COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE PERSECUTION OF FANTASY SOUTHERN GOTHIC 
“First they came for the colleges (Cell Block D and the McMurtry Unit), but I was not an undergraduate so I said nothing; then they came for the academic buildings (Brockman Hall and the Moody Arts Center), but I was not on faculty so, again, I stayed silent; then they came for the administrative office buildings and parking garages (this eyesore) and there was no one left to speak for me.” [Ghost of Ralph Adams Cram, commenting on Strategically Placed Fig Leaves Will Shield Bashful Rice U. Parking Garage from Medical Scrutiny] Illustration: Lulu
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Today’s Swamplot Sponsor of the Day is Edible Earth Resources.
Edible Earth Resources is a full-service edible-focused landscaping and consulting firm in Houston. Experts in soil health, plant health, and food production, Edible Earth Resources offers design, installation, and ongoing maintenance services to help you grow your own nutritious produce in a manner that is safe for your family, healthy for your property’s ecosystem, and protective of our water supply.
For more information, please see the Edible Earth Resources website.
Interested in reaching Swamplot readers with your company’s message? The Swamplot Sponsor of the Day program may be for you. Find out more by contacting us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
LAST CHANCE LOOMS TO MAIL ON YALE 
Regular customers of the seriously-named Heights Finance Station US post office at 1050 Yale St. got an early Christmas present this month: a letter from management, tucked into each P.O. box with care, informing them that the branch is shutting down at the end of the month. The facility will dispense its last book of stamps at 5 P.M. on December 30; come 2016, Heights-area postal operations will be consolidated at the remodeled T.W. House Carrier Annex at Bevis and W. 19th St. in the distant wilds of northern Shady Acres, a 2-mile drive northwest from Yale station. The 6,161 sq.-ft. Yale building is for sale; the property occupies an acre of central Heights turf, standing across W. 11th Street from neo-diner Lola and across Yale from open-any-day-now ice house 8 Row Flint. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox; Notice: MKultra25 via HAIF
No fewer than 11 pairs of scissors reached to cut the ribbon in front of Fifth Ward’s DeLuxe Theater at 3303 Lyons Ave. as it formally reopened yesterday. The 1941 movie-theater-briefly-turned-art-gallery, which has sat empty since 1973, will now host plays, classes, and other community and art events put on by Texas Southern University; TSU jazz students performed at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The original facade and marquee have been restored and updated:
Now Playing Off 59
- Nova Asset Management Says Occupancy Rates at Its Houston Apartment Complexes Have Slipped Amid Oil Slump [Houston Chronicle]
- Shell Plans To Shed 2,800 Jobs After Buying BG Group On Top of 7,500 Cuts Previously Announced [Click2Houston]
- Why There Are So Many Mattress Stores, Explained [The Straight Dope; previously on Swamplot]
- Metro Considering 2-Way Transfers [Houston Chronicle]
- How Bike-Sharing Reduces Driving and Boosts Transit Use [The Urban Edge]
- Drone Owners Must Register with the FAA by February 19 Next Year [The Verge]
- Slideshow: The Winners of AIA Houston’s 2015 Gingerbread Build-Off Competition [HBJ]
- Exxon Mobil Looking To Hire a Climate Researcher [Fuel Fix]
- Man Shut Down 1-45 Near Downtown Houston To Propose to His Girlfriend [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Discovery Green: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
- 945 Waverly St. [HAR]
HOUSTON OIL COMPANY WANTS TO BUILD AN ISLAND ON THE ALASKAN COAST Meanwhile, in Prudhoe Bay: Houston-based oil company Hilcorp is seeking permission to construct 23-ac. Liberty Island off the north coast of Alaska by trucking 83,000 cu. yd. of gravel (more than 3 times the volume of the Astrodome) across sea ice to a hole, cut 6 miles offshore above only 19 feet of water. The island would serve as a base for several offshore drilling projects, collectively the first in federal waters off the Alaskan coast. A 5.6-mile undersea pipeline is part of the project. Manmade gravel islands have been in use in the region’s oil fields for decades. [Hilcorp, Associated Press]
Don’t stare: next week, Rice University will begin construction of a new 6-story parking garage, which will be hidden from roving eyes in the Med Center across the street by giant plastic scrims covered in images of fig leaves. The 496-space garage will go up on part of the existing Lovett parking lot (just off Main Street, northwest of the intersection with Cambridge, at campus Entrance 3) and will come with an attached office building tastefully tucked alongside (in pale blue below):
A Modest Proposal
COMMENT OF THE DAY: VERTICAL SPRAWL AND OTHER HIGH CONCEPTS 
“Since every time they ‘fix’ the West Loop it immediately fills up, I think we have the makings for the 11th Wonder of the World: the first freeway skyscraper! Perhaps we can make it a mixed-use freeway by adding some small shops and apartments along the side of the road (with a parallel parking lane), some microtel rooms like they have in Tokyo, and — just to prove we have a penchant for ‘green living’ — one level could be an extension of Memorial Park! Don’t forget: we also need ground-floor retail, a multiplex theater, and on the very top level, a replacement for AstroWorld, with the world’s longest linear roller coaster! It will have to have a new name — perhaps ‘Westlooptopia’?” [sjh, commenting on Look! Up in the Air! It’s Second Story West Loop Express Lanes!] Illustration: Lulu
We’d like to thank personal coach Cricket Buchler for being today’s Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.
