06/19/12 10:31am

After waging a year-long “all out war” against this abandoned house near the corner of Prospect and Live Oak in Riverside Terrace, a Swamplot reader declares “I feel like I won.” How? “The house went up for sale this past week, exactly two weeks after a yellow ‘Dangerous Building’ violation was nailed to the tree out front by the city (following one of several of my complaints to the city’s Neighborhood Protection office — previous complaints generated violations notices for weeds and trash).” The listing for 2536 Prospect features photos of the home’s foreboding exterior with clear warnings from the listing agent: “Dangerous Building — No access!” and “Do NOT Enter!” This hoped-to-be-vacant lot could soon house your dream home! Once it’s bought and the house gets torn down, that is.

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06/19/12 8:30am

Photo of I-10: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool

06/18/12 11:02pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB “I used to get worked up about these teardowns, but it doesn’t do any good. Besides, I’m not originally from Houston, I don’t have any roots here, and with any luck, a year from now I’ll be living elsewhere. If a few Houstonians can trash this city and get away with it, then the city deserves it.” [JTM, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Ran Overbrook]

06/18/12 4:35pm

These twin townhomes look a bit steely-eyed beneath heavy-lidded, cantilevered roofs. They share skyline views of downtown from their double-decker balconies and storefront windows laced with Mondrian-style tracery. However, only 1 of these by-the-bayou units designed by MC2 Architects is for sale. It’s the one just a tad closer to downtown (above, at right). Last month, the asking price on this April listing dropped $30K to $549,000.

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06/18/12 12:27pm

Here’s a twilight view of a first test last Friday night of one of the new Light Garden sculptures installed a few weeks ago at the Washington on Westcott roundabout — in advance of Tuesday’s turning-on ceremony. Two of 3 LED light fixture assemblies by Houston sculptor Tim Glover are planned for the intersection, the “four corners” spot for native tribes from Woodcrest, Crestwood, Rice Military, and Camp Logan. The WOW Roundabout Initiative plans to raise funds for the third.

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06/18/12 10:28am

“Does major storm sewer work on Richmond between Kirby & Buffalo Speedway,” reader James Glassman wants to know, “mean Metro’s University Line has thrown up the white flag? Seems like all major work had been deferred until Metro broke ground there. But now this?”

Photo: James Glassman

06/18/12 8:30am

Photo of Downtown from Medical Center: Russell Hancock

06/15/12 11:38pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: INSTALLING THE SAGO PALM HOME SECURITY SYSTEM “But I guarantee that a burglar will bypass your house if you have the palms near windows. They do not want to get stuck anymore than you do. Granted, it will be more difficult to clean the windows, but I’ll take that any day.” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Against Law]

06/15/12 12:48pm

Austin’s Torchy’s Tacos chain will be opening a restaurant in the former Harold’s in the Heights retail space at the southeast corner of 19th St. and Ashland, according to a flyer advertising a new development planned for the former clothing store and connected space. Harold’s closed last year after operating for 61 years at 350 W. 19th St. The flyer says Braun Enterprises — which bought the fifties-mod property from the family of Harold Wiesenthal last September — has already executed the lease with Torchy’s, which is shown taking up 3,340 sq. ft. in the corner spot. The development includes an additional unleased 7,260 sq. ft. of ground-floor space imagined as a cafe and 3,000 more sq. ft. upstairs shown as a dental office in the flyer.

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06/15/12 10:24am

That new vaguely Mayan looking mound with the flat roof suspended above it at the head of Rice University’s forlorn upper quad is artist James Turrell’s latest Skyspace — one of only 73 in various incarnations he’s made so far, and the the second in Houston. But it’s the first Skyspace designed for music — the kind you’d want to listen to while staring through a 14-ft.-by-14-ft. opening in a raised roof at the darkening sky around sundown, or a lightening one at dawn.

In advance of any unique OMG-the-sky-is-changing-color experiences you might have while sitting in it, the structure has been named Twilight Epiphany. It sits just outside the east entrance of Rice’s Shepherd School of Music. A sold-out, silent performance in the space last night marked the space’s public opening. Last month, the new structure, designed by Turrell with New York architects Thomas Phifer and Partners, posed for a photo shoot with photographer Karen Dressel:

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06/15/12 8:30am

Photo of yesterday’s demo of the Pavilion on Post Oak: Bill Burge and George Cushing

06/14/12 11:55pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE TEARDOWN CHASE “Nice house. I remember back in the mid 80′s when places like that were available in West U for about the same price. My wife and I would see an ad for one in the paper, go rushing down to West U to look at it and find a bare patch of brown earth where the house stood a few days prior. We never could get to a house before the builders.” [Bubba, commenting on Bus or Bike Now, Ride Rail Later from Eastwood-Area Bungalow]