Notsuoh At 314 Main St.

[jim1960]

[notsuoh was and still is a visual art piece ... a sculpture using real estate , architecture and community as its medium...it went very underground for three years and definitely there is work to be done to regain its authenticity as a social sculpture for artists to chew the fat and network and create.

Downtown historically is the center of houston however for many the beltway @ westheimer is..so it is a concept of an urban center ... the address always was a metaphor for the idea of centeredness 314 Main...3.14 is the value of pi and pi is the relationship of the center to the circumfrence and in the mirror with a couple of gin and tonics 314 backwards spells PIE and notsuoh is houston. Sure the place was a dump but next to the lowest of lows were rick lowe paintings and ike morgans and mark floods and aaron parazettes and dean rucks ... and the place never seemed to be a consumer of culture but a creator...at times it was a cliche of the myth of the bohemian artists staying up late, playing chess smoking cigarettes and being to sensitive or obnoxious. it was overly tolerant of humanity be it homeless, insane, yuppie or emotionally deficient...but the place is real and in one month since the reopening there have been poetry readings on wednesdays and experimental mondays with the lousiest of lounge and eatern european accordion music and pink cloud creating frequencies that made a feeling somewhere between nausea and sea sickness and nights of thai gonging and wednesdays with the free radicals playing jazz and a punk band from tokyo...it is a workshop in progress and yes some of the chaos is locked away on the second floor inacessible to the public and the women's room has lots of tile instead of forty paintings leaning against the wall ....notsuoh is back with a liquor liscence and cappucino and still one of the best mixes of humans you can find

[torvald]

there are a few pieces of furniture from the old place. the neatest and

most upsetting thing is the old oversized ledger books on the bar. i

enjoyed looking through them but couldn't help thinking of someone

spilling a drink on them.

i would describe it as a cross between a watered down version of the

old notsuoh and the engine room. the walls have some modern/minimalist

artwork and similar lighting to the engine room, which i am not a fan of

--- the club, not the lighting. my favorite thing there is the huge wall map

behind the stage, makes for interesting photos.

maybe it will take time to build up the amount of clutter again, hopefully

that's it. i would really love to see this place grow into the desciption

above. i do think it's possible!

Edited December 4, 2006 by torvald

[HeightsGuy]

Jim, it's good to see you bringing it back. I'll have to stop by and say hi, and maybe pay my tab now that I have a real job. BTW, is my rhodes piano still upstairs? If not, no biggie, I forgot about it long ago.

[2112]

Jim, it's good to see you bringing it back. I'll have to stop by and say hi, and maybe pay my tab now that I have a real job. BTW, is my rhodes piano still upstairs? If not, no biggie, I forgot about it long ago.

So that was your piano I would play on? I played the one downtstairs, if that is the same one you are talking about.

found this neat picture in the houston architectural survey (

[Don Julio]

[notsuoh was and still is a visual art piece ... a sculpture using real estate , architecture and community as its medium...it went very underground for three years and definitely there is work to be done to regain its authenticity as a social sculpture for artists to chew the fat and network and create.

Downtown historically is the center of houston however for many the beltway @ westheimer is..so it is a concept of an urban center ... the address always was a metaphor for the idea of centeredness 314 Main...3.14 is the value of pi and pi is the relationship of the center to the circumfrence and in the mirror with a couple of gin and tonics 314 backwards spells PIE and notsuoh is houston. Sure the place was a dump but next to the lowest of lows were rick lowe paintings and ike morgans and mark floods and aaron parazettes and dean rucks ... and the place never seemed to be a consumer of culture but a creator...at times it was a cliche of the myth of the bohemian artists staying up late, playing chess smoking cigarettes and being to sensitive or obnoxious. it was overly tolerant of humanity be it homeless, insane, yuppie or emotionally deficient...but the place is real and in one month since the reopening there have been poetry readings on wednesdays and experimental mondays with the lousiest of lounge and eatern european accordion music and pink cloud creating frequencies that made a feeling somewhere between nausea and sea sickness and nights of thai gonging and wednesdays with the free radicals playing jazz and a punk band from tokyo...it is a workshop in progress and yes some of the chaos is locked away on the second floor inacessible to the public and the women's room has lots of tile instead of forty paintings leaning against the wall ....notsuoh is back with a liquor liscence and cappucino and still one of the best mixes of humans you can find

SOLD! I'm so there!

