Swamplot Archives by Category: Attractions

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

What’s Brewing at the New Fifth Ward Saint Arnold HQ

August 27, 2009 – 10:47 am

Fifth Ward correspondents Vaughn and Terri Mueller drive by the building at 2000 Lyons St., across the railroad tracks from Hennessey Park — the future location for the Saint Arnold Brewery. And they notice the gate and a wide strip of the building open to view:

There aren’t any signs around the old HISD food service building exclaiming that Saint Arnold’s is moving in, but take a quick drive around the block and and it sure looks like a brewery inside. The expansion is still under construction but there is a large door (or unfinished wall) that is open to one of the side streets. . . . You can see some of the fermentation tanks in the corner. One of the only signs at the construction site is for the construction company “Clifford Jackson Contractors.”

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10:47 am | 7 Comments | Read more about Adaptive Reuse, Attractions, Industrial Properties, Neighborhoods: Fifth Ward
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Pearland Mansion Mystery — Unrevealed!

August 19, 2009 – 5:02 pm
   

Having been indoctrinated into the bizarre cult of the 64,000-sq.-ft. unfinished residence-like warehouse she calls the Pearland Mystery Mansion, Katharine Shilcutt appears dedicated to keeping its secret: “What became of the house after Dr. Watkins abandoned it and went on to build the halfling mansion next door isn’t a matter of public record, suffice to say it’s a bizarre story of its own that deserves to be told one day. What will happen to the houses is anyone’s guess. The bank that owns both houses has had a feasibility study performed to determine whether or not they would be appropriate for group homes or assisted living facilities. Having been inside, it seems like the most fitting application for at least the larger of the two, if not both. It’s difficult to imagine why someone in their right mind would build what is — essentially — the world’s largest shotgun shack (or, more to the point, what architect conceived of this monstrosity as a residence). But it’s not at all difficult to picture these two buildings on this serene piece of land housing elderly or assisted care patients one day.” [Hair Balls; the house next door, featured on the Neighborhood Guessing Game]

5:02 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Attractions, Brazoria County, Foreclosures, Neighborhoods: Manvel, Neighborhoods: SouthFork, Pearland, Quicklink
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Comment of the Day: Where To Send That New Travel Trailer for Its Shakedown Cruise

August 18, 2009 – 4:21 pm
   

“The question I have is whether or not it’d survive the conditions at Burning Man.” ['stina, commenting on Faro Out Extra-Vehicle Activity: Cricket Trailer Prototype Hits the Streets]

4:21 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Comments, Quicklink, Transportation
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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Building That African Forest in Hermann Park

July 30, 2009 – 8:11 pm

Sure, “immersive landscapes” — where visitors are supposed to feel like they’re just hanging out with the chimps and rhinos and giraffes in the wild — are the latest craze in zoo design. But what’s really the most innovative aspect of the new 13-acre African Forest the Houston Zoo is planning for its southernmost quadrant, at the intersection of North MacGregor and Golf Course Dr. in Hermann Park?

The project

. . . will feature closed-circuit TV connections with area hospitals, allowing patients to view animal keeper presentations or simply to watch animals in their near-natural habitats.

[Houston Zoo President Deborah] Cannon said the programs first will be made available to children’s hospitals, then expanded. Ultimately, they may be made available to local schools, she said.

At last, an effort to capture some of that technological synergy swirling around the Houston Zoo-Med Center nexus! Best of all is the Chronicle’s own map identifying the project’s location, which is a gift to the city all by itself:

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8:11 pm | 5 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Landscape, Neighborhoods: Hermann Park, Proposed Developments
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Monday, July 20, 2009

Behold the Haunting Orbs: Creepy Photo Escapades of the Crosby Ghosthunters

July 20, 2009 – 4:43 pm

Remember back in ’83, when that couple that had bought a new home in Crosby’s Newport subdivision came across a couple of graves from what appeared to be an old slave cemetery as they dug a new swimming pool in their backyard? Okay, how about that Patty Duke TV movie they made out of the story? Remember that?

Well, it looks like those ghosts are . . . still hanging around!

Just look at all the orbs that show up in these photos by a newly minted actual probationary Houston firefighter! Blogger Marissa in Houston recently joined a few fire-station buddies for a little nighttime ghosthunting adventure around Poppets Way:

We found a church that seemed to have no one there and butted up right against that creepy forest. We drove back and right up to the wooded area. This time, I did NOT get out of the car. I couldn’t. I felt so much around me just sitting in the seat that there was no way I could even fathom of being out there. As I sat there and snapped pictures from my Jeep fortress, I kept watching the three others out in front of the car. Once, I saw a pair of legs standing next to the guy on the end. Just the legs, nothing else. Another time, I was looking at something that Mitchell had on the laptop screen ( he was sitting in the front passenger seat and I was leaning through the middle), and the illuminated shadow of someone walking in front of the drivers side head light caught my eye. I thought it was one of our people and turned to say something, but there was no one there. I vividly remember the motion of someone walking and the shape of a person. It was undeniable to me.

