August 18, 2008 – 12:24 pm
“Eighteen years after the Americans With Disabilities Act became law, several spots along the 6.5-mile downtown tunnel-skywalk system, used by more than 150,000 downtown workers, remain blocked or altogether inaccessible to those in wheelchairs. These areas haven’t been made ADA-compliant because it would be difficult or impossible to put in ramps and still leave enough headroom for pedestrians, said Bob Eury, director of the Downtown District, a public-private association that promotes and manages downtown development.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: 77002, Accessibility, Downtown, Downtown Tunnel System
February 7, 2008 – 4:54 pm
Here’s a small discovery from today’s permit report: Work on the site and foundation of Discovery Tower — a 30-story office tower developed by Trammell Crow and designed by Gensler — has been approved by the city. The tower is planned for a block next to Discovery Green downtown, at 1501 McKinney St.
The tower will have retail space at street level and will reportedly tie into the tunnel system . . . by skybridge. A new parking garage will go up one block north.
The tiny image above shows the view from Discovery Green. Discovery Tower is at the far right. (The hazy image in the background to the left is the Finger Companies’ One Park Place, which is now under construction.)
Got any better images of Discovery Tower you’d like to share? Send them in!
Photo: CBRE, via HAIF user lockmat
Read more about: 77010, Downtown, Downtown Tunnel System, Highrises, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments
August 22, 2007 – 10:00 am
Near the end of a short New York Times feature on Houston’s downtown tunnel system is this historical nugget:
[“Tunnel Lady” Sandra] Lord, a writer and Houston historian, traced the origins of the tunnels to Ross Sterling, an oilman and governor during the Depression, who, inspired by Rockefeller Center, linked two of his downtown buildings underground in the early 1930s. Soon after, an entertainment entrepreneur, Will Horwitz, connected three of his vaudeville and movie theaters to save on air-conditioning.
And they say geothermal cooling is something new for Houston.
Photo: Flickr user The Rocketeer
Read more about: 77002, Air Conditioning, Downtown Tunnel System, Geothermal Cooling, Houston History
The mysterious Tunnel Mole, posting on Houstoned, provides a succinct list of shopping features missing from the not-so-glamorous Downtown daytime underground scene:
It’s got infinite ways to get annoying chores done, except it’s devoid of the most annoying ones that you want to do while you’re on the clock, like upgrading your cell phone. And here’s what else you don’t have in the tunnel:
*Music
*Movies
*Television
*Sex (not that we’ve noticed, anyway)
*Liquor
*Dreams of a Houston team snaring the pennant/Super Bowl
In short, anything that could sweep you up from the realities of life. The tunnel’s very grounded, because duh, it is in the ground.
Photo: “In space no one can hear you scream,” by Flickr user Matthew Wedgwood
Read more about: 77002, Downtown, Downtown Tunnel System, Shopping