[sevfiv]

That's not really the building, right? I think NotsuoH was the building to the left (south) of the "Hub", actually part of the same building where Dean's is at.

yeah, 314 main is cut-off on the left side - i was hoping someone knew what jewelry store was there, though...

Edited December 5, 2006 by sevfiv

[worldlyman]

Ah, the No-tsu-oh is BACK!

I loved hanging out there with my wife and sometimes other folks...or even MYSELF back in '00 or '01.

Always something going on there.

Impromptu theater up in that hidden balcony.

Great to get a mug of coffee and a brownie...and pick out books and listen to people nearby.

The days (or nights) when Main Street was more urban rough (before the METRORAIL) and the sidewalks WERE CROWDED.

I once swapped pleasantries with some really long-haired older dude who seemed Native American (probably was, who knows) and he went on about how we were the ones sitting in the patios while the "money people" went by and by.

So into the night I was, I actually took my cup of joe around a few blocks just checking out the scene before returning to no-tsu-oh with it. The nights before Main Street was beautified...the choking sounds of the METRO buses at night and roar of traffic, so urbanly rough.

No-tsu-oh is a jewel...no place like it in San Diego or Tampa...that's fo' suuure! It represents Houston's unique eccentricity compared to the other more or less similar Sunbelt cities.

Makes me even more eager to visit hometown Houston that much sooner!

[notsuoh]

yeah, 314 main is cut-off on the left side - i was hoping someone knew what jewelry store was there, though...

White Sellis Jewlery and Pawn, the city MADE us take down the sign because we were "confusing the public".

missy

[notsuoh]

The lady that owns it is one of the nicest & polite person I've ever met in my life.

is it the pastey looking brunette?

who are you talking about? can you get a name?

[Montrose1100]

who are you talking about? can you get a name?

I don't know her name, but I've seen her wear a green turtle neck. She has dark hair, skinny, and like I said; she is very polite.

[2112]

I don't know her name, but I've seen her wear a green turtle neck. She has dark hair, skinny, and like I said; she is very polite.

You arent by chance confusing the owner of La Carafe and Warrens, are you?

I wont mention her name out of respect for privacy. But if it is her, yes she is a very nice person.

[Montrose1100]

No, she told me she "owned the place" when it was Clark's. She even had a picture of herself on the wall from her highschool years.

[notsuoh]

No, she told me she "owned the place" when it was Clark's. She even had a picture of herself on the wall from her highschool years.

Perhaps it was Toby's wife, Stephanie (owner of Deans and Clarks businesses). The actual building is owned by Jim and Missy. Cheryl also lives there and can claim ownership-if occasion serves . I don't think she has a green turtle neck, but I don't know. I'm Missy by the way. I am nice, but not skinny! You won't see me there too much. Jim and I were the original owners of Notsuoh, now Jim and Cheryl are running it.

It's a sorted history! We have been there for 10 years, a lot has happened over this time.

[Montrose1100]

Perhaps it was Toby's wife, Stephanie (owner of Deans and Clarks businesses). The actual building is owned by Jim and Missy. Cheryl also lives there and can claim ownership-if occasion serves . I don't think she has a green turtle neck, but I don't know. I'm Missy by the way. I am nice, but not skinny! You won't see me there too much. Jim and I were the original owners of Notsuoh, now Jim and Cheryl are running it.

It's a sorted history! We have been there for 10 years, a lot has happened over this time.

She was there when that band that played the thailand/phillipine Xylophones was there.

[notsuoh]

She was there when that band that played the thailand/phillipine Xylophones was there.

I never went to any shows at clarks. in any case, those are the only people that "own" the place.

[enviromain]

Just got back from Notsuoh, downtown Houston's former venerated hangout back in the early days of gentrification. It took over the former Clark's space and, although it's not exactly the same, looks and feels great. This is one of those little things that I think is going to make a big difference (if it lasts) over the long run. I even think it's open til like 4 am.

Notsuoh (Houston spelled backwards) in the early 1900's. You can find this photo at http://www.houstonian.freeservers.com/history/1900.htm.

[woolie]

I loved NoTsuOh back in the day. I am ecstatic to hear it's open again. I plan on visiting soon!

Here's a pic I took of the original space (Feb 2002)

I may have a few more pics if anyone is interested.

Edited January 2, 2007 by Ian Rees

[Original Timmy Chan's]

I loved NoTsuOh back in the day. I am ecstatic to hear it's open again. I plan on visiting soon!

Here's a pic I took of the original space (Feb 2002)

I may have a few more pics if anyone is interested.

