Citizens National Bank At 402 Main St.

[musicman]

I mean, they couldn't have even put a pool on the huge expanse of roof. ugh.

give me a view from the infinity pool anyday over one surrounded by 3 walls and looking at the roof of the toyota center.

[musicman]

The former Wasabi is a good location. Hopefully they can make it work if not the former St. Pete's site.

I forgot to post this a couple of weeks ago. We ran into Kent (owner of market Square grill) and asked him the status of the move. He just smiled and said "we're staying". Good, another kobe burger please.

[tigereye]

Hate to BUMP and old thread but, I figured it was better to put it in here, then anywhere else

Today as I was talking my usual lunch hour stroll through Downtown, I noticed the old State Bank building at 420 Main (NOT the Byrd Building) is under construction/renovation. Scaffolding now surrounds the entire building on both Main and Preston sides. Carol Kenny, whom handles leasing didint give any details as to what's going on. But I do know they have been trying (unsuccessfully) to lease the space for a while now.

Anyone know whats going on?!?

[stjnky]

Hate to BUMP and old thread but, I figured it was better to put it in here, then anywhere else

Today as I was talking my usual lunch hour stroll through Downtown, I noticed the old State Bank building at 420 Main (NOT the Byrd Building) is under construction/renovation. Scaffolding now surrounds the entire building on both Main and Preston sides. Carol Kenny, whom handles leasing didint give any details as to what's going on. But I do know they have been trying (unsuccessfully) to lease the space for a while now.

Anyone know whats going on?!?

A grocery store:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/10/12/story5.html

[kylejack]

A grocery store:

http://houston.bizjo.../12/story5.html

He said not the Byrd Building.

[LTAWACS]

Is there not a CVS there already?

[kylejack]

Is there not a CVS there already?

Naw, the CVS is down at 1000ish Main.

[C2H]

Looks like the night scene has definitely moved away from downtown to Washington Avenue. It sure would be nice if both areas could keep its night activity without one sucking it away from another.

[lockmat]

Why were there so many people walking around? Did the tunnels exist then? I'm sure there are many more people officing AND living downtown now than there were then. I'm also guessing a big difrerence is that there was more retail back then?

Old Houston:

Main Street at Walker, June 1955:

Main Street, June 1955:

Main Street at Texas Avenue, looking north, June 15, 1955. Some shops at the Rice Hotel are Regal Shoes, Wormser Hats and Russell Stover Candies.

http://blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/20..._june_1955.html

[C2H]

Why were there so many people walking around? Did the tunnels exist then? I'm sure there are many more people officing AND living downtown now than there were then. I'm also guessing a big difrerence is that there was more retail back then?

Downtown was the hotspot then, the only game in town. That was before sprawl of Houston took over and before downtown had competition from other areas like: TMC, Uptown, Greenway Plaza and Greenspoint.

[kylejack]

Scenes are over-rated. If the scene has left downtown that is fine with me, because I had a swell time at Dean's and Notsuoh last night. If Washington is good, I want to be bad.

Edited October 18, 2010 by kylejack

[lockmat]

Downtown was the hotspot then, the only game in town. That was before sprawl of Houston took over and before downtown had competition from other areas like: TMC, Uptown, Greenway Plaza and Greenspoint.

While that's true, I don't think it fully answers my question. At least the last picture was taken during the day on a Wednesday. Today, downtowns daytime population I'm betting is much higher than it was that day. The only thing I can think of is the tunnels and we now have less retail. So even if there are new hotspots today, there are still more people downtown now.

day source: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=1955&country=1

[DrLan34]

God I love the advertising clutter back then. I still love downtown but back then looks even better... way better.

We need advertising!

Old Houston:

Main Street at Walker, June 1955:

Main Street, June 1955:

Main Street at Texas Avenue, looking north, June 15, 1955. Some shops at the Rice Hotel are Regal Shoes, Wormser Hats and Russell Stover Candies.

http://blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/20..._june_1955.html

[lockmat]

God I love the advertising clutter back then. I still love downtown but back then looks even better... way better.

We need advertising!

Weird how advertisement placement makes the difference.

Highway advertising ugly, Urban advertising cool.

I remember people not wanting ads on the side of buses too, but that does not bother me.

