COMMENT OF THE DAY: KEEP HOUSTON OBLIVIOUS 
“In a real way, Houston is way more weird than Austin. Austin has a younger, more counter-culture population but all that has become mainstream anyway. Houston, on the other hand, is weird as in strange or unique in its ability to freely and quickly remake itself based on economics, not by committee. But instead of Houstonians embracing this uniqueness, we groan how we should be like Boston, NY, etc. and moan about not preserving buildings (I am in this group), this one going up in an inappropriate spot etc., that one not being architecturally congruent. But it’s like we’re living in a huge sand painting with things we see getting constructed and others destroyed constantly, which is the beauty, reality and terror of existence, the wabi-sabi beauty of impermanence. Austin is a peace symbol, Houston is actual war.” [Dana-X, commenting on Comment of the Day: Why Montrose Ain’t the Worst Place for a Bar from Austin] Illustration: Lulu
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The Art Guys are in there somewhere: On Friday the mischievous duo executed Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, the latest of their yearlong series of 12, umm, performances. Cocooning themselves in these 6-ft. sections of privacy fencing, Jack Massing and Michael Galbreth proceeded to spend 2 hours publicly scuttling about the reflecting pool and Hermann Square in front of the Joseph Finger-designed City Hall.
Across town from the molten-zinc-dipped pedestrian bridges and Bud Light Amphitheaters going up along Buffalo Bayou, site prep is underway to build a new section of hike and bike trail along Brays Bayou in Mason Park. Paid for by the same federal scratch that will fund a yet-to-be-designed pedestrian bridge spanning the bayou on the south side of 75th St. (or behind that bridge in the photo), this section will connect 75th to Forest Hill Blvd., where the trail picks up and splits, running west to Lawndale and east to Capitol near the Magnolia Transit Center.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY MONTROSE AIN’T THE WORST PLACE FOR A BAR FROM AUSTIN “[I]s there some magical mysterious essence of Houston that a person from Austin couldn’t possibly understand? Or vice versa? Inner loop Houston is just like inner (loopless) Austin. Suburban Houston is just like suburban Austin. You can rest assured that Doc’s, designed to appeal to the South Congress crowd in Austin, will also adequately accommodate the unique needs and wants of the Montrose crowd.” [heyzeus, commenting on Austin Bar Doc’s To Remedy Montrose Wendy’s Wreckage]
Here’s a short documentary, uploaded at the end of July, about a group of Fifth Warders doing “guerrilla gardening” — as one shovel-wielding fella describes it — on a bit of the Hardy Yards, that 50-acre patch of former Union Pacific rail yard off Burnett St., just north of Downtown.
- Raising Hardy Yards Mini Docu-Film [YouTube]
Video: Aprill Renee
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: A RIVER OAKS HOME’S HIDDEN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY 
“Believe it or not, somewhere in there are the bones of a 1950′s flat-roofed modern house designed for the Fondren family by Eugene Werlin. It was used in the movie The Thief Who Came To Dinner.” [BenH, commenting on Headlines: A Big New TV in Reliant Stadium; The River Oaks Mansion with the Biggest Pool in Houston] Illustration: Lulu
Seems the concerned neighbors around that 17-story office building that Hines is considering building on San Felipe aren’t worried only about traffic. This map, created by a member of the recently formed nonprofit East San Felipe Association — which says it is committed to supporting “reasonable development” in this area around S. Shepherd, Kirby, and San Felipe — suggests another threat to the ’hood: copycatting.
Clearly speculative, the map takes pains to show those sites where other unreasonable highrises could pop up in response to the precedent that Hines is setting with 2229 San Felipe. On S. Shepherd, for ex., you might see the Red Lion Pub forgo its street-level scale, or Petco abandon the confines of its big box. (But wouldn’t that long elevator ride down give you some quality time to bond with your recently adopted pup?) If this map is to be trusted, it seems like it would be only a matter of time before the bug spreads north and Chipotle throws up a tower of burritos. The last thing the neighbors want, says just one of the messages on that oppositional website that they set up, is for this residential area to become “the next Greenway Plaza.”
- What is it? [Stop the San Felipe Skyscraper]
- A New Boutique Office Address for the River Oaks Community [2229 San Felipe]
- Previously on Swamplot: Hines Develops Website To Explain 17-Story San Felipe Development, “Stop†Signs Oppose 17-Story Hines Office Building on San Felipe, A Look Around San Felipe at the Randall Davis Condos and Planned Hines Office Building Site, Hines Plans a Shiny New 18-Story Office Building Across San Felipe from River Oaks
Image: Swamplot inbox
Now that Cafe Adobe is coming down on the corner of Westheimer and S. Shepherd, Hines says it is going to start building this apartment complex later this month. A Hines rep tells Swamplot that this rendering of the so-called 21 Eleven at — wait for it — 2111 Westheimer is current — though it doesn’t appear to be all that different from the one published back in April that Hines said wasn’t. At any rate, the complex is planned to hold 215 units in 5 stories that will sit atop 2 levels of “podium parking.” And no ground-floor retail.
