WE’LL STILL HAVE THE NORHILL HISTORIC DISTRICT TO KICK AROUND The planning department has tallied all the surveys from property owners in the Norhill Historic District — the last of 7 historic districts subject to the one-time “reconsideration” provisions of the revised preservation ordinance city council passed last year. Department spokesperson Suzy Hartgrove says the number of surveys returned was below the 51 percent threshold that would have dissolved the district, but she hasn’t provided the actual percentage. Planning director Marlene Gafrick “has been meeting with council members whose districts are affected” by the reconsideration process, Hartgrove tells Swamplot. “We should have maps ready when this goes to council which may be as early as next week. The Planning Director is still working on her recommendations.” [Previously on Swamplot]
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Tag: 77009
CHANGING WITH THE TIMES ON NORTH MAIN 
“The Heights could certainly use a great drag revue,” concludes Katharine Shilcutt in her survey of the not-so-new restaurant at 4002 N. Main in Brookesmith, across Walton St. from Shipley’s Donuts: “Linda is the chef here at La Casa de Frida, a family-run place that’s been run by the same folks for 30 years on North Main. It was formerly Rico’s Cantina, then — for a very brief period last year — Rico’s Luchadores. That Mexican wrestling-themed concept didn’t pan out, so the family has now switched gears to a Frida Kahlo-decorated Tex-Mex cantina that offers Italian and Chinese food on the menu in addition to college ‘club’ nights on Fridays and drag shows on Saturdays.” [Eating Our Words] Photo: Swamplot inbox.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW KIDS CAN HELP MAKE WAY FOR MORE ALCOHOL SALES IN AND AROUND THE HEIGHTS “If HISD closes Hogg [Middle School] (it’s been identified as one of 66 struggling schools), that may open up some of the Studewood/ 11th area for liquor sales. How far do you need to be from a church to get an alcohol permit?” [Holster, commenting on The Rush to White Oak: Is the Corkscrew Next?]
“Closer inspection,” reports one of 2 readers who sent us photos of these heartwarming signs found on Studewood just north of Fitzgerald’s, “reveals these to be re-purposed campaign signs…Bill White ‘welcomes’ and Jessica Farrar ‘hearts’ Walmart, apparently.” Okay, so what have people been doing with the Rick Perry and Fernando Herrera signs?
- West End Walmart coverage [Swamplot]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
FOR SALE: EARLY MODEL ASTROWORLD 
Sure, AstroWorld shut down 5 years ago tomorrow — and the site still lies vacant. But Ed Henderson, builder of the original model of the amusement park (shown at left with his creation 43 years ago), is looking for a buyer who’ll preserve and restore it. The recently recovered 8-ft.-by-10-ft. construction goes on display for 6 weeks beginning this Saturday night at Bill Davenport’s Optical Project gallery on 11th St. near the Heights. The model was originally displayed in September 1967 at Foley’s Department Store Downtown. “After the park’s opening, the model resided in [Judge Roy] Hofheinz’s private model room on the Astrodome’s 9th level. When Astroworld was being dismantled in 2006, the model was found in a warehouse, sawn into six irregular pieces and covered in dirt.” Davenport, who’s already spent a while cleaning up the model, tells Swamplot he can’t decide if the $3,000 asking price is “expensive for a big project in need of restoration or unbelievably cheap as a unique piece of Houston history, or both.” [Optical Project; previously on Swamplot] Photos: Bill Davenport
Got a question about something going on in your neighborhood you’d like Swamplot to answer? Sorry, we can’t help you. But if you ask real nice and include a photo or 2 with your request, maybe the Swamplot Street Sleuths can! Who are they? Other readers, just like you, ready to demonstrate their mad skillz in hunting down stuff like this:
Answers — of a sort — to your questions-about-town:
- Southwest Freeway: More than a week after our source noted the problem, that dangling loop of fiber-optic lighting gone dim is still taped to a cable (see photos above) on the Dunlavy St. bridge. TxDOT, the agency in charge of the lights, has swooped in to fix problems with the lights sporadically since at least 2004. But the situation has apparently accelerated to the late-drooping stage. What’s next? Are they just gonna leave us hanging?
- North Montrose: Pat Wente finds the source of the Regent-Square area jackhammering: demolition of a slab leftover from the Allen House demo on West Dallas (see photo below). And hears Bernard’s somewhat blunt though unofficial assessment of the prognosis for construction on the giant mixed-use project:
Got an answer to one of these reader questions? Or just want to be a sleuth for Swamplot? Here’s your chance! Add your report in a comment, or send a note to our tipline.
- Southwest Freeway: Driving over the Dunlavy Bridge, a reader spots a loop of fiber-optic lighting cable hanging off the southern end of the structure. Later the same afternoon, the reader snaps these photos, showing that someone had taped the loose strand to one of the bridge cables: “When the bridges over this part of 59 opened a few years back, the lighting was pretty cool, but I don’t think it has worked for a while. Friends and I have wondered who is supposed to be responsible for keeping this up — think one of your readers might know?”
- North Montrose: Jackhammers have been thrumming for the last couple mornings on West Dallas, reader Pat Wente reports. And she wonders if it might have something to do with Regent Square: “Anybody know of any official new start dates or plans on this long-delayed project?”