[lockmat]

Look, Houston hasn't really changed all that much Still no left hand turns, even back then! (see above stop light)

Old Houston:

Main Street at Walker, June 1955:

[brian0123]

Scenes are over-rated. If the scene has left downtown that is fine with me, because I had a swell time at Dean's and Notsuoh last night. If Washington is good, I want to be bad.

I could not agree more. I moved away from Washington Ave. as soon as I saw the dbags coming.

Why were there so many people walking around? Did the tunnels exist then? I'm sure there are many more people officing AND living downtown now than there were then. I'm also guessing a big difrerence is that there was more retail back then?

Houston must not have been hot back then.

Seriously, it drives me nuts when I hear people complain about walking more than a couple blocks because of the heat. Look at the waistlines of the people in those pictures. Since those pictures were taken, Houston has doubled in size around our own beltways.

[samagon]

Houston must not have been hot back then.

Seriously, it drives me nuts when I hear people complain about walking more than a couple blocks because of the heat. Look at the waistlines of the people in those pictures. Since those pictures were taken, Houston has doubled in size around our own beltways.

Don't just look at the wastelines...

It was June, and half of those men were wearing full suits!!! Crazy!!

You want to know what killed sights like this, Air Conditioning.

For those people, it was an option of sweat in the car, or sweat walking on the sidewalk, and then sweat when you get home.

I imagine that it was cooler (temp wise, not hip wise) to walk, with a nice breeze blowing between the buildings, than it would be to sit in a car with one window down (no auto windows) and the sun beating on the roof.

The artificial environments we have created for ourselves is what has killed scenes like those from ever coming back, and it is what has made fitness centers so popular, workout in the AC? rather than walk 2 miles every day, or bicycle, or anything else.

[barracuda]

^ Houston would have experienced less of an urban heat island effect in 1955, so it was probably literally cooler as well. And I agree that living in AC does seem to reduce your tolerance for heat.

[lockmat]

You'll see in the first picture on the top left that it's 86 degrees. Of course, that could have been 9am

[totheskies]

I have to say, it's really sad to see how little we "care" about ourselves today. How little we care about our health, building a true social environment, and our overall quality of life. It's a shame that we continually choose convenience over what is best for us. I blame myself most of all, but it is a learned behavior shared by all of American society.

Back to topic...

The downtown scene is maturing, and rightfully so. I'm glad to see a resurgence of places like the Red Cat, and also new venues like Pete's Dueling Piano, the House of Blues and Polk Street Pub. It's a more diverse crowd than your standard hip-hop club, and it can attract several age groups. This is the direction that downtown needs to go. We already have the "feeder infrastructure" in that all of our major arts venues and sports venues (Reliant of course via the rail) are located there. Downtown is right to continue pursuing a good post-event scene. Let Washington have the "major clubs" but downtown has staying power based on its other strengths.

The biggest problem continues to be "safety"... or at least the perception of it. The lighting scheme in downtown is still very poor. And the retail is so sporadic (especially between HP and the theaters) that it's just not a place that most people will walk to at night. If we really focus on a couple of corridors like Main st. and Texas, we could create a sustainable scene in downtown.

[kylejack]

Speaking of Red Cat, it's gone from downtown. I saw a rent arrears lockout notice Sunday. A little research and I found they're going to open a new place in Pearland.

[samagon]

You'll see in the first picture on the top left that it's 86 degrees. Of course, that could have been 9am

Celsius??!!!

I think it would be great (as TTS points out) for some additional lighting, as a cyclist, I do most of my movement downtown at night on the streets, and they are poorly lit (imo). where there are streetlights, it's fine, but we need more of them.

and we need sidewalk lights as well, light up those dark entry ways at night, it will discourage vagrants from sleeping there, and it will let people walking see that there is no one hidden in the shadows (cause there aren't any).

This can be done tastefully, and without using too much energy, if L.E.D. technology is used.

[ricco67]

Celsius??!!!

I think it would be great (as TTS points out) for some additional lighting, as a cyclist, I do most of my movement downtown at night on the streets, and they are poorly lit (imo). where there are streetlights, it's fine, but we need more of them.

and we need sidewalk lights as well, light up those dark entry ways at night, it will discourage vagrants from sleeping there, and it will let people walking see that there is no one hidden in the shadows (cause there aren't any).

This can be done tastefully, and without using too much energy, if L.E.D. technology is used.

311 is your friend. Spread the word.

