Tag: First Ward

Adaptive Reuse
10/17/11 4:01pm

An Alamo Drafthouse at SculpturWorx? Not So Fast

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Commercial Real Estate, First Ward, Proposed Developments
6 Comments

According to an unattributed report published today on Culturemap, beer-and-movie pioneer Alamo Drafthouse plans to open its second third Houston-area location at 2500 Summer St. off Sawyer in the First Ward, in David Adickes’s former SculpturWorx compound. But a spokesperson for the movie theater’s owners would neither confirm nor deny the plans either to Culturemap or the Chronicle. And Phil Arnett — who with partner L.E. “ Chap” Chapman announced plans last year to buy and redevelop the 3-building, 3-acre compound and convert portions of it into commercial space — tells Swamplot there’s “nothing definitive” about any Alamo Drafthouse plans. Representatives of Triple Tap Ventures, the theater’s parent company, did look at the space, but nothing’s come of it yet, Arnett says.

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First Ward
09/13/11 8:50am

Shhhh on the Tracks! First Ward Winter St. Quiet Zone Arrives in 2 Weeks

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Quicklink, Transportation
16 Comments

SHHHH ON THE TRACKS! FIRST WARD WINTER ST. QUIET ZONE ARRIVES IN 2 WEEKS Approvals all in, construction and signage complete, a “quiet zone” for the Union Pacific rail line that runs along Winter St. in the First Ward will go into effect on September 27th, after the end of a 21-day waiting period. Several years in the making, the zone will prohibit freight-train engineers from blasting their horns at grade crossings — unless something or someone is on the tracks in front of them. Not included in the loud-horn ban, reports the Washington Quiet Zone team, responsible for getting the quiet zone on Washington between Sherwin and National streets in place last year: the southernmost track running through the First Ward, which carries about 25 percent of area freight traffic. Adding that track to the new Winter St. zone may take several more years. [Washington Quiet Zone; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Sarah Fleming [license]

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Art
07/11/11 10:55am

Neighborhood of My Youth, Demolished Erased: Signs of Poetry in the First Ward

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First Ward, Graffiti, Public Art, Signs
21 Comments

A reader sends in photos of several signs posted near the corner of Spring and Goliad streets, in the shadow of the 45 overpasses not too far north of Downtown. And there they are, like halved pears, stripped skinless, golden in heavy syrup. Our tipster wants to know who the artist is. (And really, don’t you?) Also, if this qualifies as . . . graffoetry? Grafauxetry?

More First Ward sign findings below:

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Buying and Selling
06/01/11 9:11am

Heights-Area Recycling Center Going to the Cleaners

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First Ward, Quicklink, Recycling
28 Comments

HEIGHTS-AREA RECYCLING CENTER GOING TO THE CLEANERS Up for a vote in this morning’s city council meeting: The sale of the First Ward recycling center at 3602 Center St. to the owners of a neighboring property for $2.01 million. Under the agreement, the city would lease back the 1-acre lot near the corner of Washington Ave. and Heights Blvd. for 18 months from Admiral Linen Service — for free. A plan to set up a new area recycling facility on Spring St. was halted 2 years ago. Update, 1:20 pm: Voting on the issue has been postponed until next week. [Houston Politics; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Alexander W.

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First Ward
05/26/11 9:55am

Negotiating the First Ward for Lawyers

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Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Restaurants
17 Comments

NEGOTIATING THE FIRST WARD FOR LAWYERS The new owner of Gravitas says the new partnership that recently bought the Taft St. restaurant from chef Scott Tycer plans to open a combination “gourmet sandwich grill, American craft beer garden and bourbon cocktail bar” suitable for “young attorneys and businessmen” at the corner of Houston Ave. and Crockett St.: “The lease on the location is still under negotiation, but [Stephen] Ross says the future design features indoor/outdoor space with garage doors, decks in the front and back, a bocce court and possibly lawn bowling.” [Culturemap]