Creepy! What else is going on in the neighborhood?

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4:43 pm | 13 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Crosby, Neighborhoods: Newport, Real Estate Marketing
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Monday, July 13, 2009

The Finest Strip-Center Recital Hall in Houston

July 13, 2009 – 11:29 am

Hidden upstairs in that new double-decker strip center on the south side of 59 between the Kirby CVS and the feeder-road Chick-Fil-A, nestled between a hair salon and a spa, is a brand-new recital hall, outfitted with a 7-foot-5 Hamburg Steinway Model C grand piano and room for up to 100 fans of fine classical music. Leave the curtains on the back wall open, and performers can appreciate a sweeping view of the freeway traffic as they play.

The hall is inside the brand-new Dowling Music, a gifts-and-sheet-music store run by concert pianist Richard Dowling, who recently returned to his hometown and bought the Houston branch of Pender’s Music (which Pender’s had bought from the local Wadler-Kaplan Music Shop in 2000).

The strip center and its neighbors were built on the former Kirby Dr. site of Westheimer Transfer & Storage, which former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon bought in 2002. Olajuwon demolished the building and flipped the land, parceling it out in pieces to suburban-style developers.

Dowling, who performs about 60 concerts a year around the world, can’t have expected much walk-in business from visitors patronizing other establishments in the strip center. Downstairs from his store is the Methodist Breast Imaging Center; an Israeli martial arts studio, a weight-loss clinic, a GolfTEC indoor golf clinic, and the Pasha Snoring & Sinus Center round out the second floor. But Dowling tells the West University Examiner’s Steve Mark that traffic has doubled since he moved the store from its Portwest Dr. location:

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11:29 am | 8 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Commercial Real Estate, Neighborhoods: Upper Kirby, Retail, Sprawl, Strip Centers
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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Grand Texas Theme Park in Tomball: Bringing Some of that Texas Frontier Spirit to Texas

July 9, 2009 – 1:13 pm

A California real estate agent who relocated to The Woodlands 5 years ago has plans to build a “Texas”-themed theme park on a foreclosed and forested site in Tomball currently zoned as a subdivision. The 100-acre attraction, which developer and EZ Realty broker Monty Galland envisions as “a combination of an adventure park, museum, retail center and agricultural classroom,” will strive to encompass and celebrate “all that is Texas, Texas History and the Old West.” Yesterday he showed abc13 reporter Sonia Azad a few rough sketches from his architect, out of the back of his SUV.

Grand Texas is Galland’s brainchild. “Met with the architect today,” Galland — or maybe somebody updating the project’s Facebook page for him — wrote on June 25th:

Project is moving along NICELY! We got to see the first of several sketches. It’s kind of like seeing your baby’s first ultrasound picture!

Galland tells the Tomball Potpourri he plans to open the first phase of the park at 11598 Holderrieth Rd., between the railroad tracks and FM 2978, by next April. This would include an indoor entertainment center with rock climbing and a mechanical bull, a play area with pony rides and petting zoos, and a “family-friendly” paintball facility. Planned for the following year:

Wild Texas Frontier, an island filled with activities for all ages, including high ropes courses that traverse a river, canoeing, catch & release fishing, and a giant maze; and The Mansion, a reception hall reminiscent of the Texas State Governors Mansion, which can be used for a wedding reception of up to 400 guests or more intimate business functions.

Where’s all the financing going to come from? Best of all: You can invest!

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1:13 pm | 98 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: Tomball, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Comment of the Day: Galveston Offshore Platform Eco-Gambling Escapes

July 1, 2009 – 11:51 pm
   

“. . . a ‘Santa Monica’ pier at The Flagship location would be golden, would be the DESTINATION for a lot of folks! But couldn’t there ALSO be an offshore gambling venue?? Imagine an elevator takes gamblers to a secret bullet-train in a tube, which whisks them to an oil derrick with gaming (no horse-racing, of course, haha!) The Island needs an injection of edgy intrigue since The Balinese is gone. Also, George Mitchell is another Player on Galveston; the gambling train could offer eco-tours to see Gulf habitat and thus receive some federal matching funds or something…” [movocelot, commenting on Roller Coaster on the Pier: Crunch Time for the Flagship Hotel]

11:51 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Comments, Galveston, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Where Long Point Is the High Point: Houston Westside Taco Tourism

June 25, 2009 – 1:19 pm

Maybe this is the industry that’ll bring in . . . all those bargain-seeking tourists from Austin?

Video: Nelson Flores

1:19 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Long Point, Restaurants, Tourism
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Friday, May 8, 2009

Comics Relief: Hard Times at the West Oaks Mall

May 8, 2009 – 10:05 am

What’s a struggling mall to do these days? How about turning off the air conditioning . . . and hosting a comic-book convention! Robert W. Boyd reports from the scene:

Despite a great location [on Highway 6 between Westheimer and Richmond] and not bad interior, West Oaks Mall is plagued with vacancies. And unlike malls like Memorial City Mall, West Oaks is not able to hide the gaps. . . .