[mfastx]

Well there are many reasons why more people walked back then. First and foremost, Houston was more centralized back then, there was no Galleria, Greenway Plaza, or TMC (as someone earlier pointed out). Also, this was before the many highways were completed, so most of the people that lived in central Houston stayed there. My grandparents always talked about how for out Bellaire was back in their day, it was truly a suburb.

Also, there was more retail and signage. Creative lighting, signage, and advertisements just attract people (don't ask me why). That's pretty much the only reason Times Square is so crowded, becasue of all the lights/ads. I think Houson should cancel the "no signage" ordinance, it really sucks life out of the downtown area when there's nothing interesting on the streets.

The tunnel system also took away a large percentage of pedestrians downtown. Had we not buit that, there'd be more people today.

Another thing that would help increase pedestrian activity is building a better transit system, so if someone is just going downtown for a concert, they will ride METRO and walk from the stop to their destination, instead of driving to an underground parking garage and walking across the street in a tunnel.

[KinkaidAlum]

Also, there was more retail and signage. Creative lighting, signage, and advertisements just attract people (don't ask me why). That's pretty much the only reason Times Square is so crowded, becasue of all the lights/ads. I think Houson should cancel the "no signage" ordinance, it really sucks life out of the downtown area when there's nothing interesting on the streets.

Are we nothing but moths to a bulb?

I'd argue that people are in Times Square because of the following;

1) BROADWAY. Over TWELVE MILLION folks go to the shows every year. Those folks often like to eat/drink before and after so it makes sense for there to be tons of restaurants and bars next to the THIRTY NINE VENUES.

2) HOTELS. Times Square is a convenient spot for a biz traveler. It's pretty much in central Manhattan making trips to Wall St, Midtown, Downtown, UWS, UES, etc... a breeze. It's also a place in which tourists feel uber comfortable because they "know it" and once they get there they see the TGI Fridays, Bubba Gumps, etc... and feel at ease. That's why there are 16,000 hotel rooms in Times Square! Times Square hotels annually acount for 25% of all hotel stays per year in NYC.

I am telling you, if Houston had 39 theaters that drew in over 12 million a year with the auxiliary restaurants and bars that catered to that crowd in downtown and over 16,000 hotel rooms to go with those figures, downtown would be buzzing even if it were candle lit.

[dbigtex56]

Are we nothing but moths to a bulb?

I'd argue that people are in Times Square because of the following;

1) BROADWAY. Over TWELVE MILLION folks go to the shows every year. Those folks often like to eat/drink before and after so it makes sense for there to be tons of restaurants and bars next to the THIRTY NINE VENUES.

2) HOTELS. Times Square is a convenient spot for a biz traveler. It's pretty much in central Manhattan making trips to Wall St, Midtown, Downtown, UWS, UES, etc... a breeze. It's also a place in which tourists feel uber comfortable because they "know it" and once they get there they see the TGI Fridays, Bubba Gumps, etc... and feel at ease. That's why there are 16,000 hotel rooms in Times Square! Times Square hotels annually acount for 25% of all hotel stays per year in NYC.

I am telling you, if Houston had 39 theaters that drew in over 12 million a year with the auxiliary restaurants and bars that catered to that crowd in downtown and over 16,000 hotel rooms to go with those figures, downtown would be buzzing even if it were candle lit.

When yokels arrive on the train from Podunk and emerge, squinting, from Grand Central Terminal, Times Square is the first impression of New York they're going to have.

We don't have that sort of captive audience in Houston.

[dbigtex56]

Are we nothing but moths to a bulb?

I'd argue that people are in Times Square because of the following;

1) BROADWAY. Over TWELVE MILLION folks go to the shows every year. Those folks often like to eat/drink before and after so it makes sense for there to be tons of restaurants and bars next to the THIRTY NINE VENUES.

2) HOTELS. Times Square is a convenient spot for a biz traveler. It's pretty much in central Manhattan making trips to Wall St, Midtown, Downtown, UWS, UES, etc... a breeze. It's also a place in which tourists feel uber comfortable because they "know it" and once they get there they see the TGI Fridays, Bubba Gumps, etc... and feel at ease. That's why there are 16,000 hotel rooms in Times Square! Times Square hotels annually acount for 25% of all hotel stays per year in NYC.

