COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW BIG WAS THE SHAMROCK HOTEL SWIMMING POOL AGAIN? “They didn’t have boat races. We did do waterski shows there for several years.” [gary, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Shamrock Hotel Shine and Fall]
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The 8-plex at 4725 Oakshire went down in a cloud of dust last week. “Bummer,” writes Jared Meadors, the landlord next door who bought and renovated the largely identical building at 4719 Oakshire 10 years ago. And who claims he “would have totally paid more than lot value for these and restored them as I did the units at 4719” if he’d had the chance. Meadors’s pinkish brick building to the west of the cleared lot is visible at the left of this photo:
All rooms within this Briargrove custom home by Rudolph Colby “open to atrium and fountain areas.” Earlier this week, the corner lot property lowered its asking price once more, to $1,329,000, for its re-listing by the same agent. Back in February, the home debuted at $1,595,000, with reductions to $1,469,000 in April and $1,380,000 in June for the summer months.
Built in 1994, the 4,929-sq.-ft. home is not the largest of the newer homes infiltrating the tight-knit neighborhood. On its stretch of street, however, the house stands taller, bigger, and distinct. Landscaping between its two gabled wings helps conceal a brick wall that appears to match the height of neighboring fifties ranch homes. An entryway streetside leads into a brick-paved courtyard-with-fountain surrounded by window walls and glass-paneled doors:
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Bennie makes them ageless.
- Clariant Oil Breaks Ground on New Campus Headquarters in The Woodlands [Houston Business Journal]
- First Pinkberry in Houston’s City Limits Now Open in Highland Village [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Fifth Barnaby’s Cafe Now Open in Old Convey Sushi Spot in Market Square [Culturemap]
- Houston Sees Largest Rent Increase Nationwide with 11.2% Hike, Finds Study [Trulia via Houston Business Journal]
- Galveston Parking Plan Could Generate $1.7M in Revenue, Officials Guess [Galveston County Daily News]
- West Nile Virus Cases Continue To Rise in Houston, Harris and Fort Bend Counties [abc13]
- Woodlands ‘Hoarding’ Home Quarantined for Hantavirus [Woodlands Villager]
- Fan Injured by Falling LED Display Access Panel During Texans Game at Reliant Stadium [abc13]
- Thieves Steal Prized Peacock, Chicks from Spring Breeder [KHOU]
- Tall Ship Elissa Begins 2 Months, $2M Worth of Repairs [Galveston County Daily News]
- New Book Highlights ‘Spectacular’ Outdoor Living Spaces in Texas [Houston Chronicle]
- Here’s an Idea for KBR’s 136 Acres of East End Property: A Major College Campus [Houston Strategies; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of Miller Outdoor Theatre: elnina999 via Swamplot Flickr Pool
A SPECIAL KIND OF LIMBO FOR METRO’S UNIVERSITY LINE 
Have plans for a light-rail line along Westpark and Richmond from Hillcroft to Eastwood been dealt a deathblow? In a story aired this evening, Ted Oberg claims Metro “recently took that project off the table” — and that “nothing will be built until at least 2025 if Metro gets its way.” But transit agency spokesperson Jerome Gray says the patient is still alive: “The Metro Board has not scrapped plans for the University Line,” he tells Swamplot. “While work has slowed down Metro has not pulled this project out of its rail expansion program. . . . Metro will proceed with rail expansion as funds become available.” [abc13] Map: Metro
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SHAMROCK HOTEL SHINE AND FALL “Wasn’t the greatest building, because Frank Lloyd Wright said so? The same guy who hated every skyscraper in New York City? This was Houston’s most famous landmark before the Astrodome. It was what people around the country thought of when they thought of the city. The point of the Frank Lloyd Wright story should be that the nation’s most famous architect HAD to make a visit there and give his opinion, it was that renowned. It captured a whole era of the city’s history — its rollicking, mid-century, oil-rich extravagance — better than any other building. But it made sense to tear it down because, gosh, it would have required renovating and updating. Oh, and the ceiling heights were low! With that reasoning, any historic building in the world would be torn down at some point.” [Mike, commenting on The Park Where Houston Architecture Critics Go To Sharpen Their Chops]
Reader Jeromy Murphy sends a couple pics of a temporary ford of Buffalo Bayou seen last week near the site of the Police Officers Memorial off Memorial Dr. just west of Downtown. Planned nearby: a new permanent pedestrian bridge that will make the memorial accessible to soulmates hanging about in Glenwood Cemetery to the north. The bridge will also open the memorial to visits from bikers on the recently updated trail on the bayou’s north side.
