it. I was a really young kid then. We had to leave our house for a couple of days because the pipes burst, so we piled into the '78 Cougar XR-7 and slowly slid across town to Grandma's house and turned it into an excuse for a Christmas vacation. 

[freundb]

11 hours ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

so we piled into the '78 Cougar XR-7 

 

I was born in 86 so I missed out on a lot of the 70s and 80s "fun" cars but I had a couple family members and friends that had 80s cougars. I remember them all smelling the same lol

[por favor gracias]

On 5/11/2022 at 9:39 AM, H-Town Man said:

Cool shot. I still don't know how I feel about the diagonal orientation. It looks like it's photobombing the rest of the buildings.

Photobombing is the perfect word. From some views, it looks great...from others (this one in particular), I agree 100%.

I really like the view coming in from Memorial Dr now. This tower looks much more complimentary and you can still get a full view of 609 Main at a great angle. That's what I don't like about the view coming in from 45 North now. It's not this tower's best angle IMO, plus it completely photobombs 609 Main and ruins the chemistry that building had with the rest of the skyline from that angle.

That said, it's a great addition...and as you've also noted, I think they did a great job on the street level experience. I love walking around this whole area now. It's a sea change from even 5 years ago. It really looks terrific.

[H-Town Man]

On 5/20/2022 at 9:54 AM, Ross said:

I remember 1983 and 1989. 1983 was pretty bad. I had gone to stay with my parents in Katy, and the thermostat on my car failed in the open position. Nothing like changing a thermostat in 12 degree weather, with your hands getting wet. 1989 didn't seem nearly as bad.

If it failed open, I guess your car would have been ok, just taken a while for the engine to warm up.

 

On 5/20/2022 at 9:22 AM, Twinsanity02 said:

Very true.  An example is what happened in the freeze of 2021. The last vivious freeze we had was in 1989 ( there was another one in 1983). By the time the Valentines day freeze of 2021 hit, a large number of people in the Houston MSA had either been too young to remember or had moved from regions where such low temperatures either do not happen or do nor pose a threat. Hence many people did not drain their pipes and we had a repeat of 1983.

We had one in '86 where there was accumulated snow. I'm too young to remember '83, although I do remember Hurricane Alicia in '83.

 

[Ross]

9 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

If it failed open, I guess your car would have been ok, just taken a while for the engine to warm up.

 

We had one in '86 where there was accumulated snow. I'm too young to remember '83, although I do remember Hurricane Alicia in '83.

 

It never did warm up, even when I drove for an hour. That's why I replaced the thermostat. I also had to have the brakes bled, because the cold caused the brake fluid to shrink in volume, which somehow caused water in the fluid.

[editor]

On 5/19/2022 at 11:37 AM, Houston19514 said:

All true, but I think Houstonians' general ignorance of their city is fairly unique, while our car-centric culture is far from unique.  I blame the Chronicle.   (I'm only partly joking.)

I don't think it's all that unique.  I think it's just that a lot of people choose to exist in their own little worlds, no matter which city they live in.

When I lived in Chicago, I wrote about so many interesting bits of history and overlooked locations that I was interviewed about it on a local talk show.

The host asked me how I found so many things when people who have lived there their entire lives didn't.  I told him that there were two reasons.  First, I'm big and scary-looking, so I'm generally not afraid to wander down dark alleys and into places others would perceive as unsafe.  And second, because I walk a lot.  And when you walk, you see far more things than you do when you're in a car.

I first came across this notion when I was in high school.  Me and a bunch of friends cycled across Canada.  Because we were on our bikes, we saw so much that was missed by other tourists we met at the campgrounds.  They would whiz by in their RVs or Subarus and never see half of what we'd seen, even though we all came along the same road just hours before.

I believe the same difference exists between walking and cycling, too.  But I don't ride anymore, so I have no way to prove it.

[Texasota]

I don't think the difference between walking and cycling is anywhere near as pronounced, in part because you have nearly as much flexibility on a bike as you do on foot. If you see something interesting on a bike you can easily stop and go investigate, and it's a lot easier to catch something that could be interesting at 18mph than 35+.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Texasota

[cspwal]

I would agree that you'll notice almost as much biking as walking with one caveat - I am way less likely to take a random picture while biking compared to walking.  Hinedesky must have a bike mounted camera or something

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

"Cheniere Energy has leased 151,490 square-foot office space plus about 16,700 square feet of outdoor space at 845 Texas Avenue."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Cheniere-Energy-to-move-global-headquarters-to-17269530.php