Montrose

06/15/10 8:54am

Critic’s Choice: Tower Theatre Will Go Tex-Mex

Openings and Closings, Renovations, Restaurants

21 Comments

Permitting has already begun for a new Tex-Mex restaurant in Montrose, which will be neatly inserted into the former Tower Theater building on Westheimer at Yoakum. The marquee on the Art Deco building has already been restored to neon-and-fluorescent glory. Next up: rebuilding the theater’s former balcony, removed when the building was gutted and converted to a Hollywood Video store a few years back. The yet-to-be-named restaurant will be a joint project of Bill Floyd and Bryan Caswell of Reef and former Houston Press restaurant critic Robb Walsh, who’s written several Tex-Mex cookbooks. My Table reports the new restaurant is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2011.

Heard on the Street [My Table SideDish]
Previously on Swamplot: The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights, Drive-By and Walk-By Reports on the Tower Theatreâ€™s New Headliner, Whatâ€™s Playing at the Tower Theatre?, Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre

Photo: Matthew Rutledge [license]

77006, Montrose, Movie-Theaters, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Restaurants

06/11/10 11:35pm

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Gotta Fight for Your Right

Nightlife, Renovations, Riverside Terrace

9 Comments

Got a question about something going on in your neighborhood youâ€™d like Swamplot to answer? Sorry, we canâ€™t help you. But if you ask real nice and include a photo or 2 with your request, maybe the Swamplot Street Sleuths can! Who are they? Other readers, just like you, ready to demonstrate their mad skillz in hunting down stuff like this:

Answers — of a sort — to your questions:

Montrose: Alas, none of our readers were able to identify concrete plans for the uh, seminal Montrose nightclub at the corner of Westheimer and Yoakum, which closed last year. But some of you were happy to pass on rumors about Mary’s: “Last I heard it was being purchased/leased again and will become a new Montrose hangout paying homage to the original, but that was about two months after it closed,” reports kjb434. LandGuy points out that the next-door parking lot between Mary’s and Burger King is owned by someone else; however HCAD records indicate the owners of Mary’s still also own the lot directly behind the former club, facing California St.
Riverside Terrace and beyond: Can anyone snap photos of your home? “If you are in a public space, you can photograph anything you like. There may be restrictions around military installations or FBI buildings, though,” declares roving pic-snapper RWB. But watch out for overzealous security guards and cops, he warns. RWB has some experience in that department; but not so much as Downtown electric shuttle entrepreneur Erik Ibarra — who, sadly, did not weigh in to this discussion. (Ibarra founded REV Eco-Shuttle in 2008, shortly after he and his brother received a $1.7 million lawsuit settlement from the city. Six years earlier, sheriff’s deputies had entered their home near Park Place, seized their film, and arrested them after Ibarra’s brother took photos — from his own and public property — of a drug search being conducted at their next-door neighbor’s home.)
Lauren offered a link to this handy guide to photographers’ rights. But a couple readers were certain the would-be design stalker was casing, not admiring: Says montrose: “They were just seeing if anyone was home before they robbed the joint. Nobody wants to take a picture of your house.”

Weâ€™ll post the next set of reader questions next Tuesday. Send us what you’ve got before then!

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Something About Maryâ€™s, Design Stalkers

Photo of 1022 Westheimer Rd.: Swamplot inbox

77004, 77006, Lawsuits, Montrose, Nightlife, Photography, Public Space, Renovations, Riverside-Terrace

Institutional Buildings

06/11/10 12:01pm

Kipling Street Academy: Doubling Kid Parking Places in Montrose

Montrose, Parking, Schools

10 Comments

A reader sends photos to document the advance of Montrose’s Kipling Street Academy. The 2-story private preschool was set back deep in the 50-ft.-wide residential lot at 1425 Kipling a few years ago. Now it’s expanding one lot further, to the corner of Mulberry St. Owner Jennifer Pierce bought the small apartment complex on that site last year and had it demolished. The finished building will feature a wide second-story gallery tiptoeing over the back row of parking spaces, leaving the front of both lots clear for cars and kiddie drop-offs:

77006, Additions, Institutional Buildings, Montrose, Parking, Schools

Development Restrictions

06/09/10 9:53am

The Next New Historic District: First Montrose Commons

First Montrose Commons, Historic Preservation, Montrose

23 Comments

There’s more historic-district action on today’s city council agenda than the proposed temporary ban on gonna-do-it-anyway waivers: Council members are expected to approve First Montrose Commons as Houston’s 16th historic district. The planning commission approved the new district more than a month ago. If the council also votes today to put in place a temporary moratorium on the designation of new historic districts, First Montrose Commons will have gotten in just under the wire.

