COMMENT OF THE DAY: WRAP KNAPP WITH VELVET ROPE LINES “Good riddance! This landmark has for too long stood in the way of shiny-shirt progress. Think of how many bars with names like ‘Elite,’ ‘Wealth,’ or ‘Entitled’ you could fit on that property! For my money, I might just have to call [it] the Bourgeoises, in honor of the now defunct Proletariat. And by ‘in honor of’ I mean ‘urinating upon the memory of.’†[Nord, commenting on GM Wants To Take Away Knapp]
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Washington Corridor
On the list of dealerships General Motors intends to shut down: Knapp Chevrolet, at 815 Houston Ave. just south of Washington. Back in May, GM notified the longtime Downtown dealership of its intent to terminate its franchise agreement as of Halloween 2010.
Since then, the dealership’s owners have been trying to get the decision reversed: President Robert G. Knapp presented his case to a congressional subcommittee in July, after several appeals to the company were rejected. Knapp claims his dealership has been profitable, and that closing the dealership would significantly hobble GM’s local market share. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has gotten involved, introducing a bill in Congress that would make it easier for dealerships to appeal franchise terminations in court. Knapp is also collecting a list of supporters through an online petition to GM. More than 6,200 supporters have added their names to the list so far.
One of those supporters: The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, fans of Knapp’s moderne corner building, completed in 1941, 2 years after the dealership was first established.
- SaveKnappChevy.com [Knapp Chevrolet, via Swamplot inbox]
- Testimony of Robert G. Knapp (PDF) [GHPA]
- Knapp Chevrolet Co. [Houston Deco]
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Announces new initiative to save autodealers, Jobs [rblok]
- Automobile Dealers Fair Competition Act of 2009 (H.R. 3450) [Thomas]
Photo of Knapp Chevrolet: Chris Adams
A reader notes that a few of those new Villas at the Heights townhouses from Northgate Custom Homes, built “right on the railroad tracks on Heights Blvd, backing up to the recycling center” are now sporting new — and much lower — asking prices:
The most extreme price reduction on one went from $365k to $299k. There are now 5 units for sale with prices ranging from $289k to $309k. They are getting there, only another $40k to go before someone might actually look at them!
Front-row train-side Unit M — featured in Dave McC’s famous video below — seems to have taken a break from MLS, but it’s still listed on the Northgate website for just $299,900!
This doesn’t sound so much like a deli now, does it? How long ’til they start calling this part of Shepherd The Gastrow?
A little birdie points Swamplot to more info about plans for the former Cue & Cushion pool hall, hiding on the uh . . . secret Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau website:
510 Shepherd, designed by award-winning hospitality designer Joel Mozersky, will be a unique neighborhood restaurant concept reminiscent of a traditional London gastro pub, yet modernized in design and updated to take into account American tastes.
GUESS WHERE WALTER’S ON WASHINGTON IS MOVING! Here are your clues: It’ll be “downtown” in a 1928 “warehouse,” and have twice the floor space of the current Walter’s at 1425 Washington Ave. It will have free parking and will be “removed from residential areas.” Beyond that, owner Pam Robinson isn’t saying — until TABC approves the new location: “The venue has shows booked deep into the fall. There will be no cancellations. As soon as the new space — which Robinson hopes to announce in the next week or two — is ready, Walter’s shows will move there.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
Live-music maker and fan Jeff Balke gets worked up over the rumor that Walter’s on Washington will be closing its doors after its Halloween show:
At one time, Washington Avenue was home to Rockefeller’s, The Fabulous Satellite Lounge, Club Hey Hey, the Bon Ton Room and The Vatican. Other notables including Walter’s, The Rhythm Room, Tones, Cosmo’s and others had their moments along the popular corridor. When Walter’s closes, that will be that for live music having been replaced by red velvet roped drinking spots that serve over-priced alcohol to those allowed in by bouncers.
Balke blog bonus: A blow-by-blow what-are-they-now guide to Washington Ave live-music venues gone bye-bye.
Houston Press music blog Rocks Off has this vague report: “The building has reportedly been sold and, we hear, Walter’s owner Pam Robinson is looking to relocate.”
- Final Nail in the Coffin for Washington Avenue Live Music [Broken Record]
- The Doucheification of Washington Avenue Soon Complete [Jeff Balke]
- Walter’s on Washington Closing In October; Club May Relocate [Rocks Off]
- Walter’s on Washington
Photo of Walter’s on Washington, 4215 Washington Ave.: Yelp user mark s.
HAIF poster Htowngirl, who lives near the new Ei8ht nightclub at the corner of Roy St., complains about . . . uh, parking difficulties in her neighborhood. And posts a few photos of an early Sunday morning scene from a few weeks ago:
The parking for Ei8ht in the neighborhood is already horrendous, I can’t even imagine what it will be like when Taps, Busty LaRoue’s, and this new “country” bar open…
Sample of the parking issues… I live a few blocks off Washington, near Ei8ht…the scene outside my house at 3 AM Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. Drunk suburbanite 21-year-old drove into our ditch.
Still there in the morning…
COMMENT OF THE DAY: KICKING BACK ON WASHINGTON AVE. “I live in the Core (since October 2008), and I’m certain that there are no plans to extend this complex across the street. The Core is a great place to live, but like every other large inner city complex, they’ve been slow to fill vacancies here. With that said, it would be foolish for them to even consider expanding. The last I heard, there were plans to put a small two story shopping strip there similar to the one on the other side of the Core. Still no solid plans though from anyone. By the way, if anyone wants to live here in the Core, put me as a reference and you and i both will get cash back.” [Hector Garcia, commenting on Washington Ave.: Extending The Core?]