Searching for a creative, personalized holiday gift for friends, family members, or employees? Consider the gift of a fun and inspiring 90-minute personal coaching session with coach Cricket Buchler. An experienced corporate trainer who has helped top executives, Hollywood celebrities, and employees in a range of industries address personal and professional development issues, Cricket also works one-on-one, guiding clients to explore and unlock possibilities and design plans to realize change, and coaching them through their journey toward an intentional life.
A coaching session can be a great gift for anyone on your list who is looking to take the next step forward in life, work, or relationships, but feels a bit stuck as to what next steps might look like. You’ll find a sampling of testimonials from former clients on Cricket’s website, along with more information about coaching sessions. Mention Swamplot when you book online and receive a 30 percent holiday discount.
Becoming a Swamplot sponsor is a great way to reach Swamplot readers. If you think that might be a good move for your business, contact us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
Concrete flowed over the weekend — contractors poured the mat foundation for the residential section of the Kirby Collection mixed-use development, currently under construction 1 block north of Richmond Ave. at 3200 Kirby Dr. More than 200 workers were involved in the 8-hour pour, which involved 6,000 cu. yd. of concrete and 500 tons of rebar.
Workers also left lucky Thor Equities logo coins inside the 7-ft-thick mat. A press release from Thor, the developer for the Kirby Collection, says the project is still on track to be finished by the end of 2017.
Going Up in Upper Kirby
Genetics play a major role in Houston’s economic landscape — if the Texas Medical Center has its way, a twist on the structure of DNA will become part of the city’s physical landscape as well. A new research campus proposed by the organization would center around a 250,000-sq.-ft. park reminiscent of a double helix, pictured above. The TMC3 Innovation Campus is designed to take the place of an existing parking lot bisected by William C. Harvin Dr. between S. Braeswood and Old Spanish Trail, just south of Braes Bayou. The 30-acre facility would represent the TMC’s official expansion across the bayou, linking the existing campus to research institutions further south; the once-again-developing Baylor-slash-St.-Luke’s complex on Cambridge would also be right next door (pictured above with some already-in-the-works glassy expansions, and linked to the helix’s surrounding structures by a skybridge over Staffordshire).
Texas A&M, Baylor College of Medicine, M.D.Anderson and the University of Texas would anchor the 1.5-million-sq.-ft. collaborative research facility — if they agree to do so. The institutions have yet to formally sign off on participation (or partial funding) of the project, which is estimated to cost on the order of $1.5 billion; UT is currently pushing plans for its own campus of yet-ambiguous purpose nearby.
Designs for the campus are still largely conceptual. The helix would be open for use as public greenspace:
Genetic Engineering
- Sylvester Turner Beats Bill King in Runoff Contest To Become Houston’s Next Mayor [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Ardenwood Group Buys 7207 Regency Square Office Building in Southwest Houston [Realty News Report]
- Texas A&M University at Galveston Breaks Ground on $46M Academic Complex [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Manzel Contemporary Homes Plans To Redevelop 1960s-Era Apartments at 2508 Southmore Blvd. into Condominiums [HBJ]
- Building Homes in Houston When Oil is at $35 a Barrel [Realty News Report]
- Good Dog Houston Opening Second Location in Former Brick & Spoon/Bocados Space on West Alabama [Culturemap]
- Biskit Junkie Closes Original Oak Forest Location as Montrose Spot Set To Open on Westheimer Next Month [Culturemap]
- David Shelton Moving Gallery to 4411 Montrose in Downstairs Spot Previously Occupied by Wade Wilson Art [Glasstire]
- Austin-Based Black Swan Yoga, JuiceLand Expanding To Houston in January with Shared Location at 3210 White Oak Dr. [HBJ]
- Memorial from Kirkwood to Eldridge To Have 4 Lanes, More Traffic Lights, Improved Curbs and Sidewalks, Bike Lanes After $39M Upgrade [Houston Chronicle]
- Jury Awards West University Couple $5.4M in Foreclosure Fraud Case Against Wells Fargo and Carrington Mortgage Services [Houston Chronicle]
- The 5 Best Houston-Area Neighborhoods for Holiday Light Displays, According to Redfin [Culturemap]
Photo of Hermann Park: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
That mod teardown estate, a 1970s office complex on Kirby, among some unlucky others.
