Why Is Uptown So Much Better Looking Than Downtown?

[arche_757]

Makes sense - downtown Houston, Mannhatten, anywhere - were the first to develop. The first to have highrises, the first to be hit by any economic downturn as well. Uptown is new - because its just that new. The buildings are sterile and the streets conjested (since access and planing didnt ever phase into uptown's street grid). Downtown's new office buildings may be sterile to but, the density and the ability to walk past historic properties that are perhaps a little more colorful add to the whole experience. I for one cant stand the conjestion in uptown and find myself always asking why am I here? Uptown isnt better looking - regardless of the manicured lawns that are private and the acres of parking lots.

From a distance uptown is complimentary(not architecturally speaking) of downtown as the two are bookends that embrace the rest of the city (as far as Im concerned) and shelter it from the more hostile suburban praire that permiates the land beyond. Sadly uptown isnt exactly getting better - as traffic has gotten worse with little consideration to alternative transportation, public space, or amenities like playhouses, sports parks for children ect... the glistening residential highrises are if anything only helping to pollute the tolerable but sterile uptown skyline with urban clutter (save the nice buildings that Zeigler Cooper designed). Hopefully Uptown officials can negotiate with METRO to include a rail option downt Post Oak road - and mandate the design of public space that can help shape this "Second City" into a more livable and lovable space. Because as it stands Uptown is about as souless as Westchase or I-10, except the shopping is slightly more condensed and the buildings are taller.

[eelimon]

It's funny. Downtown Manhattan is kind of in the same boat as downtown Houston. They are trying to compete with the rest of the island for new housing and retail. If it's happening in New York...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think in about 20 yrs we will be having this conversation about WestChase and the Galleria

[ldogg]

I'd like to see Uptown get a little monorail loop... something simple not unlike the People Mover in Detroit... just a loop from the shops where Champps is down Post Oak to the Galleria and back down the other side of Post Oak... this would relieve a lot of the congestion as you'd be able to park at any store/area you want and still hit all the shops... the most asinine thing about the area is that you park at the Galleria.. then wind up getting back in your car to drive over to Oshman's/Storehouse, then back in the car again to head over to Marshalls/Old Navy... then once again to hit up the stores/restaurants around Champps... (don't know the formal name for this shopping center)...

[editor]

I'd like to see Uptown get a little monorail loop... something simple not unlike the People Mover in Detroit... just a loop from the shops where Champps is down Post Oak to the Galleria and back down the other side of Post Oak... this would relieve a lot of the congestion as you'd be able to park at any store/area you want and still hit all the shops... the most asinine thing about the area is that you park at the Galleria.. then wind up getting back in your car to drive over to Oshman's/Storehouse, then back in the car again to head over to Marshalls/Old Navy... then once again to hit up the stores/restaurants around Champps... (don't know the formal name for this shopping center)...

Didn't they have a trolley that did this? I think it was like $1 a ride or something. I never used it because it only operated at lunchtime to move office workers to the restaurants and back.

[MiDTOWNeR]

How many cites can have the "we have too many downtowns" argument?

Not many.

Just doesn't miss a beat with the "on the bright side" when talking about this town.

[supkof]

Does anyone have, or know where I can see, pictures of uptown so I can compare for myself?

I love Houston, but I'm 4 hours away so I can't exactly go see for myself this weekend.

[eelimon]

Does anyone have, or know where I can see, pictures of uptown so I can compare for myself?

I love Houston, but I'm 4 hours away so I can't exactly go see for myself this weekend.

Houton Photos

[Montrose1100]

I'm glad we don't have both combined into one "Downtown" or one "Uptown". Think of the traffic then!

Downtown:

Theatre District

Light Rail

Beautiful foutains

Buffalo Bayou

More "Urban"

The Observation deck/s

Great Nightlife

Sport Venues

More Skyscrapers

History

Uptown:

Galleria

Uptown Park

Boulevard Place

Beautiful street scapes

High Population

Alot of A Office Space

More "Suburban"

Alot of Hotels

[tierwestah]

I'm glad we don't have both combined into one "Downtown" or one "Uptown". Think of the traffic then!

Uptown:

Boulevard Place

didn't someone on this forum say that Boulevard Place was only going to be a shopping center? But how can you even list that place when it doesn't even exist yet?