Thanks to some helpful Swamplot commenters, we have more of the scoop on that railroad-track-side townhome featured on this site yesterday. The project, developed by Northgate Custom Homes, is called Villas at the Heights. And yes, units are still available!
114-M Heights Blvd., which has the front-row seat on the railroad track just north of Center St., is in fact listed at the same price it started at when it first hit the market, a week and a year ago. However, it’s been marked down three times and up twice since then, reaching a low of $296,900 last May and a high of $324,900 last August. Today, you could snap this place up for a mere $299,900!
If you like the track frontage but feel a bit nervous about owning a townhome that directly faces busy Heights Blvd., you might prefer Unit A in back, available for the same price. It’s the same model, which Northgate calls “The Blue Violet.”
A peek at the interiors of the development’s model home:
WELCOME TO BIZARRO HEIGHTS. WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING? Waving a highly abbreviated feature-comparison table, blogger tshu declares the new Washington Ave. is really “Bizarro Heights.” When will the custom neighborhood street signs go up? “For better or worse, Washington Avenue now provides all the elements that the Heights traditionally could not: trendy bars, restaurants, and large apartment complexes. . . . The explosive growth along Washington can be partly attributed to the support from the neighboring Heights area.” [Feed the Heights]
Yelp user Minh L. does his part to clear up all those Washington Ave. rumors. How many new bars are planned there? Really?
1. “The Lot” next to Pearl Bar will be open at 2 pm this Thursday.
2; The Daily Grind that closed down, the owners of Cork Screw has taken over the place, and is now currently being remodeled.
3. Owners of Whiskey Creek is opening a bar right next to “Busty La Rue” which is also right next to Pub Fiction new place on Washington. 5102 Washington Houston TX 77007
4. That Gawd awful yellow/stone place your talking about is called “Zen Ultra Lounge”
5. Owner of Pandora is opening another one down the street. Its that purple buidling. DBA is called “Blue Book” don’t think they have a name yet.
6. That really big one is called “Reign Lounge” One of the owners name is Luis. Very nice guy.
7. The old Pig stand is going to be called “Sawyer Sports Bar”
8. “Rare Bar” is opening soon on Durham & Washington
All in all there’s about 16 bars/club so far wanting to open on Washington, but we’ll see how many of them really open. These are all the ones I have time to confrm.
And where exactly does Minh L. get his info?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: STREET FIGHTERS “Washington Ave is short on Mexican food but it may be long on wrestlers.” [EMME, commenting on Washington Ave. Latest: Wrestler-Themed Tacos To Calm the Nightly Grind]
Here’s a concept perfect for the former home of the Daily Grind coffee shop at 4115 Washington Ave.: A new bar!
But the Washington Ave. Drinkery will be very different from all those nightclubs Sixth Ward residents love to stand outside and videotape, owners Andrew and Doyle Adams explain to Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal:
“It will be a place where people will want to come to have a good time instead of wanting to be seen having a good time,†Andrew Adams says.
Unlike other high-end bars in the area, Adams says The Washington Ave. Drinkery is designed as an unpretentious, laid-back bar.
Sure, but what will all those down-to-earth customers do in the wee hours after the new bar closes?
ARAIYAKUSHIMAE STATION, THE WASHINGTON CORRIDOR, AND THOSE NARROW PRIVATE DRIVES “So why does an aerial photo of Rice Military look just like Tokyo? A few things set Houston apart from most other American cities here. For one, American cities have long had a prejudice towards public streets. Development regulations stipulating that ‘every lot must have X amount of frontage on a public street’ date to the 1800s in most American cities, well before the age of zoning. Interior lots reached through shared access easements are a common feature of rural and exurban development, but Houston is relatively uncommon in allowing such arrangements in a high-density setting. This results in narrow alleyways more characteristic of cities in Japan and, on a larger scale, Great Britain.” [Keep Houston Houston]
Nothing new this time; Swamplot’s latest Openings and Closings report is just a list of old places going away:
- Going: There’s nobody home at Washington Ave. coffeehouse The Daily Grind, reports Jason Bargas at Houstonist:
A peek through a window facing the parking lot yielded a dining area devoid of tables. The cash register was no longer on the corner of the bar yet a ceiling fan twirled overhead. An industrial looking extension cord hung from the rafters perhaps indicating an intention to use power tools. But, no signs or bulletins indicated a remodel in progress nor a closing of the business.
Signs or no, the restaurant’s most recent spate of online publicity renders a closing less than surprising. One comment on the Houstonist post notes a rumor that the coffeehouse will be reopening “next to Rudyard’s.”
- Going: A poster on HAIF notes that the On the Border restaurant on the feeder road of the Northwest Freeway in Cypress appears to be toast: “Lights out, nobody home.”
- Gone: And there will be no more Frock shopping: The Frock Boutique on Greenbriar near Westheimer closed late last year, but owner Marianne Mayeux says she will come to you.
Got the scoop on other retail openings or closings in your area? Send your tips to Swamplot!
- Is The Daily Grind Still Alive? [Houstonist]
- A Bitter Brew [She Eats]
- On The Border Restaurant closed [HAIF]
- Frock Your Closet
Photo of The Daily Grind: Katharine Shilcutt Gleave