West Oaks needed to occupy its empty stores (even if temporarily), or at least cover them up. And it needed to get people in the mall who could at least potentially patronize the remaining stores. So that’s where Comicpalooza came in.

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10:05 am | 10 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Commercial Real Estate, Economic Conditions, Leasing, Malls, Neighborhoods: Alief, Retail
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Monday, May 4, 2009

Dynamo Downtown Dinghy: All Aboard, Quick!

May 4, 2009 – 11:14 am

The giant inflatable-boat-like structure shown here afloat in an otherwise-empty East Downtown six-pack superblock is the latest rendition of . . . the new Houston Dynamo soccer stadium! The Houston Chronicle’s Bernardo Fallas has details:

The Dynamo want to have the roughly $85 million, 22,000-seat stadium ready for opening day 2011. They envision an all-round two-level, all-seater venue with 34 suites, 86 concession point-of-sales, a 3,000 square-foot club level and a party deck on the southeast corner.

Loving that subtle “soccer fans on a life raft” imagery? It gets better: The open-air stadium’s playing surface will be a full story underground!

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11:14 am | 20 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Financing, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments
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Thursday, April 23, 2009

County Judge Foresees New Use for Astrodome: Giant Enclosed Space, Shielded from Weather

April 23, 2009 – 1:39 pm

Noting that negotiations intended to turn the Harris County Domed Stadium into a convention-center hotel have “not progressed in recent months,” County Judge Ed Emmett suggests an entirely new idea for reusing the shuttered structure: How about turning the Astrodome into . . . a giant indoor, air-conditioned space where people could hold . . . events?

Emmett writes in a Chronicle blog:

. . . as we saw only too clearly last weekend, we in Harris County are extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of our weather. The International Festival suffered a pretty serious setback with the torrential rainfall we had Saturday. Having the Dome available for such eventualities seems to me a potential solution worth investigating.

Some of the major festival organizers have responded eagerly to the idea in informal discussions, so I’m now soliciting input from other organizers, civic groups, preservationists and the public at large.

At the same time, other groups are discussing museums, planetariums, studios and all sorts of public venues, but having the Dome as a multipurpose facility for everyone to enjoy would be tremendous. Of course, I imagine the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo would find it a useful venue too.

Photo: Jeff Balke

1:39 pm | 23 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Reliant Park, Public Buildings
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Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Astrodome and the Colosseum

March 19, 2009 – 5:02 pm
   

Ken Hoffman returns from Italy with a little perspective: “The Colosseum was originally called Amphitheatrum Flavium, and it was built by the powerful emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The Astrodome was originally called the Harris County Domed Stadium, and it was governed by former Houston Mayor and Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. He just thought he was an emperor. The Colosseum, after several expansions (mostly to honor a new emperor), had a seating capacity of about 65,000. It had 80 entrances and could completely fill and empty in less than five minutes. The Astrodome, after several expansions (mostly to stop Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams’ whining), had a seating capacity of 62,000 for football. It would take an hour to get out of the parking lot because of a lack of exits. Parking was cheaper in ancient times, too.” [Houston Chronicle; previously in Swamplot]

5:02 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Neighborhoods: Reliant Park, Public Buildings, Quicklink
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Monday, March 16, 2009

Openings and Closings: Chili’s Chills, Movie Munchies, Green Performers

March 16, 2009 – 5:23 pm

Hey, what happened to Monday? Swamplot spent most of it fighting off a few tech demons. But hey, here’s some news!

  • Opened: The new and expanded Children’s Museum had its grand opening this weekend. Now twice its original size, the 90,000 sq. ft. museum features exhibits of children in various states of play. Also inside: an expanded branch of the Houston Public Library.
  • Opening: Backe’s Bullpen, a fine drinking establishment in Dickinson, will open with the backing of Astros pitcher Brandon Backe, reports the Galveston Daily News’s Laura Elder. Last October, Backe was arrested after a run-in with police at a Galveston bar.
  • Closed: Mike McGuff notices that the Meyer Park Chili’s, once “the big teen hangout in southwest Houston,” shut down in February.

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5:23 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Dickinson, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Neighborhoods: Meyerland, Neighborhoods: Museum District, Neighborhoods: West University, Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
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Friday, March 13, 2009

The Woodlands’ Bigger Tent Revival

March 13, 2009 – 5:00 pm

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion will have twice as many seats, and a greatly enlarged tension-fabric structure to cover them, when it reopens for its first concert on May 1.

A new section of about 2,000 additional reserved seats is being constructed behind the existing uncovered seating area. The new canopy structure will cover all 6,387 seats. The result will be 2,147 fewer seats on the lawn, cutting the venue’s overall capacity by about 460, to 16,040.

The original Teflon-coated Fiberglas-fabric roofs were torn to shreds — and their support structures seriously damaged — by Hurricane Ike:

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5:00 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Disaster Aftermath, Neighborhoods: The Woodlands
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