Tag: 77002

Bars and Clubs
In the Conservatory With The Knife

A Stroll Through the Underground Beer Garden and Regular Garden Now Below Prairie St. Downtown

Conservatory Underground Beer Garden & Food Fall, 1010 Prairie, Downtown, Houston, 77002

This latest report over the wireless from Swamplot’s regular tunnel correspondent comes from a brief venture into nearby subterranean territory this weekend to scope out Conservatory Underground Beer Garden & Food Hall. The basement bar and restaurant collection sits in the former Isis Theater building on Prairie  St., just east of sister-facility Prohibition and Main St.-facing Moonshiner’s Southern Table + Bar. Several of the Conservatory’s restaurant tenants spent last week quietly testing out their setups on diners during limited hours; the shots and commentary below come from a Saturday morning jaunt through the venue:

The entrance is just east of Prohibition, under an awning sporting the marquee “Conservatory/Underground Beer Garden and Food Hall”. The lobby level has a stairwell leading to the main basement area:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Downtown, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
4 Comments
04/11/16 10:45am
, , , , ,
Downtown
Making Newspaper Building History

Former Houston Chronicle Headquarters Starts Getting Dressed Up To Go Away Downtown

Former Houston Chronicle Building, 801 Texas Ave., Downtown, Houston, 77002

A line of orange plastic barricades is now artfully wrapped around the base of the former Houston Chronicle headquarters at 801 Texas Ave., as is some construction fencing. Hines purchased the property last fall and is preparing to demolish the structure, which is actually an amalgamation of several slightly misaligned buildings wrapped up behind a single 1960s-or-so facade. The shot above looks down Texas Ave. from the corner with Travis St., with Calpine Center looming in the background between Milam and Louisiana.

Hines hasn’t said what it plans to do with the land in the long run, yet, and the company has other projects in progress at the moment — a block away on Main St., Hines’s 48-story 609 Main office tower is still under construction.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
9 Comments
04/07/16 10:45am
, ,
Featured Posts
Traveling Downtown

Dallas St. Redo Winds Down Before Final Four Clocks Start Running

Dallas St. Improvements complete, Downtown, Houston, 77002

Beating the basketball crowds headed to Houston this weekend, the Downtown section of Dallas St. that’s been getting done over looks to be pretty much finished and ready for action. A reader took some shots looking both ways in front of the south entrance to the Four Seasons between Caroline and Austin streets — up top is the eastern view down Dallas, gazing toward the George R. Brown Convention Center and the catty-corner staredown between Hilton Americas and Embassy Suites from either side of Crawford. The new trees seem to line up with the spacing plans shown in the previously released project plans, which included knocking out a driving lane on the north side and turning it into parking (as the vehicles above are politely demonstrating).

Here’s the Four Seasons again from other direction — this time looking west toward Houston Center, with the First City Tower rising out of the frame on the right:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
4 Comments
03/31/16 4:00pm
, , , ,
Downtown
Mat Pour On Capitol St.

Crews Stash Tower Foundation Behind the Former Texaco Building for Later Use

Foundation pour at 1111 Rusk St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Rendering of Houston Luxury Apartments, 1111 Rusk St., Downtown, Houston (3)

Above is the after shot of the foundation pour that wrapped up late yesterday morning behind the former Texaco building currently getting made over as The Star at 1111 Rusk St. The pour started around 10pm on Monday night, a reader reports from up above the scene, noting that crews have been laying rebar for the last few weeks. The square-ish foundation was put down on the western end of the rectangular footprint of the parking garage planned to run from Fannin to San Jacinto along Capitol St.; renderings released in 2013 show a residential highrise tower growing out of the top of that part of the structure.

Downtown Houston’s page on the project still shows a rendering that includes the tower, which was of undecided height (so long as it was at least 20 stories above the parking garage) as of 2013. The current project description makes no mention of the planned highrise, however, and the rendering of the project on designer Hnedak Bobo Group’s site, currently shows only the planned parking garage, with the parking capacity estimate bumped up to 750 spaces:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
3 Comments
03/30/16 12:45pm
, , , , , , ,
Downtown

Houston Library Wants Your Online AstroWorld Nostalgia as 1967 Model Goes On Display Downtown

HOUSTON LIBRARY WANTS YOUR ONLINE ASTROWORLD NOSTALGIA AS 1967 MODEL GOES ON DISPLAY DOWNTOWN Overhead Photo of 1968 Model of AstroWorld, HoustonRemember that Craigslisted model of AstroWorld that got bought up by the head of an Astro-tasked engineering firm back in 2011? I. A. Naman + Associates president Thomas G. Barrows evidently made good on his announced plan to donate the construction visualization model to the Houston Public Library, which is now about ready to start showing it off  — the model will be on public display at the Central branch Downtown at 500 McKinney St. by next Wednesday, April 6th, with a reception planned for that evening.  While you’re waiting, the library wants you to tweet and Facebook them your videos, photos, and most enthusiastic memories of Houston’s themepark days. [Houston Public Library, previously on Swamplot] Photo of AstroWorld model: Bill Davenport

by Christine Gerbode
Quicklink
3 Comments
03/28/16 3:00pm
, , , , ,
Downtown
News from the Underground

