WOODLAND HEIGHTS NOW DOGGED BY GANG VIOLENCE A marauding pack of four-legged criminals has attacked and killed more than 6 pets in the Woodland Heights area: “[Recovery specialist Doug] Worthy said pets should be kept inside at night, if possible, and if people are out after dark, they should carry something like a bat to protect themselves. The pack of dogs are described as four to six brown and black mutts, weighing between 80 and 90 pounds.” [Click2Houston, via Heightsfolk]
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Woodland Heights
Parked out front: The first working prototype of the Cricket Trailer, fashioned by International Space Station furniture designer, architect, and sometime blacksmith Garrett Finney. It’s now ready for the road! Or at least some test driving. Spotted recently tooling down Studewood, the lightweight, fits-in-your-garage camping vehicle is street legal, sporting a VIN, license plate (apparently a police officer had to come by to make sure the thing was legit), and an official Texas inspection sticker from the Kwik Kar Lube & Tune on 11th St. in the Heights.
After testing a full-scale cardboard-and-wood-frame mockup and several smaller models, Finney assembled the pop-top prototype from a custom-built frame, composite panels, and high-tech fabrics in his Woodland Heights studio. Finney, who calls his design firm Faro Studio, is aiming for a trailer light enough to be pulled by a standard 4-cylinder car.
How does the Cricket look when it’s opened up?
In this episode: Katy Freeway anthill mover, moon-unit coffee, and that robot on the porch.
What’s this special delivery rushing down I-10?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: BURIED LANDSCAPES OF THE HOUSTON HEIGHTS “Before developers established the heights and its various neighboring subdivisions, a massive filling project took placed. It was pretty much a landfill for the City of Houston. . . . Developer clear cut the existing pine forest (the oaks pretty much only existed near the bayous and tribs) and filled in the uneven landscape. A big example is in Woodland Heights. A 60-inch storm sewer line runs in an old trib to White Oak Bayou. The line is 20-ft below the current natural ground in the area. After the line was built, the natural channel was filled in and streets placed on top. The line currently goes under many people properties and houses and many don’t know it exists. . . . Outside of that, several ox bows and other trib were filled in. A couple were not though. There is one just east of TC jester where it cross White Oak Bayou south of 11th. It has water in it. There is another just west of Yale that is dry. I’ve seen historic photos showing people jumping off the banks of the the natural streams in the bayous in the Clark Pines area (14th street west of Durham). A current development is actually being build on an undeveloped piece of land that was a site of the landfill in this oxbow. The houses are being placed on piles driven deep into the ground to avoid them from sinking or collapsing. I doubt they are telling the home buyers this. Long time residents know about it though.” [kjb434, commenting on Wet and Wild: Strip Redo on White Oak]
More than a dozen photos of the pristine interior, front-porch swing, and side-yard lap pool may not, in fact, be sufficient for you to get a complete picture of the lifestyle afforded by the renovated bungalow at 617 Byrne St. in Woodland Heights. So former neighbor Kelley fills in the details for you:
Oh how I miss the carefree days of living across the street from Pete & Fernando … so many memories of them and their awesome house…like the time I popped over to their porch for a quick glass of wine while waiting for my husband to get home from work … and then stumbled home at 4 the next morning…oh, the stories the lap pool in the side yard could tell…the beautiful Easter brunches in the dining room…
…the time I saw Pete naked in the bathroom…
Touring the Heights after the hurricane, Katharine Shilcutt Gleave is surprised to discover the front porch of Fitzgerald’s still intact. And Mimi Swartz spots these recycled yard gingermen leftover from Christmas, pressed into window-protecting service.
A few more of their photo finds from the Heights, Woodland Heights, and Norhill:
A reader writes in with this report on the newly reopened McDonald’s at I-45 and N. Main, at the entrance of Woodland Heights:
It’s no “McStarbucks,” but it is different from most McDonald’s I’ve seen. The colors are rich coffee browns. There’s some fake zebrawood-looking formica on some walls, and a strange wallpaper-like tile in the bathroom. Right in the middle of the main eating area there’s a round structure that looks vaguely like a DJ booth. A bar-height counter juts out from it, where people waiting for their orders can rub elbows. The indoor playground in front is in a separate room. Sorry, no comfy couches.
How were the hamburgers?!!!?
- Reader Answers: Woodland Heights McStarbucks [Swamplot]
Time for a stroll through lovely Woodland Heights, where the bungalows are small but keep growing. This week’s open-house tour starts simple but gets fancier fast:
Location: 706 Teetshorn St.
Details: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,292 sq. ft.
Price: $279,500
The Scoop: 1920 bungalow with enclosed porch and large 1-car garage. Listed in October, price dropped $10K in November; still here in January.
Open House: Sunday, 2-4 pm
The tour continues . . . after the jump!
We have an answer to last week’s reader question about the future of the Woodland Heights McDonald’s, at the corner of I-45 and North Main St., which was recently demolished. Miz Anonymous (“from the lovely and talented ‘Brooke Smith’ subdivision”) writes in:
Neighborhood prattle says that one of those new fancy McDonald’s, with earth tones, Wi-Fi and lounge areas, will be put up there. We’re calling it “McStarbucks.” Guess the McD franchise figures the neighborhood is going “up” after all. We hope that the 45-feeder bums will have to get their panhandled-dollar burgers somewhere else.
Another clue the burgers are coming back: the hood on the freeway-visible sign, which remains. If you haven’t visited the Willowbrook McDonald’s, see the prototype photos in this BusinessWeek slideshow.
- McDonald’s adds twist to the Golden Arches [Houston Business Journal]
- McDonald’s Tricky Makeover [BusinessWeek]
- Reader Question: Big Mac Disappearing Act [Swamplot]
Photo of McDonald’s sign: Flickr user Michael Schanbacher
A question from our email:
What is happening with the land that was the former McDonald’s on Main St at I45? I have seen no sign or other information that would explain plans for the site.
Got an answer for our reader? Send it in — to the Swamplot tips line. We’ll post the best responses next week.
- Daily Demolition Report: Demolishing Hazard [Swamplot]
Photo of McDonald’s sign: Flickr user Michael Schanbacher
