Native Montrosian Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 A lot of us could utter a general "Told ya so!" at this point, but there would be no satisfaction in it. I had fervently hoped that Weingarten Realty would surprise everyone. I have no idea what I must have been smoking when I thought that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnmcbarnacle Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 A lot of us could utter a general "Told ya so!" at this point, but there would be no satisfaction in it. I had fervently hoped that Weingarten Realty would surprise everyone. I have no idea what I must have been smoking when I thought that. An article about bookstop closing and moving to the new building. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/heights/news/6558890.html After stating that they have no plans to redo anything else and are fine with the status quo, the Weingarten rep delivers this gem... “We're very healthy there and very excited about what's going on there,” Harvey said. “If you disregard the new development section, almost every space in the shopping center is taken.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Tragedy. I adore that Bookstop. It was truly a very unique concept and the layout is just perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 From the article:The decision is less about sales than about offering more at the new store."We're able to add a full range of services that we couldn't retrofit into an old building like this."Is this a joke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Sales are great. Time for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 The new store brings more books, music and DVD sections, an expanded children's area and a full-service Barnes & Noble CaféThey are bringing a coffeeshop. To the notorious West Gray and Shepherd corner with a Starbucks across from the Starbucks. What is wrong with these people?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 But Barnes & Noble has outgrown the Bookstop store, which it acquired in the early 1990s, he said. “Operationally, it doesn't bear much resemblance to what we usually have,” he said. That's precisely why it was a fun place to shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 ^Exactly. And isn't there a coffee shop (or coffee-something) still on the mezzanine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I drove by yesterday... I really like the way it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Oh good grief. Did the Chronicle just have Weingarten's PR department write the article for them? The new store brings more books, music and DVD sections, an expanded children's area and a full-service Barnes & Noble Café to the well-heeled neighborhoods that surround it.Manager Jacques Oppinger, a native of the Inner Loop community, envisions a shared customer base and media tie-ins with the neighboring River Oaks Theater.“Operationally, it doesn't bear much resemblance to what we usually have,” he said.“The decision is less about sales than about offering more at the new store.“We're able to add a full range of services that we couldn't retrofit into an old building like this.”What exactly are the "new services" that weren't in the old Bookstop? This is really a shame, because old movie theaters are extremely difficult to redevelop and keep their historic character. Even if the structure itself survives it is unlikely to end up resembling anything like it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnmcbarnacle Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Oh good grief. Did the Chronicle just have Weingarten's PR department write the article for them? What exactly are the "new services" that weren't in the old Bookstop? This is really a shame, because old movie theaters are extremely difficult to redevelop and keep their historic character. Even if the structure itself survives it is unlikely to end up resembling anything like it is now.For those of us keeping score at home, it looks like they took a building that was near 100% occupancy, and replaced it with a building that they can't get filled up. Suffice to say the plans for the rest of the center are on a long hold. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 The new store brings more books, music and DVD sections, an expanded children's area and a full-service Barnes & Noble CaféThey are bringing a coffeeshop. To the notorious West Gray and Shepherd corner with a Starbucks across from the Starbucks. What is wrong with these people??Louis Black did an entire bit on those particular Starbucks being across from each other. Adding a coffee shop to the Barnes & Noble just makes it more comical. For those of us keeping score at home, it looks like they took a building that was near 100% occupancy, and replaced it with a building that they can't get filled up. Suffice to say the plans for the rest of the center are on a long hold.Maybe there's a lesson here about greed and brazen disregard to the pleas of the communities in which you operate. And maybe fewer people (myself included) will patronize those shops out of spite for Weingarten and their decimation of a local landmark. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Louis Black did an entire bit on those particular Starbucks being across from each other. Adding a coffee shop to the Barnes & Noble just makes it more comical. Yeah a picture of the intersection is on the front of the album for that CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 All Weingarten did is chase away good tenants.I just hope that Alamo Drafthouse gets into the former Bookstop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 All Weingarten did is chase away good tenants.I just hope that Alamo Drafthouse gets into the former Bookstop.Are they trying to? Because they really need an inner loop location. I don't know what they were thinking with their placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnmcbarnacle Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Are they trying to? Because they really need an inner loop location. I don't know what they were thinking with their placement.I had alway heard early on that they weren't in the loop simply because the rents were too high for them. This would certainly provide them with a great opportunit to jump in but I wonder if their business model can work with a single screen? I'd love to see this place turn back into a real theatre of some kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I think coming from Austin they probably thought that they could put a hip theater in any part of town, but Houston doesn't really work the same way.And yeah, I doubt one screen would work for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 The new store brings more books, music and DVD sections, an expanded children's area and a full-service Barnes & Noble CaféThey are bringing a coffeeshop. To the notorious West Gray and Shepherd corner with a Starbucks across from the Starbucks. What is wrong with these people??Lol...it's the end of the universe times three...http://comedians.com...of-the-universeOf course, the real end of the universe must exist on the corner of Post Oak and Westheimer where, if we count the Starbucks in the Galleria (at least 2 that I can think of), you have FOUR on one corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggity Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Turns out that they're making the theater move out and replacing it with a combination Gap/Starbucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Turns out that they're making the theater move out and replacing it with a combination Gap/Starbucks.Noooooooooooooooo.......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I heard that the Bookstop on Shepherd is now closed (and Barnes & Noble open). Too bad. For many years that was the best bookstore in Houston, and certainly one of the best re-uses of an old theater anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 An update from the GHPA - River Oaks Shopping Center changes compromise Art Deco designWeingarten Realty Investors is installing corner turrets, taller parapets, sandstone elements and larger signs on the historic River Oaks Shopping Center (1937, 1948) on West Gray at South Shepherd. The alterations, pictured above, are changing the profile of the Art Deco landmark and compromising its low, streamlined design. The work is being carried out on all of the historic buildings in the center except the River Oaks Theater (1939). In 2007, Weingarten Realty demolished one of the distinctive curved sections of the original shopping center. The extended height, new signs and, particularly, the sandstone detailing are in keeping with the appearance of the new Barnes & Noble wing built on the site of the demolished historic building. River Oaks Shopping Center is a designated City of Houston historic landmark. Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission denied a Certificate of Appropriateness for this project, but Houston’s historic preservation ordinance allowed the City to issue permits for the work after a 90-day waiting period. Amendments to the preservation ordinance eliminated the 90-day waiver in designated City of Houston historic districts. Individually designated landmarks that are not in historic districts can still be altered or demolished after 90 days. River Oaks Shopping Center is not located in a City of Houston historic district. Click here to see photos of the River Oaks Shopping Center before the alterations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidegate Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 The burbs have officially arrived. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I have a question, is the River Oaks Theater in those thumbnails recently posted? Or does it still kind of sit by itself...somewhat, awaiting an uncertain fate? I haven't visited that area in a while. I run across the postcards of the original River Oaks Shopping Center streamlined design quite often. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 mmmmmmm. taller parapets. are those mixed-use, or regular? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I was just thinking, the Chrysler building could use some sandstone elements and corner turrets too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Bring on the EIFS and cultured stone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Just want the Inner Loop needed; more Katyfication. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 it's very, very easy to hate weingarten 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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