Lamar Tunnel Now Open Again Under Blown-Up Foley’s Former Spot Downtown

Lamar Tunnel Walkthrough, Downtown, Houston, 77002

Lamar Tunnel Walkthrough, Downtown, Houston, 77002

Here’s a fresh dispatch from Swamplot’s regular anonymous tunnel correspondent, who sends this photo-heavy update on the state of the Lamar Tunnel beneath the site of the former downtown Foley’s-turned-Macy’s building:

“The old tunnel to Macy’s from 1000 Main is now back open again. Despite what the sign says, it no longer leads to a department store — instead, you round a corner into the lower level of 1111 Travis, Hilcorp’s new (future?) headquarters: CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
2 Comments
03/25/16 10:30am
, , , , , , ,
Featured Posts
Down in Midtown

What Holy Rosary Catholic Church Is Knocking Down Right Now

Demolition at 3505 Louisiana St., Midtown, Houston, 77002

Demolition at 3505 Louisiana St., Midtown, Houston, 77002The church property that met its unmaker this morning is was a 2-story 1930s house at 3505 Louisiana St. (shown above, several hours post-meeting). The property sits 1 block north on Milam and 1 west down Holman from the main sanctuary of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. A demo permit with the church’s name on it was issued by the city yesterday, listing demolition and sewer shutoff as the planned program for the 3600 block of Travis between Berry and Winbern streets where the 1930s sanctuary and rectory stand.  A representative of Holy Rosary, however, confirmed to Swamplot this morning that no demo is in the works for the buildings actually located at the permit address.

The church acquired the freshly flattened house at the corner of Louisiana and Holman St. in 2003; the home sat vacant next to the church’s Religious Education building for several years before today’s teardown. The space will add to the church’s parking territory for the time being.

Photos of demolition at 3505 Louisiana St.: Swamplot inbox

by Christine Gerbode
Midtown
Add a comment
03/23/16 4:15pm
, , ,
Featured Posts
Taking the Bar on Baldwin

Lawyered-Up Former Home in Midtown Looks To Get Liquored Up, Too

TABC Notice at 1916 Baldwin St., Midtown, Houston, 77002

A notice of a TABC application, requesting permission from the agency to serve mixed drinks and stay up late, is now up by a door of the 1930s house-turned-office-building at 1916 Baldwin St. The 2-story home, which was remodeled as office spaces in the early 2000s, is currently listed as the home of D’Olive Law Firm, the Texas Passport Center and Bibby, McWilliams, & Kearney, among the latest in a string of law-minded businesses to inhabit the space 1 block north of Gray St.

The bar-to-be sits between the condos at 207 Pierce St. and the RISE Lofts and Edge condo complexes across Baldwin; the Camden City Centre apartments hedge in the parking lot from the north. The space is also just across Pierce St. from Komodo Pub, another house-gone-bar tucked back a block from the restaurant-filled stretch of Gray to the south.  The building changed hands in early January; the TABC permit notice, naming Basilio Investments as instigator, is hanging to the right of that side entrance visible left of the oak tree nearest to the parking lot — here’s a closer look:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Midtown
Add a comment
03/23/16 10:30am
, , , , , , ,
Downtown
Up on Main St.

Lightnin’ Hopkins Tribute Mural Now Up Over Anonymized Dollar and 19 Cents Store Downtown

Jamal Cyrus Art Blocks mural as 901 Main St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

The next piece of Art Blocks art was smoothed into place at the corner of Main St. and Walker this weekend, above the lightrail-facing side of inflation-aware Just a Dollar 19¢ & Budget Food Store. The mural, Jamal Cyrus’s Lightnin’ Field, is one of 4 that will be rotated onto the side of the 1929 building at 901 Main throughout the year leading up to next spring’s Super Bowl. The other projects to pretty up the Main Street Square area include the 60-foot-tall wooden Trumpet Flower that will grow between One City Centre and its parking garage, and the Color Jam street paint-up underway at the corner of Main and McKinney.

The signs for Just a Dollar 19¢ appear to have been artistically blanked as part of the installation; the convenience store, which opened on the corner in the early 1990’s in the former Krupp & Tuffly Shoes building, is shown above from the northbound Main St. Square light-rail station, between the restored facade of the Holy Cross Chapel & Catholic Resource Center (on the right) and the 46-story BG Group Place tower at 811 Main (on the left, across Walker St.). Here’s a twilight shot of the nearly completed mural, with a cherry picker still loitering in the bottom corner:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
10 Comments
03/21/16 12:30pm
, , , , , , ,
Downtown
News From the Underground

A Flurry of Culinary Updates from the Downtown Tunnels

Wells Fargo Plaza Tunnel Entrance, 1000 Louisiana St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

A reader sends the following report of openings, closures, swap-outs, and hanging question marks in the Downtown tunnel system’s restaurant landscape:

