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One Park Place: Multifamily At 1400 McKinney St.

GovernorAggie

By GovernorAggie
in Downtown

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marc

marc

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Looks untouched. Amazing!!! thanks for the photos!

That bodes well for future residents. It seems very sturdy. Had they put in any windows yet? And i must say, if H-Town was going to get an Alicia-like hit, i am glad it is now instead of a couple years down the road when MainPlace and Disco Tower have glass cladding in place.

m. B)

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KinkaidAlum

KinkaidAlum

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I am finding from personal stories of folks that I know, that most damage occured on the northside of buildings in Houston. It seems the strongest winds were coming from that direction.

I wonder if One Park Place did well because #1, it is blocked by 5 Houston Center and #2, it has a smaller North face.

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marc

marc

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From the earlier photos it looks like most, if not all, of the windows were already in and survived the storm.

Duh, i feel stupid. Of course, on second look, most of the windows are in. Sorry, way too early when i posted. Not enough caffein in my system to communicate coherently. Sorry again.

;)

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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That bodes well for future residents. It seems very sturdy. Had they put in any windows yet? And i must say, if H-Town was going to get an Alicia-like hit, i am glad it is now instead of a couple years down the road when MainPlace and Disco Tower have glass cladding in place.

m. B)

Most new highrises have windows or curtainwall installed that are sturdy enough to withstand a major hurricane. The building formerly known as "The New Enron Building" (1500 Louisiana) was designed to remain fully safe and operable while in the eyewall of a Category 3 storm, for instance...Ike was only a strong Category 1 by the time it was over Houston.

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wxman

wxman

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Most new highrises have windows or curtainwall installed that are sturdy enough to withstand a major hurricane. The building formerly known as "The New Enron Building" (1500 Louisiana) was designed to remain fully safe and operable while in the eyewall of a Category 3 storm, for instance...Ike was only a strong Category 1 by the time it was over Houston.

Not so. The pressure on Ike was still 952 mb as the western eyewall passed over downtown. Winds of 101 mph were reported just on the other side of downtown by an anamometer from TWC. Just above the surface (200-300 ft) had winds of 130-135 mph...a stanch category 4 hurricane. Not only did the pressure match that of a major, but the winds did as well. I'll go to my grave knowing this was a major Cat. 3 hurricane...period. The damage doesn't lie. Alicia had a pressure of 962 mb and she was labeled a Cat. 3. Now I know that Alicia was a much smaller hurricane thus the pressure gradient between the eye and the outer feeder bands was much steeper, making for stronger winds, but Ike caused much more destruction. It's wind field was larger than Katrina...a huge hurricane by any standard. As the eye was crossing the Bay, the eyewall contracted...the core of the colder cloud tops had complete surrounded the eye. Unlike a lot of hurricanes, Ike was strengthening as it made landfall. Much like an ice skater that brings his/hers arms in and they spin faster, the same with the eyewall when it contracts. It's an inverse relationship. When the pressure drops, the winds increase. The damage to Downtown Houston is extensive. I have not seen a lot of pictures from there, but Alicia looks to have caused a bit more window damage due to the gravel on top of the rooftops at that time.

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editor

editor

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Not so. The pressure on Ike was still 952 mb as the western eyewall passed over downtown. Winds of 101 mph were reported just on the other side of downtown by an anamometer from TWC. Just above the surface (200-300 ft) had winds of 130-135 mph...a stanch category 4 hurricane. Not only did the pressure match that of a major, but the winds did as well. I'll go to my grave knowing this was a major Cat. 3 hurricane...period. The damage doesn't lie. Alicia had a pressure of 962 mb and she was labeled a Cat. 3. Now I know that Alicia was a much smaller hurricane thus the pressure gradient between the eye and the outer feeder bands was much steeper, making for stronger winds, but Ike caused much more destruction. It's wind field was larger than Katrina...a huge hurricane by any standard. As the eye was crossing the Bay, the eyewall contracted...the core of the colder cloud tops had complete surrounded the eye. Unlike a lot of hurricanes, Ike was strengthening as it made landfall. Much like an ice skater that brings his/hers arms in and they spin faster, the same with the eyewall when it contracts. It's an inverse relationship. When the pressure drops, the winds increase. The damage to Downtown Houston is extensive. I have not seen a lot of pictures from there, but Alicia looks to have caused a bit more window damage due to the gravel on top of the rooftops at that time.

Thanks for the analysis. It's good to have you back.

