03/01/16 11:30am

Art Guys Situation #4, Wheatley St. at Pinemont Dr., Garden Oaks/Oak Forest, Houston, 77091

Here’s the southernmost end of the newest work from the Art Guys: the designation of an existing ‘designated natural area’ in Garden Oaks/Oak Forest as part of their series of situation sculptures. The grassy median strip along Wheatley St. between Pinemont Dr. and Tidwell Rd. is evidently one of the no-mow zones labeled by the city’s parks and recreation department that spurred complaints in 2011, when area residents alleged that newly planted trees had blocked sight lines and created hazardous driving conditions.  According to the city’s website, the zones are carefully placed to “help promote the natural regeneration of the urban forest.

As for techniques employed by the artists: per their other pieces in the series, the duo appears to have left the area alone. They have, however, provided GPS coordinates and a Google map to help visitors avoid losing their way.

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Adventures on Wheatley St.
03/01/16 10:15am

First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1720 Main St., Downtown, Houston, TX 77002

First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1720 Main St., Downtown, Houston, TX 77002A new gig appears to be on the horizon for the turquoise-and-concrete Christian Science church at 1720 Main St. A notice announcing an application for a TABC license for the spot is up at the site; the license is being sought by an entity under the name of 1720 Main Reception Hall. Attached to that name, in the public notice for the application, is another: Salim Dehkordi (of nightclub Clé Bar down the road at 2301 Main) is listed as president, secretary, and treasurer.

The Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects put in a bid on the space back in January, hoping to use the sci-fi Brutalist building as their new headquarters. The organization purportedly lost out to a cash buyer asking for no due diligence period, spurring suspicions that the structure would be torn down. It seems, however, that the building will be maintained in some form by its next owners (though there could be a very different set of activities going on beneath that geometric gold spire).  A new setup for the interior might be on the horizon as well:

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Getting Saved Downtown
03/01/16 8:30am

downtown-horse

Photo: telwink via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
02/29/16 4:45pm

223 Westheimer Rd., Avondale, Houston, 77006

The pale yellow former house at 223 Westheimer is now sitting quietly behind bars and in several piles. The 1910 Avondale home was sold last March to a corporate entity tied to down-the-road upscale tex-mex restaurant El Tiempo, and a demolition warrant was issued back in July.  A reader notes that the bulldozers finally caught up to the 6-bedroom 5-bathroom structure last week, and the house was rearranged into a few ready-to-remove mounds at the last sighting.

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Green Fields of Avondale
02/29/16 3:00pm

Mural at former Heights Finance Station Post Office, 1050 Yale St., Houston Heights

The recently dumped Heights Finance Station post office at Yale and 11th streets was treated to a makeover this month, as demolition looms on the horizon. If all goes as planned, the building will eventually be brushed aside to make way for the younger-and-likely-prettier Heights Central Station mixed-use shopping center headed for the site; until then, it’s playing canvas for some Houston graffiti artists, including Wiley Robertson (one of the usual suspects behind giant love notes spotted around town).

A reader sends a fresh batch of lunchtime snapshots of the mural, which seems to have been wrapped up in the last few days:

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Love Is In The Aerosol
02/29/16 1:45pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: GETTING HOOKED IN TO THE HOUSTON UNDERGROUND Downtown Tunnels“The condo where I live is connected to the tunnels. It makes it very easy [to get] to and from work, home for lunch, etc. And during the rush hours I don’t have to worry about avoiding cars, delivery trucks, and unsightly ‘street people’ hanging out around Main Street Square. I hope that many of these new residential developments downtown can be connected to the tunnel system.” [Walker, commenting on Comment of the Day: Fighting Tunnel Vision on Downtown’s Pedestrian Experience] Illustration: Lulu

02/29/16 12:30pm

La Roux, 4011 Washington Ave, Rice Military, Houston, 77007

A reader reports some spicy action at the corner of Washington Ave and Leverkuhn St., where nightclub La Roux has opened its doors in the last 2 weeks for (separate) Rodeo-cookoff- and lingerie-themed events. The new building, which has risen into place behind and around the former Guadalajara bakery, is shown from the Leverkuhn side in the photo above.

The former bakery’s window still boasts an April TABC application notice for Black Orchid Gastro Lounge, which was anticipated to open last year. The new black box to the right of the 1930 brick structure is the other side of La Roux:

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Blooming in Rice Military
02/29/16 12:00pm

8802 Memorial Dr., Pinewood Estates, Houston

8802 Memorial Dr., Pinewood Estates, Houston

Our Sponsor of the Day today is this classically styled, custom-built Mediterranean at 8802 Memorial Dr. in Pinewood Estates. Thank you for your support of Swamplot!

This 5-bedroom, 9,768-sq.-ft. residence was designed by Robert Dame and built by Christopher Sims; it was completed in 2008. It’s been featured in Texas Home & Living magazine and has won 3 separate “Houston’s Best” awards from the GHBA. You’ll find carefully selected finishes and details throughout, including walnut, alder, and cypress wood cabinetry; honed limestone and walnut floors; enormous fireplaces in the spacious kitchen and great room; and Venetian plaster walls and high-quality painting.

The ground-floor master wing features an onyx-and-marble-clad bathroom and an exercise room. A sheltered outdoor living-and-dining space faces a resort-inspired pool surrounded by bluestone terraces — all on a lot that measures more than an acre.

To learn more about this distinctive home and gawk at more photos, please see the property website.

Got some carefully crafted details you think Swamplot readers would want to know about? Become a Swamplot sponsor and show them off!

Sponsor of the Day
02/29/16 10:15am

Fisher Homes, 832 Yale St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77007

Fisher Homes, 832 Yale St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77007

The custom home and office building of Heights homebuilder Fisher Homes at 832 Yale St. is currently up for sale or lease. Construction on the just-under-15,000-sq.-ft. building south of 9th St. wrapped up near the end of 2014; the property listing indicates that availability started in January of this year.

Amenities at the Morrison Heights and Studemont Mid-Rise developer’s mixed-use space include an indoor basketball court, downtown views from the above-3rd-story rooftop terrace, and various conference rooms. Floorplans of the building show the middle-of-the-house driveway (which provides access to the backyard parking lot) separating a 437-sq.-ft. apartment (circled in dotted red below) from the main structure:

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For Sale on Yale
02/29/16 8:30am

trailriders-kirby

Photo of trail riders south of Kirby Collection construction site at 3200 Kirby Dr.: Loves Swamplot

Headlines
02/26/16 3:00pm

Demolition of Solvay America Building, 3333 Richmond, Greenway Plaza, Houston, 77098

A reader caught a glimpse of the 1992 Solvay America building taking some more nasty blows from a demo crew out back behind the new 3737 Buffalo Spdwy. office tower south of the corner with Richmond Ave. (That’s the 2727 Kirby condo highrise glancing over at the scene from the right edge of the shot, while the distant Huntingdon tower looks away.) [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Lufti Rukab

Octa-goner