The Prince’s Hamburgers location at 930 Main St./McKinney Place Garage (and the associated taco establishment next to it whose name escapes me) both closed a couple of weeks ago. The former location of Mediterranean Grill House in the basement of 919 Milam St. is now a Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet. What was a Ninfa’s Express window next door still sports a sign stating a Bullrito’s is coming soon, while the restaurant space the sit-down Ninfa’s previously occupied remains vacant, with no indication of what may be coming.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Openings and Closings
2 Comments
03/16/16 11:30am
, , , ,
Demolitions
Piecing Out Downtown

A Portrait of the Louisiana St. Pecan Tree in 24 Parts

Pecan tree remnants, 509 Louisiana St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Pecan Tree formerly at 509 Louisiana St., Downtown, Houston, 77002The majority of the pecan tree formerly growing at the northeast corner of 509 Louisiana St. has, as of yesterday afternoon, migrated to the far southeast corner of the adjacent lot at 517 Louisiana. A reader sends this snapshot peeking in on the scene from the lowercase alley behind the Lancaster Hotel (visible on the far left) toward the capitalized Alley Theatre in front (visible at the top of the shot, behind the small flock of green recycling bins). The reader disavows any claim to professional tree expertise, but notes that “the rotting story may have some validity.” (It remains to be seen whether the misty figure of Chief Bowl will follow the logs, or remain rooted to their former home.)

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Downtown
3 Comments
03/09/16 10:00am
, , ,
Adaptive Reuse
Nearing Launch at Allen’s Landing

Dressed And Accessorized Sunset Coffee Building Ready for Today’s Downpours Downtown

Renovation of Sunset Coffee Building at Allen's Landing, Downtown, Houston, 77002

A shiny new cistern is now in place at the former Sunset Coffee building at Allen’s Landing, which Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston First have been redeveloping into an office-topped boat-and-bike-rental spot.  The 1910 coffee roasting facility has once again donned walls after moving past a Summer 2014 minimalist phase, and is currently decked out in a muted Café du Monde orange.

The no-longer-see-through structure is back to limiting the view from the Harris County Jail across the bayou (visible on the far right, above). A set of stairs are in place alongside the new cistern, along with railings around what appears to be the planned rooftop terrace.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Allen's Landing, Bayous and Waterways, Correctional Facilities, Green Design and Development, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Houston Landmarks, Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Office Space, Parks, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Renovations, Tourism
9 Comments
03/08/16 2:30pm
, , , , , , , , , ,
Demolitions

Tree Professionals: Pecan at 509 Louisiana St. Would Have Just Died Anyway

TREE PROFESSIONALS: PECAN AT 509 LOUISIANA ST. WOULD HAVE JUST DIED ANYWAY Pecan Tree formerly at 509 Louisiana St., Downtown, Houston, 77002The pecan tree formerly behind the former Longhorn Cafe on Louisiana St. is down at last, following the 100-plus-year-old buildings at 509 and 517 Louisiana into that Great Big Preservation District in the Sky. Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Chronicle reports that 2 arborists were called in to examine the tree, and pronounced it dead-or-close-enough: Lauren Lusk Willis, a member of the family that owns the next-door Lancaster Hotel, told the Chronicle that a lightning strike had damaged the tree, and that its core was rotting. Willis said that the pecan “would not likely have survived the leveling of the lot for any construction,” and that “ultimately, it wouldn’t have survived regardless.” The tree, haunted by a both-Sam-and-city-of Houston ghost story, was long visible only to those who entered 509 Louisiana’s hidden courtyard, until the pecan’s 2001 outing by the demo of the Rice Rittenhouse parking garage; it went back into hiding by the end of 2003 with the help of 33-story Calpine Center. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of the pecan tree, following demolition of 509 Louisiana St.: KineticD

by Christine Gerbode
Downtown, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Houston Landmarks, Land Development, Parking, Quicklink, Trees
5 Comments
03/08/16 10:00am
, , , , , ,
Downtown
Encore on Austin St.

Scenes from the Set of HSPVA’s Upcoming Downtown Campus, Now In Progress

New HSPVA Building at Austin St. and Texas Ave., Downtown, Houston, 77002

The first act of construction of the new downtown facilities for the High School for Performing and Visual Arts featured an extended solo by a lone excavator supported by a small cluster of white vehicles, per photos of the site released yesterday. Work on the former parking lot bounded by Austin, Capitol, Caroline, and Rusk streets got the go-ahead in late February now that some budget issues are settled, according to HISD.

Here’s a ground-level shot that introduces a few more characters to the production — in this scene, the Excavator meets with the Man in Yellow, as a Blue Semi observes in stony silence:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
New Construction, Redevelopment
11 Comments
03/02/16 10:15am
, , , , , , , ,
Featured Posts
Getting Saved Downtown

TABC Permit in the Works for the Brutalist Christian Science Church on Main St.

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:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

by Christine Gerbode
Interiors, Midtown
12 Comments
03/01/16 10:15am
, , , , , , ,
« Previous Page Next Page »