When last we left the east Montrose hood — bounded roughly by West Alabama, Richmond, Montrose Blvd. and the Downtown spur — its quest for historic-district status had been stumped by HSPVA, which counts for a large chunk of the proposed district. HISD’s decision on the petition, wrote neighborhood-association president Jason Ginsburg at the time, would either “make or break” the district. So what happened?

77006, City Council, Development Restrictions, First Montrose Commons, Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Montrose

06/08/10 4:15pm

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Something About Mary’s, Design Stalkers

Nightlife, Photography, Riverside Terrace, Uncategorized

51 Comments

Got an answer to either of these reader questions? Or just want to be a sleuth for Swamplot? Hereâ€™s your chance! Add your report in a comment, or send a note to our tipline.

Montrose: A reader wants to know if anyone has heard of any plans for the site of Mary’s Lounge at the corner of Westheimer and Yoakum — as well as the parking lot between it and Burger King. The famous Montrose club shut down last year.
Riverside Terrace and beyond: When strangers just love your style!

My partner and I are renovating our house in Riverside Terrace, and the other day a well-mannered gentleman rang our doorbell requesting our permission to photograph our house. While we’d like to presume that his request was a compliment that our hard work is paying off, we didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of a stranger snapping photos of our house. Not knowing his true intentions, we politely declined.

Otherwise who knows where your stuff would show up?! So . . . what’s the question?

However, I know that applications such as Google Street View capture images from the public domain and make them readily available via the internet. Are there any restrictions to what we can or cannot photograph in Houston?

Photo of 1022 Westheimer Rd.: Swamplot inbox

77004, 77006, Montrose, Nightlife, Photography, Renovations, Riverside-Terrace

Foreclosures

05/24/10 11:20am

No Auction Action for the Harold St. Family Home Turned Party Pad

Homes for Sale, Montrose, Price Reductions, Streetscapes, Trees

8 Comments

How’d that foreclosure auction go for the humongous early-eighties brick house on Harold St. in Montrose used in recent years as a party pad and chainsaw test site?

Let’s just say that the auction listing is gone, the property is back on MLS — and the price has been cut another $45K. But unlike the sudden, swift, and unexplained felling of the mature street trees surrounding this property, the chopping of the list price has resulted from a series of 6 hacks, from $644,900 last October to $469,900 just last week.

77006, Auctions, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose, Price Reductions, Streetscapes, Trees

Comments

05/20/10 1:47pm

Comment of the Day: Trying To Clean Up in Those Montrose Bungalow Bathrooms

Interiors, Montrose, Quicklink, Renovations

10 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: TRYING TO CLEAN UP IN THOSE MONTROSE BUNGALOW BATHROOMS “I canâ€™t tell you how many bungalows, Victorians, and other 1910-1940 houses Iâ€™ve looked at in Montrose in the past year where the remuddlers have totally destroyed the character of the bathroom with the ultra-trendy stone floor and walls with the disgustingly unsanitary jetted whirlpool tub.” [GoogleMaster, commenting on Swamplot Price Adjuster: The Heights of 2-2ness]

77006, 77019, Bathrooms, Comments, Interiors, Montrose, Remodeling, Renovations

Apartments

05/12/10 4:04pm

Small, Cool Apartment Contest Winner Explains How It All Began

Home Decor, Houston History, Interiors, Montrose, Westmoreland

4 Comments

Well, whaddya know? Graphic designer Chris Nguyen’s tiny Marshall St. apartment (featured on Swamplot just last week) ended up as the grand U.S. prize winner in Apartment Therapy’s Small, Cool 2010 design contest. No fluke: Nguyen was, uh . . . thinking small from the get-go. Intrigued by the design website’s annual competition and the idea of living in a tiny space, Nguyen began his search for an apartment in Houston last July:

I really wanted this to be about a different way of living and not about compromises, so it was important that all my furniture remained real-sized. I carefully selected what I thought I needed and put away in storage extraneous collections and junk that we all end up hoarding over the years. . . .

I think the bedroom in the house I was living in last was the same size as this entire studio. It was a big room in a big house that was filled with an incredibly increasing amount of big things. That’s how we do it in Texas, right? All the while, I always held an admiration for smartly designed small spaces more commonly found in highly urban dense metropolises or cool under appreciated neighborhoods. Houston is not the first of those things, so I looked for something purposefully small in the latter.

