COMMENT OF THE DAY: WORKING IN THE EAST END, ATTENDING MIDTOWN “. . . In the East End, there is Talento Bilingue, Frenetic Theater, Box 13, El Rincon Social, Super Happy Fun Land, Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex, Kalinen Contemporary, and probably some things that I’m missing. That’s a pretty good set of arts spaces, but it’s very spread out (from near 59 all the way out to Broadway). What is definitely going on in the East End is that a lot of artists have living and/or work spaces there (even though they have exhibits, both El Rincon Social and Box 13 are primarily studio spaces). But that’s not the same as being a destination for people to see art/performances. Whereas the Midtown/Museum District arts area is much more compact –– only 1.5 miles from the Midtown Arts Center to the MFAH — and in between you have the Continental Club, Inman Gallery, Bryan Miller Gallery, Art Palace, Devin Borden Gallery, War’House, the Houston Center For Contemporary Craft, Lawndale, the Ensemble Theatre, the MFAH — and that’s just on Main St. . . . If I was a scrappy young arts group looking for a physical home, I’d look out in the East End before Midtown. You just aren’t going to get things like Super Happy Fun Land, Frenetic Theater or Box 13 in Midtown.” [Robert Boyd, commenting on Midtown Arts Center Interim Design Review: How Do You Like It Now?]
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Tag: East End
From those rockin’ dudes at Metro, moving to their own beat: a timelapse view of last weekend’s marathon Friday night to Monday morning East End Line construction project at the intersection of Harrisburg and Lockwood. (Traffic lanes and utilities had already been installed.) The beat goes on. . . .
- East End Line coverage [Swamplot]
Video: Metro
Harrisburg Blvd. and the East End light-rail line Metro is building along it will dip under the Union Pacific East Belt freight rail line between the future Altic and Cesar Chavez stations, Mayor Parker announced today. The city has committed $20.6 million of “existing money” to the build the underpass — in part by delaying other area improvement projects. The alternative, a longer freeway-style overpass, was opposed by many area residents and businesses.
- We have found the funding for an underpass and City of Houston has committed $20.6 million to put part of the East End Metro line underground. [Twitter]
- East End residents fight plan for Metro rail overpass [Houston Chronicle]
Drawing: City of Houston
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW HOUSTON’S EAST ENDERS HAVE RID THEMSELVES OF CLUTTER “Small closets are a great tool for stuff reduction. Houston, and especially the East End, is still full of similar vintage 1000-1500 sq. ft houses designed for simple living.” [DanaX, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Fountain]
The Rodriguez Brothers have produced more than 200 food trucks out of their warehouse on the corner of Garrow and Roberts just east of Settegast Park, reports food critic and soon-to-be-restaurateur Robb Walsh. Inside on a recent visit, Walsh finds 14 vehicles in various stages of customization — including catering trucks, taco trucks with “California-style” cantilevered skylights, and vehicles outfitted with elote cookers, shaved-ice machines, or other specialty equipment. “The kitchen is designed for the kind of food being served,” co-owner Daniel Rodriguez tells him.
92 EMINENT DOMAIN CASES ON 3 LINES: METRO’S LIGHT RAIL LAND ACQUISITION SCORECARD 
Nick Boulos’s former Shell station on the corner of MLK and Old Spanish Trail “is among 133 pieces of property [Metro] has acquired along the Southeast Corridor, including 27 in which Metro invoked eminent domain. Of those, 21 (including Boulos’) were settled by negotiation. Another 7 remain to be mediated or possibly settled in court. In the East End, METRO has obtained 135 parcels, filed 47 eminent domain cases, and settled 33 by negotiation, leaving 14 for mediation or the courtroom. On the Northside, METRO has acquired 113 total pieces of property, filed 18 eminent domain cases, and settled 16 by negotiation, leaving 2 for mediation or the courtroom.” [Fox 26] Rendering of Southeast Line on MLK between Griggs Rd. and OST: Metro
Bringing you the happening sounds of the vacant former Morse Wholesale Paper Co. on the east side — live, via YouTube!
Can’t get enough of this sort of thing? More Industrial:
A big thank you to our photographers this week: russell.hancock, biggsbean, can-da-chee garcia, Lizard666, eg66tex, and xnomad. What’d they do? Capture an East End neighborhood on pixels for us.
And here is their work, all from within 500 ft. of the intersection of Harrisburg Blvd. & Wayside Dr.: Swamplot’s 5th group photo feature.
How does it look?
Some fun recent pix from around town!
Above, from this weekend: the Williams Tower just moments before liftoff, as captured by Flickr user Bokeh Down.
Oh yes there’s more:
OLDER NAMES FOR HOUSTON’S NAUGHTY BITS The East Downtown Management District rolled out its new EaDo identity package last month, but John Nova Lomax prefers the older and rougher neighborhood names: “The 400 block of deep Milam was a sink of vice and sin called Catfish Reef. Lower Washington Avenue was a swanky district called Vinegar Hill. A good chunk of Fourth Ward, or FoWa for short, was given over to Houston’s Red Light District (ReLiDi) and was known as The Reservation, while the toughest corner in Fifth Ward (FiWa) was known as Pearl Harbor. Mid Lane near the non-yet-built Galleria was a Mad Men-like seen of whiskey-fuelled poolside soirees that earned it the name Sin Alley. Even the Richmond Strip seems evocative compared to these moronic, truncated, New York-wannabe handles.” [Hair Balls; previously in Swamplot]
Remember that naming contest for East Downtown? A reader writes in:
I got an email from the East Downtown Management District saying that a name has been chosen for the district and the new website will debut on January 19th the website is www.eadohouston.com so I’m thinking the new name is EaDo?