[zebra]

uptown houston is taking off with new developmints such as the granduca hotel and loft expansion. I have some family coming in from South Dakota in 2 weeks. I'm going to show them around Uptown and keep them away from doWNton. I agree, aside from the lack of urBAN/pedstrian vibe in Uptown, Uptown gives a better overall impresion than downton

downtown needs better lighting for one thing, iTS toO dark. Downtown haS plnty of resteraunts. But a visitor travling would never know because there's hardly any commercial signage to let people know the places exist. I think that is the dumbist rule where downtown restricts commercial signage on buildings. For example, The Benihana japaneze resteruant downtown is shown in tiny letters, i would have never known there was downtown if i wasnt looking 4 it specificly. I just happnd to see it in the phonebook and decided to go to that one instead of the one off Westimer.

Edited September 9, 2006 by zebra

[pwright1]

...and that's reason enough for staying out of Uptown Houston!

The Galleria is for people with more $$$ than sense.

Please, though it has many upscale stores there are plenty of stores for us regular folks. You can even get some Popeye's Fried Chicken there.

[houstonfella]

Uptown is the ritzy area. It has lots of $$$ highrise condos, hotels and of course one of the largest shopping meccas in the US, The Galleria. But I prefer working downtown. Downtown is still the king. You can live in Midtown or downtown and use the rail or walk and get to things. The sports venues are there; Reliant Park is only a train ride away. Downtown has come back from the dead. This began with the Rice Hotel renovation. Lots of people I work with live there. Now a beautiful park is being constructed along with a new 37-story awesome highrise. Houston Pavilions, mixed use with condos, retail, House of Blues, Lucky Strike, and a very 21st Century design will make it the place to be. The Galleria is still growing with Turnberry looking at constructing a new 42 story luxury highrise next to the Water Wall. There is a lot to be said for having two large business districts in one city. It impresses visitors. I take them to the 60th floor sky lobby at Chase Tower and they ask: what city is that? And they are pointing to the Galleria. Then I explain that Houston is B-I-G.

[Pumapayam]

Then I explain that Houston is B-I-G.

That along with the above statement about summarizes it.

[houstonfella]

Please, though it has many upscale stores there are plenty of stores for us regular folks. You can even get some Popeye's Fried Chicken there.

And downtown also has a Popeye's Fried Chicken close to Macy's.

[WesternGulf]

Also, it is not uncommon for a middle aged man to be older than everything in Uptown.

[The Great Hizzy!]

LOL

So true.

[shinoda28107]

Uptown is the ritzy area. It has lots of $$$ highrise condos, hotels and of course one of the largest shopping meccas in the US, The Galleria. But I prefer working downtown. Downtown is still the king. You can live in Midtown or downtown and use the rail or walk and get to things. The sports venues are there; Reliant Park is only a train ride away. Downtown has come back from the dead. This began with the Rice Hotel renovation. Lots of people I work with live there. Now a beautiful park is being constructed along with a new 37-story awesome highrise. Houston Pavilions, mixed use with condos, retail, House of Blues, Lucky Strike, and a very 21st Century design will make it the place to be. The Galleria is still growing with Turnberry looking at constructing a new 42 story luxury highrise next to the Water Wall. There is a lot to be said for having two large business districts in one city. It impresses visitors. I take them to the 60th floor sky lobby at Chase Tower and they ask: what city is that? And they are pointing to the Galleria. Then I explain that Houston is B-I-G.

I have an older cousin from the DFW area that was here in Houston during Thanksgiving. He wanted me to show him around the city. As we traveled around, he looked at our skyline in awe "This is your downtown?". He was impressed. I had to then tell him that what he was looking at was our Uptown skyline as seen from the 290/610 merger.

I then took him down Westheimer before going down Memorial into downtown...imagine his reaction then.

It's funny because while he was traveling down I-45 into Houston, he also told me that he was caught off gaurd by a random skyscraper sticking out of the Woodlands. I told him "Just wait until you see TMC and our many other skylines".

I just love showing people around town!

[Pumapayam]

It's funny because while he was traveling down I-45 into Houston, he also told me that he was caught off gaurd by a random skyscraper sticking out of the Woodlands. I told him "Just wait until you see TMC and our many other skylines".

Houston is all about "Edge Cities"!