I am telling you, if Houston had 39 theaters that drew in over 12 million a year with the auxiliary restaurants and bars that catered to that crowd in downtown and over 16,000 hotel rooms to go with those figures, downtown would be buzzing even if it were candle lit.

When yokels arrive on the train from Podunk and emerge, squinting, from Grand Central Terminal, Times Square is the first impression of New York they're going to have.

We don't have that sort of captive audience in Houston. Tourism -and the tourist experience - is in itself a theatrical quality of New York which we cannot duplicate in Houston.

Edited October 20, 2010 by dbigtex56

[editor]

Are we nothing but moths to a bulb?

I'd argue that people are in Times Square because of the following;

1) BROADWAY. Over TWELVE MILLION folks go to the shows every year. Those folks often like to eat/drink before and after so it makes sense for there to be tons of restaurants and bars next to the THIRTY NINE VENUES.

2) HOTELS. Times Square is a convenient spot for a biz traveler. It's pretty much in central Manhattan making trips to Wall St, Midtown, Downtown, UWS, UES, etc... a breeze. It's also a place in which tourists feel uber comfortable because they "know it" and once they get there they see the TGI Fridays, Bubba Gumps, etc... and feel at ease. That's why there are 16,000 hotel rooms in Times Square! Times Square hotels annually acount for 25% of all hotel stays per year in NYC.

I am telling you, if Houston had 39 theaters that drew in over 12 million a year with the auxiliary restaurants and bars that catered to that crowd in downtown and over 16,000 hotel rooms to go with those figures, downtown would be buzzing even if it were candle lit.

It would be nice if downtown Houston had something unique to set it apart from other cities.

As you mentioned, New York has Times Square. Saint Louis has its arch. San Francisco has its trolleys and bridge. It would be nice if Houston had some kind of globally-known icon, whether a building or place or something. It could have been NASA, except that we don't launch rockets from Houston, and NASA's getting out of the manned spaceflight business anyway.

[dbigtex56]

It would be nice if downtown Houston had something unique to set it apart from other cities.

As you mentioned, New York has Times Square. Saint Louis has its arch. San Francisco has its trolleys and bridge. It would be nice if Houston had some kind of globally-known icon, whether a building or place or something. It could have been NASA, except that we don't launch rockets from Houston, and NASA's getting out of the manned spaceflight business anyway.

That's the conundrum. It's a prosaic city, where individual accomplishments are more valued than civic pride. How does one create a monument to the unmonumental?

[RedScare]

Well there are many reasons why more people walked back then. First and foremost, Houston was more centralized back then, there was no Galleria, Greenway Plaza, or TMC (as someone earlier pointed out). Also, this was before the many highways were completed, so most of the people that lived in central Houston stayed there. My grandparents always talked about how for out Bellaire was back in their day, it was truly a suburb.

Also, there was more retail and signage. Creative lighting, signage, and advertisements just attract people (don't ask me why). That's pretty much the only reason Times Square is so crowded, becasue of all the lights/ads. I think Houson should cancel the "no signage" ordinance, it really sucks life out of the downtown area when there's nothing interesting on the streets.

The tunnel system also took away a large percentage of pedestrians downtown. Had we not buit that, there'd be more people today.

Another thing that would help increase pedestrian activity is building a better transit system, so if someone is just going downtown for a concert, they will ride METRO and walk from the stop to their destination, instead of driving to an underground parking garage and walking across the street in a tunnel.

I know what you are trying to say, but you make many incorrect statements in attempting to say it. For one, the tunnels did not drive a single person away from downtown. It didn't drive away pedestrians, either. They are all still there, only in the tunnels, not on the street. You can't see them as you drive down Louisiana Street in your air conditioned car, but they are there.

What percentage of people taking transit would qualify as "better"? 10%? 20% 30%? Would it surprise you to learn that nearly 50% of Downtown workers take transit to work?

http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2010-09-10/1-Office_Market_Overview_Report_2Q10.pdf (see page 2)

What you lament is that it doesn't LOOK the way you want it to. Your ideal involves everyone walking on the sidewalks. The fact that they walk where you cannot see them bothers you. And, you want them all to arrive at work by train. The fact that 29% take a Park&Ride bus, and 11% carpool doesn't have the trendy cool transit factor you crave. But, make no mistake, Houstonians DO take transit to downtown, and they ARE pedestrians.