This map shows the plan:
- New Texas 130 To Have Nation’s Fastest Speed Limit — 85 MPH — When It Opens in November [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston Sports Stadiums Pull Downtown Development Eastward [Houston Business Journal ($)]
- Midtown Officially Designated a State Cultural Arts and Entertainment District [InnerLooped]
- Solar-Powered Water Park To Break Ground This Month on Lyons Ave. in Fifth Ward [Culturemap]
- Greater Houston Partnership Names Bob Harvey President, CEO [Houston Business Journal]
- Houston Among Top Cities for Relocation This Past Summer, Finds United Van Lines Study [Prime Property]
Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DEMOLITION IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER “. . . I see lots to be salvaged and given to Habitat for Humanity. All that wood flooring, everything in the kitchen, especially the stainless countertop and appliances, french doors, louvered closet doors, balcony railings inside and out, granite bar top and light fixture, bathroom cabinets and granite countertop, tub. Not sure if the tile flooring can be taken up, and the plate glass windows would be tough to pull without breaking. I would love to plan and build a house around items from Habitat. I have seen some very unique things there. For now, I just have a greenhouse with a door, leaded glass sidelight, and jalousie windows from Habitat. And some really neat ceramic tiles that I plan on putting on the potting bench. I’m going to go back and get reclaimed brick for the patio.” [Lynn, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Passing the Red Baton]
THE PARK WHERE HOUSTON ARCHITECTURE CRITICS GO TO SHARPEN THEIR CHOPS 
From Ben Koush’s new building-by-building history of the Texas Medical Center (which now apparently has more square footage than Downtown): “In 1991 the Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham Park was dedicated on part of the site of Shamrock Hotel. (The rest of the site is a giant parking lot.) It was designed by Philip Johnson’s ex-partner John Burgee and features water jets, columns that appear to be taken from a freeway overpass and vine covered pergolas. It makes a nice, very secluded place to take a nap during the afternoon since it is always deserted.” [OffCite; previously on Swamplot]
MOBILE FOOD VENDORS MOBILIZE 
A collective formed by more than 2 dozen food-truck operators plans to roll on city hall later this month — to present the mayor and council members with a list of proposed changes to city ordinances, fire code, and health regulations that restrict where and how Houston’s growing fleet of mobile food units can operate. The changes promoted by Mobile Food Unit Houston would get rid of current rules requiring food trucks and trailers to park more than 60 ft. away from each other, allow a single propane permit to cover multiple locations, and lift the ban on using propane fuel in the Med Center and Downtown. The changes would also allow their customers to sit down, lifting current rules that prohibit the sale of food-truck food near seating areas and letting them to set up limited numbers of tables and chairs on their own. [Mobile Food Unit Houston; previously on Swamplot]
- State, Marquette Cos. Strike Deal on 1,053 Acres of Pastureland in Galveston’s West End, Reviving Development Project [Galveston County Daily News; previously on Swamplot]
- Ruggles Green Opening Greenest Restaurant Yet in Sugar Land This Month [Houston Chronicle]
- Uptown Transit Plan Would Add Dedicated Bus Lanes to Post Oak Blvd., West Loop [River Oaks Examiner]
- White Oak Bayou Bike Trail Closed Until Spring 2014, from Delays in T.C. Jester Improvement Project [The Leader]
- League City Residents Claim Coyote Is on the Loose, Preying on Pet Cats [Galveston County Daily News]’
- ‘Computer Glitch’ Prevents 7,000 Bellaire Residents from Getting Water Bill [Click2Houston]
- Texas Records Worst Year Ever for West Nile [KUHF]
Photo of Texas Medical Center: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