[houstonmacbro]

Is it just me or does Uptown look better than downtown? The buildings are newer and there are more upscale shops. Everything looks crisp and clean, almost like a miniature downtown Dallas. They have commericial signage on the top of buildings, which looks good at night. The infrastructure, roads, overhead street signs and freeways are better as well, which helps give it more appeal than our city center. And not to mention, the residential population is like 10X larger than that of downtown which gives it more of a vibrant feel.

What do you think the deal is? Do you think downtown Houston doesn't have the money than Uptown Houston has to keep better roads, cleaner and renewing of buildings? Just something that i've always wondered about because aside from the skyline and Main Street, i think Uptown Houston should be Houston's downtown.

it's a heck of a lot newer overall and it had some sort of plan. downtown is just now really starting to plan for it's current and future development.

Edited December 14, 2006 by houstonmacbro

[rantanamo]

Surprising someone from the Dallas area would be surprised by multiple skylines as they are all over Dallas and DFW.

[shinoda28107]

Surprising someone from the Dallas area would be surprised by multiple skylines as they are all over Dallas and DFW.

I would have thought so. But he was mostly impressed with Uptownbeing as large as it is. Plus, he spends his time in Western Forth Worth.

[worldlyman]

If Uptown had the same building density, with the wide sidewalks, pedestrian activity and all, as downtown...man, that would be sum'thang! But the pedestrianism around Dillards and the waterfall is better than nothing though.

As it is, the Galleria is a bumping place for a type of diversion, while downtown fills the need for another.

I loved partying at the Roxy...and back in the late 90s, I just loved the driveway to that restaurant Chianti's with the attached Martini Bar. Party times back in that day. Then nocturnal downtown Houston happened...

[kennyc05]

Uptown! 

[Montrose1100]

To answer the original question, BECAUSE I live there.

[Sunstar]

A little dumpster diving, eh?

[monarch]

^^^ spring 2017 has definitely sprung....

[bobruss]

I think both are uniquely fascinating. 

Downtown has the historic district, Buffalo bayou, the street grid and rail, and the largesse of being first with it's clusters of skyscrapers.

It has towers from the twenties all the way to tomorrow with the new 609 Main.

It has the theater district, city hall, the courts, the convention center with parks and recreation areas and now a very large residential segment.

It's much easier to get around downtown and lends itself to mobility and pedestrian needs, and with the new initiative to redo downtown and improve the atmosphere I believe that it will become even more popular.

Uptown is new shiny and full of opportunities for shopping and commerce, but unfortunately it was not laid out in the most affective away to promote pedestrian access, and mobility is a major issue. Lets face it everything is so spread out 99% of shoppers are not going to walk very far to shop and carry packages around, even in the best of weather.

I like both for what they bring to the table but to pit one against the other is like comparing apples and oranges. I think both have their pluses and their minuses. I'm an old guy who prefers the original and hope that it remains the center of Houston.

Uptown, actually the galleria, wasn't even here in 1960. So obviously it looks shinier and more modern. There isn't a building in Uptown older than 50 years. 

I think the second best skyline in Houston is definitely TMC, if only for it compactness, or density and its wonderful grouping of nice architecture with nice lighting. It also takes advantage of the rail something that the merchants of post oak don't want to come to grips with.

 

[The Pragmatist]

I'm just wondering when or if the strip centers lining Post Oak will be redeveloped. Around 50 acres of land comprise the combination of the strip center containing Grand Lux (along with the Ethan Allen one), the one containing Kenny & Ziggy's, the one with Masraff's, and plot containing Dillard's, the Shell, and Zone d'Erotica.

[gene]

i am guessing something will be happening to almost all of the things you mention once this project is completed... https://theboulevardproject.com/

 

[bobruss]

It seems to me that at some point the property values will define their future, but I'm sure that SWTSIG could tell us about the long term lease arrangements with these tenants and if they are beginning to possibly shorten the new leases or if that has even come up yet. 

You would think that at some point there would be a tipping point and it wouldn't be feasible to be paying for such big open expanses of asphalt and one story retail. I am beginning to think that we are on the cusp of a major revolution in the retail business and not to be a doomsdayer but I think more and more retail stores are going to close in favor of internet sales. 

Look at Neiman Marcus. They have had three quarters of losses and are looking for someone to buy them.