- Hines breaks ground on next Houston multifamily project [Houston Business Journal]
- Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: Adobe Creative Cloud, Westheimer Rd. Cafe Adobe Closing on Mother’s Day, Hines Replacing Cafe Adobe With Apartment Building — Just Not This One
Rendering: Hines
COMMENT OF THE DAY: TRYING TO GROK THE BIG HOUSE “The $14.5 million house only has three bedrooms in 11K square feet of house — does that mean the rest of it is the 8 bathrooms and 4 half baths? A million-gallon pool would be what kind of water bill? Their current taxes are $98K with homeowners and over-65 exemptions on an HCAD valuation of $5 million, so what would taxes be for an under 65 if they end up selling it for $10-ish million?” [Heidi, commenting on Headlines: A Big New TV in Reliant Stadium; The River Oaks Mansion with the Biggest Pool in Houston]
Mark your calendars! The implosion of the big brick box that used to shelter Macy’s and Foley’s has been scheduled bright and early: It’ll go down at 6:10 a.m. Sunday, September 22. The Kenneth Franzheim-designed department store at 1110 Main St. has already suffered some selective chunkage, and it looks like serial crusher Cherry Demolition will be in charge of setting off the final charges.
Though Cherry is pretty experienced with this sort of thing, the building’s proximity to the light rail line seems to have spurred Metro into some serious contingency planning: Internal documents show that Metro has set up alternative service for anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks in case something goes wrong.
Here’s the plan: The trains will stop running on the evening of Friday, September 20, to give Metro plenty of time to remove poles, wires, brackets, supports, etc. A contractor has been hired to “Utilize Containers,” says those documents, and build a wall around the water spouts and decorations at the Main Street Square station catty-corner from the building. Meanwhile, Metro will be double-checking its insurance policy.
The old Westheimer Wendy’s has been reduced to a shell of itself, this photo shows, as Doc’s Bar and Grill has come all the way from Austin to build itself up. Located at 1303 Westheimer and Graustark — right beside the overflow parking lot for Royal Oak Bar and Grill, which is right across the street — Doc’s says in a Facebook post that this 3rd location could open in November.
- Doc’s Bar and Grill [Facebook]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
Yesterday, a HAIF user posted this rendering of what appears to be that twisty 42-story apartment tower Tema Development is considering building right next to its Parklane condos on Hermann Dr. This rendering of the “Helix Tower” sure matches the description provided by the Swamplot reader who saw the plans for the Corgan-designed highrise last week at a Museum Park neighborhood association meeting.
GREENSTREET, GETTING GOING 
Just 4 short months after that party it threw for itself, GreenStreet might start becoming something more than a new name and a few signs, reports the Houston Business Journal. Though graffiti artists worked in June to enliven some of the former Houston Pavilions infamously inward-facing spaces with murals, it seems real construction — expected to last between 6 and 9 more months — will begin in a few weeks. The thrust of the renovations? Here’s Shaina Zucker: “Changes to the 568,294-square-foot property . . . include removing existing implements to the interior corridor while creating a new linear urban park.” [Art Attack; Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: GreenStreet
Here are some new renderings of the spaces between the buildings on the ExxonMobil campus under construction in Springwoods Village. The Houston Business Journal’s Shaina Zucker reports that the 20 or so office buildings that will constitute the 385-acre campus will be organized around “a central three-acre commons” much like the one, designed by Houston firm PDR, shown here. The commons, explains Zucker, is “modeled after great public squares found in Europe and the U.S.”
SAY HOWDY TO THE LARGEST GAY COUNTRY BAR IN TEXAS 
Lamenting the closing of Brazos River Bottom in Midtown, the new owners of the 1955 Esquire Ballroom — where a young Willie Nelson, among other country crooners, cut his teeth — say they are restoring the vacant dancehall and saloon and will be opening on August 24 what they claim is the largest LGBT country bar in Texas. At 11410 Hempstead Hwy. in Spring Branch, the 10,000-sq.ft. building is now named Neon Boots and, according to a press release, is being renovated to include a “huge dance floor and performance stage, six bar stations, table service, [and an] expansive outdoor area with deck and patio. The owners also anticipate installing a mechanical bull.” [Neon Boots; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Esquire Ballroom: West Houston Archives
