Pedestrian Downtown

[BeerNut]

I'd think Dallas St with it's wide sidewalks could be a good place for vendor stalls.  As it stands it has no pedestrian appeal compared to other streets.

[quietstorm]

On 6/24/2019 at 11:41 PM, HNathoo said:

Why does anyone really desire dry goods retail? Just so you can look at the store front and not go inside? There are a few exceptions, but that ship has largely sailed. I’m perfectly happy with a street lined with restaurants and bars. 

 

I have to agree with you here. Online shopping, for almost anything, is here to stay. Utilizing the space for niche shopping like pop-up craft fairs, art markets and even a farmers market might make more sense.  I could see the Flea by Night at Discovery Green for example, expanding down Dallas. 

I would add that mid-range retailers like H&M and Zara might do well. The ones I’ve been to on 5th Avenue, in Baltimore Harbor, in DC, etc. still attract crowds. 

[j_cuevas713]

Honestly we need a solid big named retailer like Macy’s or Bloomingdales. I drove down Dallas St today and there is so much potential for a thriving shopping area. 

 

[mattyt36]

Yes online shopping is here to stay but it seems to me in a place where you have 125,000 people concentrated every day—many of them looking for an excuse to get out of the office at lunch and other times—retail should be able to work just fine (with the obvious “if done right” qualifier. In many ways it’s just as, if not more, convenient.

[Urbannizer]

 

[jermh]

2 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

 

Ha. It's not every day you get to login and see the back of your own head.

[invisibletrees]

3 hours ago, jermh said:

Ha. It's not every day you get to login and see the back of your own head.

 

So are you-

 

A. Guy with button up

B. Guy with blue shirt

C. Woman with white top

D. Woman in dress 

E. Other

[jermh]

A. The guy in the middle with the button up.

[quietstorm]

This cyclist was very comfortable riding along Main. There was a time when pedestrian/cyclist activity downtown was a lot more precarious. 

[mollusk]

Appears to be a very skilled cyclist, balanced while remaining stationary.

 

Still, your point is well taken.  Main's actually a pretty good north - south route for two wheels.

[quietstorm]

2 hours ago, mollusk said:

Appears to be a very skilled cyclist, balanced while remaining stationary.

 

Still, your point is well taken.  Main's actually a pretty good north - south route for two wheels.

Yeah, most of the folks on the Bcycle bike shares still stick to the sidewalks.  For a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, pedestrian activity was pretty solid along Main and Market Square Park. Discovery Green, Avenida de las Americas and the restaurants in the area (Phonecia, Kulture, Xochi)  were all packed. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by quietstorm

[Luminare]

38 minutes ago, quietstorm said:

Yeah, most of the folks on the Bcycle bike shares still stick to the sidewalks.  For a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, pedestrian activity was pretty solid along Main and Market Square Park. Discovery Green, Avenida de las Americas and the restaurants on the area (Phonecia, Kulture, Xochi)  were all packed. 

 

Especially Avenida de las Americas. They really did an A+ job with that entire stretch that fronts the convention center. Its a really visually interesting setting now. Lots of activity with different kinds of places to sit or things to do. The cities effort has really paid off here.

[cspwal]

On 7/6/2019 at 4:29 PM, mollusk said:

Appears to be a very skilled cyclist, balanced while remaining stationary.

 

Still, your point is well taken.  Main's actually a pretty good north - south route for two wheels.

 

I wonder if they have considered putting the Sharrows down main street, at least from Downtown to Wheeler

[TheSirDingle]

Alright so about 4 days ago I was driving from UH to drop off some friends after a party (designated driver), and at 1am I decided to go through downtown just to see what's going on. And let me tell you something, if the main corridor wasn't packed to the brim. I swear the blocks with the historic buildings had at least 2000+ people alone, there were just so many people walking around. For 1am downtown seemed pretty lively (except around Louisiana street), especially around the bars, parks, and food places.

Hopefully this is a sign that downtown is becoming a 24/7 neighborhood. 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by TheSirDingle

[mollusk]

"Nobody goes there anymore.  It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra

[j_cuevas713]

5 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

Alright so about 4 days ago I was driving from UH to drop off some friends after a party (designated driver), and at 1am I decided to go through downtown just to see what's going on. And let me tell you something, if the main corridor wasn't packed to the brim. I swear the blocks with the historic buildings had at least 2000+ people alone, there were just so many people walking around. For 1am downtown seemed pretty lively (except around Louisiana street), especially around the bars, parks, and food places.

Hopefully this is a sign that downtown is becoming a 24/7 neighborhood. 

 

 

I saw it like that one weekend right after all the college kids came home for the Summer. A friend of mine from Pearland was like "Does it always get this packed downtown?" I was just as surprised. I felt like I was in a different city. 

[nate4l1f3]

It’s been like that every weekend for a while now..

[j_cuevas713]

I swear that lot across Moonshiners needs to get developed asap. It would really tie in that whole section. 

[bobruss]

Back in the late 90's and early 2000's the Market Square/ Main street area was packed every night from Thursdays until Sundays, with bars like Cabo's, Solero's, The Mercury room, Tryst, Notsuoh, The Black Cat Jazz bar, Capitol Bar, Sambuca, and several others I can't remember.

Actually it was like that back in the late 60's early seventies. Back then it was Love Street, La Bastille, Ruby Reds, Wiliies Pub, La Carafe, Warrens,The Sweetheart of Texas, and other shops in the underground area of the Magnolia Bldg. 

So that area has seen cycles over the last fifty years. 

I really believe that this time they will stick due to the residential growth and the time is right for downtown.

 

[j_cuevas713]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

Back in the late 90's and early 2000's the Market Square/ Main street area was packed every night from Thursdays until Sundays, with bars like Cabo's, Solero's, The Mercury room, Tryst, Notsuoh, The Black Cat Jazz bar, Capitol Bar, Sambuca, and several others I can't remember.

Actually it was like that back in the late 60's early seventies. Back then it was Love Street, La Bastille, Ruby Reds, Wiliies Pub, La Carafe, Warrens,The Sweetheart of Texas, and other shops in the underground area of the Magnolia Bldg. 

So that area has seen cycles over the last fifty years. 

I really believe that this time they will stick due to the residential growth and the time is right for downtown.

 

I think the biggest difference between the 60's/Today vs the late 90's/2000's is that during the 2000's a lot of those place were packed because downtown was a new adventure to many Houstonians. That phased out and more stable business like today popped up over time. 

[X.R.]

6 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I think the biggest difference between the 60's/Today vs the late 90's/2000's is that during the 2000's a lot of those place were packed because downtown was a new adventure to many Houstonians. That phased out and more stable business like today popped up over time. 

 

Yeah, mid 2000s to early 2010s had downtown filled with TSU students and the random people seeking a good time that wasn't oriented with Washington or Midtown. Now its much more stable, with an established sense of who they are, unlike (I would argue) Midtown/Washington. Main/Market Square park has even attracted Tipping Point to re-open their sneakerhead/limited retail shop up over there. Its becoming, against all odds (if you remember going to Franks at 2am for pizza in 2011 and the absolute desolation all around their parking lot...whew), an established area where 21+ can go to have a chill night, a crazy night, and anything in between. Which is to me a hallmark of a good nightlife district. 

[bobruss]

You also have to take into consideration the cycle of the bar business.

It is constantly moving to new areas.

After  the  sixties into the mid seventies in downtown, after that the bars and kids all left to go out to Richmond around Chimney Rock to Hilcroft.

The Galleria area became a popular spot off of Westheimer.

In the mid 90's  they moved to Shepherd Plaza where that whole shopping complex became a magnet for bars and clubs.

Then everyone moved back downtown to Market Square and the surrounding area in the 90's early 2000's up to the Super Bowl.

After that the Washington Ave corridor became very popular.

Then everything moved to Midtown. The East end became a popular area, and In the last five years Market Square and all of

downtown has come back along with bars all over town like Axelrad, Kirby Ice House Cottonwood, and many more.

14 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I think the biggest difference between the 60's/Today vs the late 90's/2000's is that during the 2000's a lot of those place were packed because downtown was a new adventure to many Houstonians. That phased out and more stable business like today popped up over time. 

 

[bobruss]

Speaking of bars this Sunday afternoon our band TINIGHT, will be playing 6:00 - 8:00, at The Rehab bar at 1658 Enid and I'd love all Haifers to join us.

Theres no cover and they have a big outdoor area. So come out and hear the old man play some indie rock, blues, and punk.

I'd love to put some faces with the names!

Edited September 6, 2019 by bobruss

[j_cuevas713]

27 minutes ago, X.R. said:

 

Yeah, mid 2000s to early 2010s had downtown filled with TSU students and the random people seeking a good time that wasn't oriented with Washington or Midtown. Now its much more stable, with an established sense of who they are, unlike (I would argue) Midtown/Washington. Main/Market Square park has even attracted Tipping Point to re-open their sneakerhead/limited retail shop up over there. Its becoming, against all odds (if you remember going to Franks at 2am for pizza in 2011 and the absolute desolation all around their parking lot...whew), an established area where 21+ can go to have a chill night, a crazy night, and anything in between. Which is to me a hallmark of a good nightlife district. 

And think about the vibe we give those visiting when they see how busy it is downtown. We've come a long way.

[H-Town Man]

7 hours ago, bobruss said:

You also have to take into consideration the cycle of the bar business.

It is constantly moving to new areas.

After  the  sixties into the mid seventies in downtown, after that the bars and kids all left to go out to Richmond around Chimney Rock to Hilcroft.

The Galleria area became a popular spot off of Westheimer.

In the mid 90's  they moved to Shepherd Plaza where that whole shopping complex became a magnet for bars and clubs.

Then everyone moved back downtown to Market Square and the surrounding area in the 90's early 2000's up to the Super Bowl.

After that the Washington Ave corridor became very popular.

Then everything moved to Midtown. The East end became a popular area, and In the last five years Market Square and all of

downtown has come back along with bars all over town like Axelrad, Kirby Ice House Cottonwood, and many more.

 

 

This kind of reminds me of back in the early-mid 1830's, the nightlife crowd was great around Harrisburg, you could get all the whisky you wanted for half a cent a shot and just try not to wander into the bayou. Then Santa Ana came through and burned the place, and the crowd moved off to Houston which was then all the rage. They even put some wooden blocks to get through the mud and that really sent it through the roof. But then they moved the capital to Austin and that laid Houston low for awhile and some of the old regulars came back to Harrisburg.

 

It was quite a diverse crowd back then. You'd get Yankees, Brits, some Germans, even some Scots and Irish. People were just having fun, they didn't care. One night I drank some water out of the wrong barrel and had dysentery for a week. But that happened to everyone. Good times.

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by H-Town Man

[quietstorm]

18 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

It’s been like that every weekend for a while now..

Yep, even for us older folks.  Hubby and I particularly enjoy bars like One Armed Scissor on Travis and Bravery Chef Hall's "secret garden" patio area that faces Main. Downtown is now place we or our 20-something kids could hang out.  There is starting to become something for everyone, even Avenida de las Americas and Discovery Green were packed with families last Friday night.  

[samagon]

On 9/6/2019 at 10:53 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

I think the biggest difference between the 60's/Today vs the late 90's/2000's is that during the 2000's a lot of those place were packed because downtown was a new adventure to many Houstonians. That phased out and more stable business like today popped up over time. 

 

the type of place is what differentiates it. I can't speak to the 60s, but I can speak to the late 90s and today. I do think there's a link between the late 90s and today.

 

On 9/6/2019 at 6:39 PM, quietstorm said:

Yep, even for us older folks.  Hubby and I particularly enjoy bars like One Armed Scissor on Travis and Bravery Chef Hall's "secret garden" patio area that faces Main. Downtown is now place we or our 20-something kids could hang out.  There is starting to become something for everyone, even Avenida de las Americas and Discovery Green were packed with families last Friday night.  

 

this is the difference.

 

the late 90s downtown... it was like, straight up meat market, get drunk, dance and hook up. the music is turned up so loud that there is no point in trying to even learn your partners name. there was nothing date night about any of those places. 

 

maybe it's just that I'm not looking for those places, but in downtown, places like this are very much in the minority now.

 

the places that are there with a single goal of serving drinks, they are all a bit more sophisticated than dancing to electronic music and hooking up.. you can actually have a conversation with someone.

 

they draw two different types of people.

 

add to it that people like me who spent the better part of half a decade weekending around downtown in the early '00s we are familiar and comfortable downtown after dark. Now we have offices downtown, and after work we may stay late to wait for traffic to die down a bit before heading home. or we may take advantage of our parking contract to come out on a saturday night for dinner and drinks.

 

and now there's living downtown also, so it's really a great timing of everything.

Edited September 20, 2019 by samagon

[quietstorm]

The primary pockets in DT that have established pedestrian activity are Discovery Green/Convention Center, Main Street (i.e., JW Marriott/Finn Hall), and Market Square Park (i.e., Niko-Nikos/Franks/Barnaby's).  

 

Where do you see the next DT "pedestrian pocket" evolving?

Edited November 5, 2019 by quietstorm

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, quietstorm said:

The primary pockets in DT that have established pedestrian activity are Discovery Green/Convention Center, Main Street (i.e., JW Marriott/Finn Hall), and Market Square Park (i.e., PNiko-Nikos/Franks/Barnaby's).  

 

Where do you see the next DT "pedestrian pocket" evolving?

 

Up and down Main. Then push east of Main and north of Market Square toward the bayou.

 

Also, Discovery Green and Minute Maid/Texas Ave. will reach toward each other.

[nate4l1f3]

Would be nice to see Dallas St. develop as planned.