Wow...that's a lot more cleaned-up than I remember it.

Notsuoh was not as well-decorated or organized when I last went. It was just chaos everywhere...and I liked that.

[notsuoh]

I loved NoTsuOh back in the day. I am ecstatic to hear it's open again. I plan on visiting soon!

Here's a pic I took of the original space (Feb 2002)

I may have a few more pics if anyone is interested.

I would love some copies of those pictures.

[2fatcats]

Notsuoh (Houston spelled backwards) in the early 1900's. You can find this photo at <<enviromain

I read about this in a couple of books I have. It was a big festival held every year complete with parade and they elected a King Nottoc (Cotton) and Queen with court. Kind of a Mardi Gras sort of atmosphere.

[notsuoh]

I loved NoTsuOh back in the day. I am ecstatic to hear it's open again. I plan on visiting soon!

Here's a pic I took of the original space (Feb 2002)

I may have a few more pics if anyone is interested.

I was wondering if it is ok to use this pic on our web site when we get it going. it's such a reat lush picture.if you have anymore, i would like to use them if it is ok. you can email me. notsuoh@mac.com.

Notsuoh (Houston spelled backwards) in the early 1900's. You can find this photo at <<enviromain

I read about this in a couple of books I have. It was a big festival held every year complete with parade and they elected a King Nottoc (Cotton) and Queen with court. Kind of a Mardi Gras sort of atmosphere.

we actually have an original invitation from 1899, the first year it was held. it's a great story how we got it. come in sometime and have jim tell you the story. we probably know about as much as there is to know about notsuoh.

missy

[2112]

Went to visit recently. Although not exactly like it used to be, it's pretty darn close. I like it just as much. I remember the dog being different, though. Is that a different dog?

Edited February 16, 2007 by 2112

[punkrocksock]

I'm glad you have pictures. I am intrested in any pictures I can get a hold of. This was one of the coolest places in Houston and I wish I would have taken some pictures to remember it. Every time I tell someone about it they cannot quite conceptualize the awesome feel that Notsuoh had. I plan on visiting on the 28th of April since I just heard it was open again.

I loved NoTsuOh back in the day. I am ecstatic to hear it's open again. I plan on visiting soon!

Here's a pic I took of the original space (Feb 2002)

I may have a few more pics if anyone is interested.

[ChuckPonzi]

So NOTSUOH is open? I tried calling a number I found searching around and it was not valid so I assumed it was not open. Ive never been before and heard that it has an assortment of pin machines. Im a huge pin nerd and really excited about having a home-ier place to play

If it is open, can someone please let me know and what hours are kept if possible?

Edited October 30, 2007 by ChuckPonzi

[The Great Hizzy!]

a huge pin nerd and really excited about having a home-ier place to play

Same here. I especially like the Data East and Sega brands, not so much the Bally's, though. It really depends on the game.

[Jax]

I don't know what the hours are but generally any evening I walk by after dark it's open. There's a painting night on thursdays I think but when my girl and I went to paint, it was so unorganized it didn't even happen. Still it seems like a pretty cool place. There's often live music on Friday/Saturday.

[ChuckPonzi]

Awesome, thanks for the info! I eventually found a phone number on their website, that appears to be a work in progress. Wasn't until the 3rd search page of Google that I found the page. They are only open from like 7p-2a. I was hoping they were open more during the day. Oh well.

For the pin fan. There is an arcade expo in Houston at the end of November and Dec 1st. The link is www.arcadecenter.com. Also, in case you didn't know Joystix amusements by Minute Maid Park has "Pacman Fridays" every 1st and last Fridays of every month. All you can play from 9p-2a for $15. Since its connected to a bar, theres also a waitress that comes by too, so its best of both worlds I too like some of the DE and Sega systems, but the Williams are the best 90s style pinball games IMO.

[jc281]

I was never huge on the place but it is interesting.

I remember close to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/441633712/

but wider I thought, I remember the chess playing, the dog, but i also remember a big waterbed being downstairs lol

[adkat]

Ya its unfortunate the smoking ban went into effect, otherwise I would frequent it to see the acts.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

I was never huge on the place but it is interesting.

I remember close to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/441633712/

but wider I thought, I remember the chess playing, the dog, but i also remember a big waterbed being downstairs lol

This is more of what I remember. http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkhairedgirl/1417826773/

And lots of shoes...and lots of just "crap" (but good crap) lying everywhere.