And he found . . . ?

77006, Apartments, Home Decor, Houston History, Interiors, Montrose, Westmoreland

Buying and Selling

05/07/10 11:23am

Rescued from the Bistro Vino Redevelopment Flop: Ocean’s Ceviche

First Montrose Commons, Homebuilders, Leasing, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

15 Comments

Remember the swingin’ days of a couple of years ago, when InnerLoopCondos bought Bistro Vino and got ready to tear down the 24-year-old Montrose restaurant at the corner of West Alabama and Roseland? And then the company put out that goofy little internet survey asking us to vote on which type of condo-building cliche you’d like to see shoved onto the site? If you’re one of the lucky participants who somehow managed to write in “Give it up,” congratulations! Your choice has been selected!

Mexico City natives Jorge and Isaac Alvarez have since secured a lease-purchase of the former restaurant property from its would-be redevelopers. Jorge Alvarez, a custom-home developer himself, had a crew from his Alvgar Construction company renovate the 1930’s Tudor-style home and patio.

The brothers’ “modern Mexican” restaurant, Ocean’s Ceviche, isn’t expected to open officially until May 21st, but intrepid Swamplot photographer Candace Garcia brings you this little preview of the spiffed-up grounds:

77006, Buying and Selling, First Montrose Commons, Homebuilders, Leasing, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Comments

05/03/10 3:50pm

Comment of the Day: The Tower Theatre, Back To the Future

Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Quicklink

3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE TOWER THEATRE, BACK TO THE FUTURE “But if we donâ€™t get the sign from 1955 to 1985 before the lightning storm, Annise Parker will never be born!” [Evan7257, commenting on The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights] Photo: Swampot inbox

77006, Comments, Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Mayor Parker, Montrose, Movie-Theaters

Leasing

05/03/10 10:01am

The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights

Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Renovations

4 Comments

A reader reports on the newest bright spot on Lower Westheimer:

My photo isn’t terribly good, but it will at least give you an idea of what they’re up to with the new marquee.Â Half of the upper neon is working and the marquee is completely operational.Â Even without everything functioning, it already puts the River Oaks to shame. It’s still not going to be as outrageous as the original setup with the taller spire and even more neon, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Previously on Swamplot: Drive-By and Walk-By Reports on the Tower Theatreâ€™s New Headliner, Whatâ€™s Playing at the Tower Theatre?, and Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77006, Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Movie-Theaters, Outdoor Lighting, Renovations

Adaptive Reuse

04/29/10 2:55pm

Comment of the Day: You See a Worn-Out Fourplex, I See a West Gray Bar Waiting To Happen

Apartments, Comments, Montrose, Nightlife, North Montrose, Quicklink

No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOU SEE A WORN-OUT FOURPLEX, I SEE A WEST GRAY BAR WAITING TO HAPPEN “Looks like a great place to relocate the long dead but sorely missed Aquarium [Lounge]. Connect two. Demolish two for for parking. Win. Take a look behind the front room addition at Kenneallyâ€™s and youâ€™ll find a building nearly identical to these: obsolete for housing, but many other uses.” [Bernard, commenting on Lovebird Hideaways: 3 Out of 4 Fourplexes on West Gray]

77019, Adaptive Reuse, Apartments, Bars and Clubs, Comments, Montrose, North Montrose

Construction Problems

04/28/10 3:13pm

Why Montrose’s Fire Station 16 Is Back on the Job

Hazards, Lancaster Place, Montrose

7 Comments

So what was the cause of all the hullabaloo over at Fire Station 16 at the corner of Richmond and Dunlavy that caused fire department officials to close it down for a few days earlier this month? A source told Swamplot on April 2nd that the building likely had foundation problems and was close to collapsing. Here’s what firefighters spotted:

77006, Construction Problems, Fire Stations, Hazards, Lancaster Place, Montrose

04/27/10 9:48am

Drive-By and Walk-By Reports on the Tower Theatre’s New Headliner

Renovations, Retail, Signage

8 Comments

A reader who’s had an eye on Montrose’s Tower Theatre ever since Hollywood Video moved out — and who became “rather upset” at the disappearance of the building’s original marquee — sends a few snapshots of the scene near the corner of Yoakum and Westheimer:

. . . I saw some workers putting up new wood a few weeks ago and painting the front of the building a few days ago.

And what do we see in these snaps?