September 11, 2009 – 12:40 pm
A reader from the Heights sends in photos documenting only the latest scene in Houston’s long and theatrical history of commingled real estate and political ambition. If you like, say, the pricing on the homes Karen Derr’s former company sells — like this one at 946 Arlington St. — you’ll certainly want to see Derr join city council!
But what’s with that part in red letters? Maybe just to let voters know she’s a little less favorably disposed toward freeform demolition than, say, former candidate/broker Michael Berry was. Writes our reader and snapshooter:
I am guessing that Karen Derr’s office rec’d so many calls as to the future of this house- one the few remaining 19th century homes in the Heights, that she had the “Remodel” sign made and stuck atop her broker sign. . . . Karen used to be on the board of the Houston Heights Association and she is locally active and running for office, so she does not want to piss off too much of her long time neighbors.
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Read more about: 77008, Demolitions, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights, Political Campaigns, Real Estate Agents, Renovations, Signs
September 3, 2009 – 11:37 am
Not seeing so many signs of real-estate activity in Houston lately? Swamplot’s Montrose correspondent says that might be because the Houston Association of Realtors has been telling its members that city officials have been handing out fines to agents who’ve placed their signs in the public right-of-way:
. . . the word is out and there are very few signs out on major streets on sundays. its really odd– the name brand real estate companies have been cracking down on their agents. When you do see a misplaced sign, its usually a listing that has been on the market for a fairly long time or there is an “off brand” real estate company. . . .
The response has been to put up generic open house signs for cover. Makes it harder to identify the perpetrator.
How long has this been going on?
I started seeing sign changes in the last couple of weeks. There was a trend toward people using open house signs pre-printed with their name. That has stopped. For awhile I thought no one was doing open houses because it was just too hot. . . . . As the photos show, the for sale signs are moving off city property too.
And where are those signs going?
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Read more about: Real Estate Marketing, Signs
August 20, 2009 – 4:34 pm
A small local flurry on Twitter, after abc13 reporter Miya Shay spots one of these and posts a photo:
Anyone know anything about the “Keep Houston Ugly” stickers popping up around town?
They’ve been around for a while, haven’t they? You can buy one yourself — a different version — online. Find a place to stick it, and you can push the meme further!
Nobody notices all those tiny cracks on a windshield either, until somebody does, and somebody else does, and pretty soon cracks are showing up everywhere.
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Read more about: Bumper Stickers, Public Art, Signage
The new owners of this townhome on Reinecke St. in Rice Military “obviously are having some difficulties,” writes reader CK, who snapped this photo of a sign next to the front driveway:
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Read more about: 77007, Neighborhood Disputes, Rice Military, Signs, Townhomes
“I visited the store the first weekend it was open, and overheard the general manager talking about how much more foot traffic the store is getting. He stated the obvious, which I’m surprised no one has commented on yet–think of the hundreds of thousands of people who are stuck in traffic every day on the elevated portion of 59 across from the store. The store’s sign is eye-level to those commuters (whereas it’s actually harder to see the stores on ground level), and you gotta think at least some of them are going to be interested in the store’s wares. Compare that to a low-profile location on Portwest that probably gets 1/10000th the traffic of 59. This is a rare case where being on the second floor of a strip center actually helps a company in Houston.” [Triprotic, commenting on The Finest Strip-Center Recital Hall in Houston]
Read more about: 77098, Comments, Freeways, Retail, Signage, Strip Centers, Traffic, Upper Kirby
Approved by City Council yesterday: Big changes to the city’s sign ordinance. “The ordinance, which applies only to signs on the premises of area businesses that go up after Sept. 1, diminishes the maximum allowable height and square footage of signs by nearly half in certain cases, eliminates roof signs and regulates electronic displays, among other more specific rules that will apply to shopping centers or other multi-tenant locations.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Development Restrictions, Shopping Centers, Signage, Signs
November 13, 2008 – 3:15 pm
Yesterday’s City Council vote wasn’t even close — which means that Houston will no longer allow “attention-getting devices” on commercial property, effective January 1st of 2010. The ban excludes fake quoins, oversized Alamo-shaped parapets, and strip-mall turrets, but it pointedly includes the inflatable menageries that are so much simpler to put up and take down.
Houston sure knows how to destroy its architectural history! In honor of the passing of this singular era, which exhibited such a flowering of the local decorative arts — and in advance of the less-than-spectacular demolitions that are soon to follow, Swamplot presents this short photo salute to Houston’s soon-to-be lost commercial landscape:
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Read more about: Advertising, Commercial Real Estate, Development Regulations, Inflatable Animals, Retail, Signage
November 12, 2008 – 3:01 pm
First, they came for the giant apes!
Houston’s City Council may vote today to ban the use of inflatable cartoon characters to draw traffic to local businesses. A law that’s already on the books requires permits for these “attention-getting devices,” and restricts their use. But there’s no money to fund enforcement.
The new law would prohibit more than just large blowup animals:
If approved, the ban also would prohibit flashy and motion-driven devices, such as dancing wind puppets, spinning pinwheels, pennants, streamers and strobe and spotlights. . . .
[Balloon vendor Jim] Purtee said his clients report sales increase 30 to 100 percent in the weeks after installing a giant balloon. “You can’t ban balloons without banning car wraps, those planes flying over Houston with trailing banners or people standing on the corner in a clown costume,” Purtee added. . . .
Officials said holiday displays and residential lawn decorations would be exempted from the ban. The prohibition would apply only to attention-getting devices used for commercial purposes.
That troubles Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck. She asked how the city would distinguish between attention-getting devices and the holiday lights, bows and sparkly stars installed in Rice Village and the Galleria area.
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Read more about: Advertising, Inflatable Animals, Retail, Signage
Comment of the Day: Freeway Traffic Backups Bring the Customers
“I visited the store the first weekend it was open, and overheard the general manager talking about how much more foot traffic the store is getting. He stated the obvious, which I’m surprised no one has commented on yet–think of the hundreds of thousands of people who are stuck in traffic every day on the elevated portion of 59 across from the store. The store’s sign is eye-level to those commuters (whereas it’s actually harder to see the stores on ground level), and you gotta think at least some of them are going to be interested in the store’s wares. Compare that to a low-profile location on Portwest that probably gets 1/10000th the traffic of 59. This is a rare case where being on the second floor of a strip center actually helps a company in Houston.” [Triprotic, commenting on The Finest Strip-Center Recital Hall in Houston]