The East Downtown District registered that domain name in July. Plus, EaDo would jibe with this little comment left on Swamplot last month.
So what were the runners-up? Perhaps: Edo, E.D.O., E-Do, or Eat-O? Next up: More naming competitions, for West Houston, Lower Kirby, and North Norhill!
- Name the District [East Downtown Management District]
- East Downtown Management District
- East Downtown District Wants a New Name [Swamplot]
- Aerosol Warfare Declares E.D.O. the Street Art District [Swamplot]
Photo: Jackson Myers
Maybe the East Downtown Management District should just Give Up on those other names.
- Houston, We Have Art [Current]
- Give Up
- East Downtown District Wants a New Name [Swamplot]
A resident of nearby Simms Woods sends us photos of an apartment complex off Wayside Dr. that’s received a number of citations recently . . . but not the good kind:
The citations to the Courtyard Apartments on Villa de Matel allege eight structural and electrical problems, including rotting wood, missing balcony railings, loose boards and broken windows, city officials said. . . .
Tenant Victoria Vargas said that when she moved in a year ago, the management refused to replace the tattered mini-blinds, outdated appliances and worn carpet.
Now, she said in Spanish, she also must contend with leaky ceilings, rats and high energy bills for her $400-a-month unit.
State Rep. Hubert Vo has owned the 241-unit complex at 950 Villa de Matel through a company called Newlink Investment since July of 2002, according to HCAD records.
The mess — and the neglect apparently visited on his tenants, who are clearly not in his district — doesn’t look healthy for Mr. Vo, a Democrat who’s running for re-election this year. But maybe someone can help him out!
A commenter on the Chronicle‘s Houston Politics blog passes on a report that Vo bought the Courtyard Apartments for $2.8 million, and notes that they are now available for sale . . . for just $20,332 a unit! That’s only $4.9 million for 7.6 acres of juicy East End Inner Loop property! From the listing brochure:
This property affords a buyer good upside potential thru a moderate/heavy rehab. This community is constructed in a classic garden style design and was built in 1972.
After the jump: more pix of this prime real estate, just steps away from the Gus Wortham Golf Course and ripe for that moderate/heavy rehab! Plus: more Vo East End apartment holdings!
The East Downtown Management District has hired a Houston design firm to come up with a new name for the triangular area between I-45, Highway 59, and the railroad tracks that separate it from the Greater East End to the east. Apparently, “East Downtown” isn’t good enough. So the design firm, Good Project, has set up a contest. You get to name it!
The winning name will be chosen by the district’s board of directors and announced in a press release on the Name the District website sometime after the competition closes on May 15th. The district board expects the winning entry to become the official name of the district and be used on signage throughout the neighborhood.
Good Project was involved in naming both Sonoma and the Highland Tower, but this is the company’s first stab at naming an entire neighborhood.
So what do you get if you win the contest? Glory? Yes. Fame? No. A representative of Good Project tells Swamplot that there are no plans to give credit to any person who submits a winning entry:
. . . we are already getting multiples of many of the same names and if consensus ends up being the voice that names the neighborhood then it would be impossible to call out just one individual. Most people are content with being included in the process, this is an opportunity that is rarely afforded to the citizens of any city.
That’s right! Naming is a job usually reserved for specialists.
So how can you help? If you’ve got a great name for the East Downtown district, send an email with your suggestion to entry@namethedistrict.com. If you’ve got a great name but want some recognition for your efforts, add a comment below this message on Swamplot after you send your email to the contest — so everyone can see what name you suggested and when.
If your entry is chosen by the District Formerly Known as East Downtown and we’ve got evidence in our comments that you posted it below before anyone else, we’ll make sure you receive credit on Swamplot for your contribution!
- Houston: Name the District [East Downtown Management District]
- A New Name for East Downtown [Only in Houston]
- East Downtown Management District
- Council Bowls Over, So No More Street [Swamplot]
- Developing the Houston Highlands [Swamplot]
- Why Those Street Names in The Woodlands All Sound Alike [Swamplot]
The Lenny’s Sub Shops continue their Houston conquest. The franchise is now up to seventeen stores, with eleven opening soon, including one in this new shopping center about to begin construction on the Gulf Freeway feeder just north of Wayside. That’s almost a third of the way to the company’s goal!
The I-45 (northbound) and Wayside property developer is Bobby Orr, who complained to the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff about the glut of suburban strip centers back in June: “We’re going urban,” he said. And really, the Orr Commercial properties are all over the map. But don’t be fooled by the side-of-the-freeway location and strip-center layout on this one: Luring hungry drivers out of inner-loop freeway traffic jams is an important part of Houston’s urban spirit.
- NEC I-45 at S. Wayside [Orr Commercial]
- Franchise Sub Leases To Blanket Houston [Swamplot]
- Shopping Center Update: Franchises, Anchors, and All Those Nail Salons [Swamplot]
