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So What Would You Do With Areas Like This In Houston


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I remember some forumers on this board were arguing about shotguns on this forum and how they were built for the poor. Some people said tear them down and some said restore them. What do you think? Is it worth saving? If you think it is, how would you change the streetscape?

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4668/aa32xt.jpg

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5084/aa45ud.jpg

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I was thinking about the different color paint too. New Orleans blows me the f*ck away with their house businesses. Especially in the Marigny. I would definitely expand the sidewalks from the stoop to the street. I do not even think Project Row is at its full potential.

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Fix the sidewalks.

Replace the lawns.

Fix up the houses.

And paint each a different extremely bright color, like the Painted Ladies in San Francisco.

SNA0070B.jpg

The Houston version of the Painted Ladies, shotguns in the ghetto... :lol: . But seriously, I agree and we could even use that as part of an ad campaign promoting a better image, as a sort of poking fun at ourselves.

Such uniformity is rare in Houston and we need to preserve what little we have, so as to provide the eyes with a little relief now and then. These are in Third Ward, I believe, and could remain either affordable housing or be converted into commercial like the Project Row Houses.

Here's what Historic Houston did with a shotgun this year.

i2r3ap.jpg

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Not surprisingly, I'm in favor of preserving/restoring these houses.

How interesting that although they're otherwise virtually identical, the color of the brick porch support piers varies from one house to the next. I think that the houses being uniformly painted white accentuate this feature, but wouldn't be opposed to the 'painted lady' idea, either.

And while I'm also a great fan of trees, some of the ones in the photos are posing an immediate threat to these houses. Cut 'em down, and plant small, fast-growing replacements in front of each house.

Considering the neighborhood, a continual fence along the sidewalk would deter scamps from playing hide-and-seek with the cops by dodging between the houses. No chain link, please...

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How interesting that although they're otherwise virtually identical, the color of the brick porch support piers varies from one house to the next. I think that the houses being uniformly painted white accentuate this feature, but wouldn't be opposed to the 'painted lady' idea, either.

in the neighborhood i live in, the string of duplexes along the street are all identical, except upon closer inspection, there are different designs in the brick on the front of the houses...it's that small stuff that adds a tinge of character to an otherwise homologous housing setup. it also helps if the residents add their own character with landscaping, etc (or trash, as it may be in some cases... :rolleyes: )

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I was reading about a Rice arch. grad student who renovated a shotgun house for his master's thesis...it looked really nice and had windows along the sides for better ventilation or something...maybe they should just get him to renovate and sell the houses :)

yeah, it was several years ago, but a neat project:

http://media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=3521

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I remember some forumers on this board were arguing about shotguns on this forum and how they were built for the poor. Some people said tear them down and some said restore them. What do you think? Is it worth saving? If you think it is, how would you change the streetscape?

aa32xt.jpg

aa45ud.jpg

Tear them down and put in mobile homes.

Tear them down and put in mobile homes.

They are probably crack houses. Over here, they all have NO TRESPASSING signs on them.

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Renovate!

Level the foundations, replace rotting floor joists and subfloors, rotten trim and siding. I imagine there's probably termite issues in these homes, so lots of wood to replace.

Take the interior down to the studs, rewire the house. Replace plumbing where necessary. Brand new sheetrock and a couple coats of paint will make the interior look like new.

Refinish the hardwoods or put in laminates or carpet.

Cut down the scrub trees and mow the yards. Maybe put down some small flower beds.

BOOM! Attractive little homes for a reasonable price.

Development is slowly moving towards these 3rd Ward shotguns. I hope these are kept intact and renovated, instead of being demolished like the 4th Ward was. The 4th Ward could stand a few shotguns sprinkled it amongst the block after block after block of cookie cutter townhomes.

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BOOM! Attractive little homes for a reasonable price.

Development is slowly moving towards these 3rd Ward shotguns. I hope these are kept intact and renovated, instead of being demolished like the 4th Ward was. The 4th Ward could stand a few shotguns sprinkled it amongst the block after block after block of cookie cutter townhomes.

renovation would be neat, just have to hope whoever gets his/her hands on these takes the time to do it (which isn't the trend...)

besides, even with the huge influx of cookie cutter homes and townhomes in "redeveloped" areas, you'd think there'd be a little bit of room left for something different.

it's too bad that the majority of buyers (or projected buyers) like the same boring overpriced thing -_-

Edited by sevfiv
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What is actually happening to these areas is this:

Tear down everything

Build a faux-French Napoleonic Style building with cement covered styrofoam details.

Sell units for $500K-$1MM

Drive off the local poor residents

Build 3 story townhomes with ugly garage doors on the first floor.

Drive off more local residents who can't aford to live there.

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What is actually happening to these areas is this:

Tear down everything

Build a faux-French Napoleonic Style building with cement covered styrofoam details.

Sell units for $500K-$1MM

Drive off the local poor residents

Build 3 story townhomes with ugly garage doors on the first floor.

Drive off more local residents who can't aford to live there.

Now we're talkin'

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  • 1 year later...
Fix the sidewalks.

Replace the lawns.

Fix up the houses.

And paint each a different extremely bright color, like the Painted Ladies in San Francisco.

SNA0070B.jpg

I would love to BUY one or 2 of those shotguns move to my big lot place them on raised pilings add a tall dramatic staircase to them and completely renovate as Gothic Victorians ala Galveston/SFO bay area just as you indicated. Would have a fantastic view of A wooded area on left and downtown skyline to the right. Architecture would blend in perfectly with Gothic Turn of the century Cathedral/Basilica across the street! Visitors would think they aren't in Houston at all! Get the movement going! Would rival Heights! Let's go!

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  • The title was changed to So What Would You Do With Areas Like This In Houston

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