And then there’s this little item:
Here’s a 1920 bungalow taking up valuable space on a 7,000-sq.-ft. lot on Merrill St. near Watson. The lot size and the Woodland Heights address make the “perfect combination for building your new home in the Heights,” declares the new listing. The structure, “in need of extensive repairs,” features 3 apparently unphotographable bedrooms and 1 bath. List price: $245,000.
- 726 Merrill St. [HAR]
AURORA PICTURE SHOW’S ORIGINAL MOVIE HOUSE HAS A BUYER 
The woman who’s buying the former home of the Aurora Picture Show from microcinema pioneer Andrea Grover plans on starting her own new film and arts organization and running it out of the former Sunset Height Church of Christ at 800 Aurora St. Artist, filmmaker, and law student Cressandra Thibodeaux‘s name for her new concept: 14 Pews. She hopes to host theater and film productions, weddings, art exhibitions, classes, and workshops in the space, along with occasional screenings from . . . Aurora Picture Show. Writer Steven Thomsen gets Thibodeaux to gush: “‘I’m going through a divorce and thought that Houston would be the best place to lick my wounds,’ she tells CultureMap. ‘It’s always treated me like a forgiving lover who wraps me in her warm moist arms. And the moment I landed at the airport I was engulfed in her warm moistness. . . . I have spent 10 years tossing ideas and projects at the walls in Los Angeles,’ she explains. ‘I came to Houston and in one week everything I tossed stuck to the walls. I credit the humidity.’” [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Kenny Haner
Armed with your suggestions, roving Swamplot photographer Candace Garcia set out to document the smallest freestanding commercial buildings in Houston she could find. And here are the results! Above, “The Spot” hair salon at 1207 Westheimer in Montrose, at the corner of Commonwealth.
More tiny:
HISTORIC DISTRICT HOLDUP Just one more thing about that temporary change to the historic-district ordinance Houston’s city council is considering today. Apparently there’s more to it than just a 7-month shutting of the wait-90-days “loophole” that allows property owners to demolish, build, or renovate historic-district properties as they wish, even if their plans have been rejected by the city historical commission. The proposal also includes a temporary ban on the designation of new historic districts. If it passes, that’ll give builders working in neighborhoods that have been working toward historic-district status — such as Woodland Heights and Glenbrook Valley — a clear 7-month window to clean out the riffraff. [Swamplot inbox; item 25 on the agenda]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PUMPING THE HEIGHTS “I grew up in West University in the 1980s and watched it change from a shabby lower middle class neighborhood to what it is today. I now live in the Heights, and the area is remarkably similar to the way West University was during my childhood. The similarities include everything from housing stock, neighborhood amenities, and eclectic mixture of residents. The location is also similar to West University, in that it is convenient to all of Houston’s major destinations. Mr Kelley’s prediction that the Heights will follow the same upward trend as West University is probably correct, and I think investing in the Heights is a wise move. As the Heights continues to improve, the demand to live in the area will continue to increase and real estate prices will reflect that. If I had more cash right now, I’d buy another house in the area and hold on to it.” [Obsolete, commenting on Comment of the Day: Priced Out of the Conversation]
The orange Spanish Colonial-style house that famously fronts the I-10 west onramp from I-45 south is now available for lease. The address is 1215 Wrightwood, adjacent to Woodland Park. Reports our cameraphone-wielding correspondent:
Nonrestricted commercial. Comes complete with I-45 freeway frontage, double lot, two flagpoles, windmill, Adickes banana, colossal concrete rooster, and giant cross.
The “patriotic paint job” on the David Adickes banana sculpture “was created in honor of the Super Bowl here a few years back,” our correspondent notes.
Another view:
Home theater specialist Andrea Grover is leaving Houston — and selling the Sunset Heights church-turned-movie-theater-turned-residence where she founded a well-known local arts organization 13 years ago. For the 10 years that it operated on Aurora St. just east of Main, Aurora Picture Show featured a ridiculous range of obscure and not-quite-as-obscure film and video screenings in its sanctuary space, along with 13 weddings and a couple of memorial services. Then 2 years ago, Grover explains, the microcinema went south — to Montrose:
Aurora relocated its office and library to a bungalow in “Doville” (the neighborhood affectionately named after Dominique de Menil). Their programming has been nomadic and site-specific in order to attract new audiences and activate different sites in Houston. This strategy has worked extremely well for the organization, which has seen increased attendance and membership as a result of catering to Houston’s love for new experiences and one-of-a-kind events. I retired at the end of 2008, and Aurora is doing so well that I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner!
The house includes a movie chapel with pew seating for 96, audio-video equipment, and a “disused baptistry,” along with a small freestanding outhouse for theatergoers that was “designed by a well-known architect (Michael Bell), though you would never guess it,” writes Grover.
The home comes with a trailer, too:
“I have to say, I have always had luck with Asian food in some sort of repurposed fast food building,” declares The Heights Life blogger Viula. Surely everyone hopes her good fortune continues: A Heights Asian Cafe (or, as the banner puts it, Height Asian Cafe) will soon lay claim to the booty that is the vacant Long John Silvers building on Yale at 22nd St.
Likewise, Jenni’s Noodle House expects to open its 3rd location in the former Mrs. Baird’s Bread outlet at 602 E. 20th (at the corner of Oxford St.) in less than 8 weeks.
Ah, but there’s more than Asian food moving in. Viula has the rundown:
