Fencing Around Some Structures Near Continental Club

[worldlyman]

around the Main/Alabama axis?

When I was doing a little driving around H-town about the time of Labor Day Weekend of 2005, I noticed that there was some fencing around some of those cool quaint low-rise structures toward downtown perhaps a couple blocks on Main from Ensemble Theater/Continental Club/Breakfast Klub, etc.

One thing I loved about Main in the HCC Red Line stop is the cozy pedestrian flair of it. For a change, here we have one example of an auto un-friendly streetscape in Houston...yet, it seems hard to get more tenants there. There could be more Montrose or Heights style boutiques and cafes there...something that is just a short light rail hop away from the downtown proper's urban chic and its offerings.

The structures that are there which hug the wide sidewalks are just BEGGING to be used. In 2004 when I used to live in Houston, they seemed to be in the waiting. I remember seeing this eclectic type of collectibles store, sort of a No-tsu-oh place for novelty items that was owned or operated by some guy that kind of ran his own hours there. (I wonder if he's still in business.) I used to do some banking at a nearby credit union there and I loved milling about and then taking the METRORAIL somewhere, walk the tunnels or something.

Also nearby the Main/Alabama axis were open spaces which functioned as impromptu parking lots but I'd hoped that they could build some nice similiar structures that also hugged the sidewalks upon them.

I mean, why's it so difficult to develop more on the axis of Main/Alabama? There are a couple clubs, some diverse eateries; why cannot they put up one more of those mixed use structures where there are open spaces?

But then as a visitor, I saw in late-2005 there was fencing around some of them. What are they going to do? Tear them down to put parking lots that may accomodate another SuperSize �*@*#! Walmart (or something like that)?

I'm fairly defensive of Houston but the city's propensity to tear down lots of neat structures that could add more flair to the likes of a re-touched Main Street just really irks me. It's one thing to take away the likes of a Westbury Square to put up parking lot monsters like Home Depot is one thing...but they should avoid that Uber-capitalist mentality when it comes to preserving the aesthetic of Main Street.