How was the storm for you? Pretty busy, I'd imagine. Any surprises that us weather nerds would find fascinating?

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wxman

wxman

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Thanks for the analysis. It's good to have you back.

How was the storm for you? Pretty busy, I'd imagine. Any surprises that us weather nerds would find fascinating?

What a ride. This was the first hurricane I'd ever been through, and it will be the last. You can't truly respect the power of a hurricane until you've huddled in your bathroom for 8 hours scared to death the roof is going to peel off. Our neighborhood is a disaster. I've never seen so many trees snapped. Our neighbors house had not one, not two, but three pine trees fall through their house. We lost shingles, our tree and fence...and we're in the Spring/Woodlands area! We're without power still...as are many. I've secretly always wanted a hurricane to hit, but I've since changed my opinion. It's stressful both at work and at home. Thankfully, the tropics are quiet. At least it's cool outside for the clean up. Ironically enough its this cold front that came through that also brought us the hurricane. Ahhh, the wonderful world of weather......

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Triton

Triton

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What a ride. This was the first hurricane I'd ever been through, and it will be the last. You can't truly respect the power of a hurricane until you've huddled in your bathroom for 8 hours scared to death the roof is going to peel off. Our neighborhood is a disaster. I've never seen so many trees snapped. Our neighbors house had not one, not two, but three pine trees fall through their house. We lost shingles, our tree and fence...and we're in the Spring/Woodlands area! We're without power still...as are many. I've secretly always wanted a hurricane to hit, but I've since changed my opinion. It's stressful both at work and at home. Thankfully, the tropics are quiet. At least it's cool outside for the clean up. Ironically enough its this cold front that came through that also brought us the hurricane. Ahhh, the wonderful world of weather......

Sounds like the destruction I saw in Northampton.

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maceo9903

maceo9903

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wxman, can u explain how Alicia being a smaller storm made it stronger. I think what you were saying is that since it was smaller it was able to sustain a low pressure pretty much from the eye to the outer bands and since Ike was so large it did not have a low a pressure on the outer bands. Also is it true that Hurricane are a necessary evil as they transfer heat from one place to another thus sort of regulating global tempature? Also, what in the hell would make you secretly wish for a Hurricane to strike?

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HtownWxBoy

HtownWxBoy

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wxman, can u explain how Alicia being a smaller storm made it stronger. I think what you were saying is that since it was smaller it was able to sustain a low pressure pretty much from the eye to the outer bands and since Ike was so large it did not have a low a pressure on the outer bands. Also is it true that Hurricane are a necessary evil as they transfer heat from one place to another thus sort of regulating global tempature? Also, what in the hell would make you secretly wish for a Hurricane to strike?

The same thing that makes some people want to jump out of airplanes... a sick excitement! ;)

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marc

marc

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^^^Storm chasers get the same rush. i have to admit for my family, we all group at the northernmost point (the Woodlands) at one of my sister's large homes, grill the day before, grab candles and lanterns and tons of board and card games and have a good ole' time. Now, of course, i am sure this is not the case for those who actually lose their homes and such. So, in a way, i sort of understand where he is coming from.

m. B)

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HtownWxBoy

HtownWxBoy

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^^^Storm chasers get the same rush. i have to admit for my family, we all group at the northernmost point (the Woodlands) at one of my sister's large homes, grill the day before, grab candles and lanterns and tons of board and card games and have a good ole' time. Now, of course, i am sure this is not the case for those who actually lose their homes and such. So, in a way, i sort of understand where he is coming from.

m. B)

I would never want to see someone lose anything from a storm... but that doesn't keep me from loving a storm's power. I would never ever ever jump out of an airplane or go bungee jumping but I would have no problem putting myself in harms way a bit by chasing thunderstorms or traveling to where a hurricane is making landfall to witness it. :ph34r:

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  • 4 weeks later...
marc

marc

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i like it a lot. At first i thought it was dullsville, but the more it comes together, i like the contrast of its stone facade with the surrounding glass and steel scrapers. i especially am excited and curious about how it will blend with future scrapers in that area over the next decade or so. Is it just me or does this scraper look like it is from Atlanta? It just seems to have that deep south look to it; which is sort of cool, because H-town always seems to walk across the "am i south, am i south-west, am i ....what am i?" tightrope. What i find interesting is that in a couple of years, with the other highrises popping up around it, this building is going to "seem" to be built at a much earlier time period, IMHO.

m. B)

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