Featured Posts
02/11/15 12:30pm

The New Old Color They’ll Be Painting the Upper Sides of the Astrodome Soon

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Paint Samples, Astrodome, Houston

What’s next in Astrodome beauty treatments after the unused county stadium’s powerwashing late last year? How about a little color magic? As noted by the KHOU chopper sent out to record the incident earlier this week (which produced the image above), test paint patches recently appeared at the top of the vacant structure’s walls. In concert with the removal of the eighties-add-on stair towers and the latest grime-spray efforts, the painting of a dark bluish-black color on the upper sections of wall just below the roof would help return the stadium exterior to something closer to its original 1965 appearance.

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Sprucing
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Headlines
02/11/15 8:30am

The 2 New Houston Breweries Opening Next Month; Fannin’s Flower Shop Leftovers; Funnel Tunnel on the Move

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Johnny Steele Dog Park, Buffalo Bayou Park, North Montrose, Houston

Photo of Johnny Steele Dog Park, Buffalo Bayou Park: Swamplot inbox

Headlines
Featured Posts
02/10/15 4:45pm

The Yard by the Trail by a $165K Home in The Woodlands’ Panther Creek

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Chalky white liners on a driveway in Village of Panther Creek make sure the home’s runway isn’t confused with the neighboring funway through the woods. The latter pathway is part of the 160 miles of hike-and-bike trails connecting neighborhoods throughout The Woodlands. This 1981 home is up the street from the cul-de-sac end of the neighborhood, located between the curve of S. Panther Creek Dr. and Woodlands Pkwy. The property’s listing last week carries a $165K asking price.

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Pathways
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Audubon Place
02/10/15 1:45pm

Organic Garden on Lot for Sale in Audubon Place Historic District on Its Way To Becoming Neighborhood Park

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Greenleaf Gardens, 803 Kipling St., Audubon Place Historic District, Houston

The community garden at 803 Kipling St. in Audubon Place listed for sale earlier at the end of last month is set to be purchased by the City of Houston and turned into a neighborhood park, according to its owner. William Winkler tells Swamplot he and the city have settled on a price and he’s signed off on a letter of intent; he says he’s now waiting for a formal purchase contract. The 8,400-sq.-ft. lot at the southwest corner of Kipling and Stanford, known as Greenleaf Gardens since Winkler first built raised beds and leased them out in 2012, was previously the site of a 2-story home that burned in 2008. It’s still listed on MLS for $630,000.

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Greenleaf Gardens
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Featured Posts
02/10/15 12:45pm

With New Letters and Numbers, KTRU Will Return to the Airwaves from High Atop Rice Stadium

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Rice Stadium, Rice University, Houston

According to the manager of banished-from-FM KTRU, a new low-power transmitter for the student-run radio station is to be constructed on top of Rice Stadium — now that the FCC has granted permission to the university to return to the airwaves. The new surprise announcement heralds a return to broadcast radio for the student-run organization after several years of internet-and-app exile. Amid protests from students and alumni, Rice University’s administration sold off the radio station’s broadcasting capabilities — including its 50,000-watt transmitter in Humble — to the University of Houston in 2010.

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Featured Posts
02/10/15 11:00am

Garagebreaking Begins for the Galleria’s New Jewel Box Pad Site Drive-Up Add-On

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Construction of Galleria Jewel Box, Galleria, Houston

Construction crews have begun digging into the surface parking lot along Westheimer in front of the Galleria for the construction of the fancy new pad site building mall owner Simon Properties is referring to as the “luxury jewel box.” Foundation work for the structure, which will sit in front of the Cheesecake Factory and house as many as 3 high-end retailers (Cartier and Chanel are portrayed in renderings of the structure from early last year), will be a little tricky — because underneath the surface parking lot lies the Galleria’s multi-story Blue Garage.

A Swamplot reader sends in the above photo showing the scene as it appeared yesterday; here’s the same view with a bit more of a zoom-out:

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Digging Deep
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Headlines
02/10/15 8:30am

Spotting a Woodlands Waterway Highrise; Getting Behind Getting Against Dallas-to-Houston High-Speed Rail

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menil-park

Photo of Menil Park: Brandi Lynn via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
Homes for Sale
02/09/15 2:45pm

Seller of West U Home with Cellar Asking $1.5 Million

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Which sections of this bi-level West University house were part of the 1938 original? Don’t count on the listing aerial map’s (incorrectly placed) marker to find it; the property sits one lot south of University Blvd. on a street east of Buffalo Speedway. The $1.578 million listing from mid-January features an actual occupied basement, though it isn’t pictured.

Tweaks and conversions over time appear to have shifted around room assignments. The dining room (top), for example . . .

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All About the Basement
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Downtown
02/09/15 12:45pm

Fat Green Bike Lane on Lamar Begins Its Creep Across Downtown

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Construction of Lamar St. Bike Lane, Downtown Houston

Construction of Lamar St. Bike Lane, Downtown HoustonOver the weekend construction began on the new bikeway meant to connect the heavily used trails along Buffalo Bayou west of Downtown with the Columbia Tap trail on Downtown’s east side — and from there to the trails along Brays Bayou and the Medical Center. The 2 blocks of Lamar St. between Smith and Bagby now have this green zone installed along their southern side, replacing curbside parking spaces on the one-way street. Additional construction is scheduled for every weekend between now and March 8, when the steadily growing green bike path will reach Discovery Green.

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Bayou Bike Connector
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Art
02/09/15 11:45am

And Now, an Increasingly Abstract View of What It’s Like To Work at the Rothko Chapel

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AND NOW, AN INCREASINGLY ABSTRACT VIEW OF WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK AT THE ROTHKO CHAPEL Alberto Sosa’s latest animated video interview of a starting-level employee in the Houston art world features visitor services and volunteer coordinator Yma Luis — and thousands of drawings. [Glasstire] Video: Alberto Sosa

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Development Regulations
02/09/15 10:45am

Coltivare’s Patio Wrap Draws Attention from the City

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Coltivare, 3320 White Oak Dr., Houston Heights

Red Tag at Coltivare, 3320 White Oak Dr., Houston HeightsHeights pizza-and-veggie spot Coltivare now sports a bright red tag (shown at right) next to its front door — after a city inspector found fault with its newly protected-from-weather patio space facing the side garden (the white tent-like structures in the photo above) last week. What’s wrong with covering a patio with a temporary structure for the winter?

Nothing, but it does trigger some permitting issues. “An uncovered patio isn’t considered an occupied space,” a Swamplot reader familiar with Houston building regulations writes. But: “A lot of folks don’t realize covered patios count as building square footage and must be permitted.”

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Restaurant Creep
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