- Luxury Movie Theater ‘Seriously Looking At’ Old Books-A-Million Spot at Houston Pavilions [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Has Fastest-Growing Economy in the US, According to Federal Numbers [abc13]
- State-Maintained Highways Are in Better Shape Than They Were 10 Years Ago, Finds Study [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Texas Lawmakers Have Put No Money into Budget for Developing New State Parks for a Decade [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Gilchrist Seeking Eminent Domain to Shut Down Popular
RollingRollover Pass Fishing Spot [Galveston County Daily News ($)] - Port Considering Higher Cruise Access Fees [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Heights Church’s Music, Construction Sparks Noise Complaints from Neighbors [Houston Chronicle]
- Volunteer Works To Clean Up Olivewood, Houston’s First African-American Cemetery [Houston Chronicle]
- Experts Urge Drivers To Consider Safety When Pulling Over To Snap Bluebonnet Photos [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Hermann Park: Bill Barfield via Swamplot
If iPic decides to take the place of Books A Million, I truly believe that this will invigorate the downtown Houston market. I know for a fact, that I would be downtown a lot more going to see movies. I went to an iPic in Austin and it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable moving experiences I’ve ever had. Dear iPic, if you are reading this, you couldn’t pick a better location.
Re Gilchrist: It’s called Rollover Pass, not Rolling. Supposedly named so because that was where smugglers rolled barrels of rum over from the Gulf to East Bay.
Houston has the ONLY growing economy in the US!
I know state parks have to take a backseat to more pressing matters in these trying times, but I sure hope we can encourage more Texans to open their wallets and support the state park system. My family took many a long road trip with the RV when I was a kid and I can attest to the fact that Texas has (or at least had) some of the best park facilities in the nation for people who want to be close to nature but would still like a warm shower and a toilet nearby. More parks would be welcome, too.
Craig have you been to the Sundance Cinema downtown?
state maintained highways might be in good shape, city maintained road in Houston stink.
While I love the idea of iPic looking at downtown, I really can’t see this working in the long term. Sundance fills the niche well, has plentiful (basically free) parking, and has a good mix of movies to choose from. iPic doesn’t bring much more to the table, at least not enough to let the two theaters move in separate markets. As far as they can get (in Midtown) seems like a much better choice for everyone.
Somehow I cannot muster any sympathy for folks who move next to an existing church then proceed to complain about the singing, celebrating and general activity that takes place at a CHURCH.
Big deal, so she has an 18 month old that gets up early, that is her problem, not that of the folks who attend that church.
The neighbors complaining about the church reminds me of people who move into a home next to an airport and complaining about jet noise.
A builder is putting up a row of like six townhomes selling for $350k plus right next to the recently opened Crisp on 23rd St. I can just imagine the people who buy these later this year complaining that there is a restaurant/bar next to them. It’s not going to be pretty.
Won’t someone just once consider the plight of the poor carpetbagging townhome dweller?
My hunch is that if the noise was coming from the patio restaurant serving locally-sourced food, craft beers, and artisanal cheese, there’d be no complaining.
@MJ – It’s been my experience (granted, a generalization) that the types who gobble up the new construction in The Eclectic, Colorful Neighborhood tend to be very entitled sorts who actually don’t like ANYTHING that makes The Eclectic, Colorful Neighborhood 1) eclectic, 2) colorful, or for that matter, 3) a neighborhood.
@Northsider, yea, I have been to the Sundance downtown. However, the Sundance and the iPic are two different movie experiences. Trust me, go to the one in Austin and you will be able to see what I am talking about. Sundance is nice but I don’t believe they are nearly busy enough so they can’t possibly leveraging that fantastic location that they have.
I cannot muster any sympathy for the homeowners. I attend a house of worship in the Heights area, and new construction is going on all the time around it. There is no moratorium on construction on Sunday mornings, so quiet worship is sometimes out of the question.
The greenspace around it is used as a park and exercise yard for dogs, as the new homes are packed onto a single lot with postage stamp sized or nonexistent yards. To encourage dog-owners to pick up after their pets, “poopie bag” stations are provided.
There was only one time that (temporary) stakes were put up to discourage use by others: the construction vehicles and trucks using one side of the property were leaving huge ruts in the lawn and damaging the mature oaks growing along the street, and requests to be careful were ignored.
The people living next to this church in the Heights are neighbors only in the sense that they live in close proximity to it.
From MJ: My hunch is that if the noise was coming from the patio restaurant serving locally-sourced food, craft beers, and artisanal cheese, there’d be no complaining.”
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I LOL’d ;)
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And mollusk, you’re right on. Perfect example is Montrose. Lots of people came here due to — well — what Montrose offers. Then said “whoa, this place is a little too ‘colorful’, let’s change it”
Can’t we all just get along?