COMMENT OF THE DAY: ALL THE NEW THAT FITS “What exactly would be ‘in character construction’ in the Heights? Run-down 2-story apartment from the 1960s next to a body shop next to a faux Victorian?” [MarkM, commenting on Studewood Place: Some New Building Behind the 11th St. Someburger]
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Despite the best efforts of many short sighted builders over the past forty years, there is still plenty of historic character left in the Heights. It is very easy to spot. Just look inbetween the run down 2-story apartment complexes, 1960s body shops and faux Victorians. And the main complaint about the new Someburger neighbor is that it is too frickin tall. This is not an issue of whether faux New Orleans architecture fits in with historic original craftsmen. This is an issue of whether 6 stories fits in with 2. Why is that so hard to understand?
if it won’t fit in, it won’t do well. I don’t think the dev is going to risk millions of dollars on something that wouldn’t be well received.
I wouldn’t care if wal mart was being built there, aside from the fact my friend Allan live one street behind there. Heights people are so uptight, I swear coal into diamonds in under a week…
I guess you people just don’t get it. If there are no rules (zoning, land use, etc…)preventing some troglodyte from building his phallic symbol
next to Aunt Minerva’s adorable bungalow which sits two feet from her neighbors Hardie Plank Townhome which abuts the always intrusive auto mechanic shop, then anything goes.
And this is why we are moving to a city with zoning.
I, for one, could not be more excited for this development. It will bring some much-needed height to the Heights.
@miss_msry well move then you say that as if you will be missed as if you are some important figure to Houston . . . Go be miserable somewhere else in a city that has zoning ! ! !
She will be missed. We’ll lose someone who doesn’t post in run-on sentences.
I’d be surprised if this developer even has millions of dollars. I worry about a cut rate project here. It’s their 1st project so we have no track record to look back on (even though their whole website is in past tense. In vague past tense catch phrases).
Thankfully, she will still be able to post, even from another city!
I’m doing that right now, even though I’m many counties away from Harris. Although, I do have to admit, internet service is spotty out here.
So entertaining!
Glad I don’t live on 11 1/2 St anymore. People always laughed when I told them my address as if half-streets couldn’t exist.
When does New Orleans architecture become faux New Orleans architecture? Is that a zip code or time based judgement? Similarly can a house only be described as having Victorian architecture if it was built before the death of the Queen? If so most of the original Victorians in the Heights are faux Victorians I am afraid.
I’d call an attempt at a Creole townhouse with a a balcony that wouldn’t support an anorexic Chihuahua and Hardi-plank siding faux New Orleans. Can’t recall the address, but there’s one in Oak Forest.
I’d agree on the balcony. I’ve seen some ludicrously narrow porches and balconies recently. I would probably disagree on the siding.
Were there any frame Creole townhouses left in the Quarter after the Great Fire? Not cottage or shotgun, but proper 3+ story townhouses? All the ones I remember seeing are brick or stucco. I would like to see one (circa late 1700’s, not Hardi-plank).
Double-Gallery House
Double-Gallery Houses were built in New Orleans between 1820 and 1850. Double-Gallery Houses are two-story houses with a side-gabled or hipped roof. The house is set back from the property line, and has a covered two-story galleries which are framed and supported by columns supporting entablature. The façade has an asymmetrical arrangement of its openings. These were built as a variation of the American Townhouses in what was at that time considered the New Orleans suburbs of the Garden District, Uptown, and the Esplanade Ridge.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/EsplanadeThreeHouses.jpg/220px-EsplanadeThreeHouses.jpg
True, not in the Quarter but this style is basically exactly what is being replicated now in the Heights in many places.
i.e., 2-story shotguns. and, ‘wouldn’t support an anorexic Chihuahua’ -very funny! and on point.
Yes, I’ve seen these – love them! If a builder stays true to the design, great. What sets my teeth on edge is putting different elements together in a mishmash. Some houses look like they were built from the leftovers of 5 different projects, but hey, they sell. No objection to a house just because it’s new – the two at the corner of Sue Barnett & 38th in Garden Oaks look wonderful; big, but proportionate to the lot size.
I have lived 2 blocks from this empty, overgrown lot for 11 years. I would rather have growth than abandoned 55-gallon drums and 18-wheeler parking.