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Comments
03/14/11 10:04pm

Comment of the Day: The Most Obvious Sign of Success in Houston

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First Ward, Houston Landmarks, Quicklink
1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MOST OBVIOUS SIGN OF SUCCESS IN HOUSTON “To this day, I still remember looking out from my downtown office over a lush carpet of green trees and seeing ‘SUCCESS RICE’ emblazoned in bright red on white on the side of a large grain silo close to downtown –– maybe on Center street. It really was a neat, giant piece of history and an everyday reminder of time and place. As I moved jobs, I could always find one part of the floor downtown where I could peek out the window and see SUCCESS RICE. And daydream: ‘Hey, [I’m] successful!’ This . . . was in the innocent pre-Enron days. . . .” [jpsivco, commenting on Goodbye, Uncle Ben: East Side Silos Are Coming Down] Photo: Daniel Pagan

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First Ward
11/29/10 11:36am

What Counts for Rehab: Houston Ave Bar, Reloaded

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Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Renovations
8 Comments

A reader who’s been tracking the progress of a new drinking establishment opening in the building that used to house the Houston Ave Bar on the corner of Spring St. in the First Ward sent Swamplot these photos just before the holiday. And over the weekend, the place opened — in “soft launch mode.” The name: Re:HAB. Get it? There’s a big grassy parking lot next door, and the new hike and bike trail goes by just across the street. Which means if you fall off your bike or wagon you can always stumble in here to recuperate.

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Cottage Grove
10/18/10 11:24pm

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Downtown Flag Lot

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Downtown, First Ward, Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Renovations, Restaurants
3 Comments

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 to your questions:

  • Downtown: Flagspotters pinpointed the not-so-wavy Lone Star banner pictured above on the parking-lot side of the small office building at 1515 Rusk St. between La Branch and Crawford, directly behind the new Hess Tower parking garage. Yes, it’s even visible on Google Street View, reader Brian points out.
  • Cottage Grove: What’s that freshly built structure at 1500 Shepherd Dr. on the corner of Maxie, right across from the shuttered Shuck Daddy’s (which is slated to become another Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant)? According to marketing director Heather McKeon, Bullritos Management is “finalizing the details with the franchisee” to bring the 12th area (and first freestanding) version of that burrito-and-margarita chain to that location. The 2,500 sq.-ft. Bullritos is expected to open in February or March of next year. Here’s a view:

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Cottage Grove
10/12/10 11:42pm

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Oh Say, Where Can You See?

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First Ward, New Construction, Renovations
18 Comments

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.

  • Location TBD: A reader who’s seen it used as a backdrop for engagement photos wants to know the location of this wall painted with the Texas flag. The pic above was snapped more than 2 1/2 years ago — does the Lone Star-splatted wall yet wave?
  • Cottage Grove: Reader Eric Nordstrom wants to know what that new construction going up on Shepherd across from the shuttered Shuck Daddy’s is gonna be when it grows up. That’d be on the corner of Maxie St., for all you online map Googlers.
  • First Ward: Yet another reader sends in these notable surveillance photos (below) from the scene of the old Harris Moving and Storage warehouse at 1824 Spring St. What’s going on there? “They dug up the fuel tank a few months ago, and lately there are fleets of HVAC and plumbing trucks in front every day. They’ve amassed a number of curb mosaics and appear to be laying them out for parking spaces. The most recent thing I observed was framing out of some of the windows — for AC units maybe? The other morning I also saw a truckload of what appeared to be room dividers being delivered. There is a rumor in the neighborhood that the warehouse will be turned into artist space, but I have no idea how credible that is.” Swamplot readers: What credible rumors about this building do you have to contribute?

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Adaptive Reuse
09/15/10 4:55pm

David Adickes’s Big-Headed Summer Street Studio Getting a Redo

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Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, First Ward, Historic Preservation, Proposed Developments
18 Comments

The launching pad for I-45’s Mount Rush Hour, that presidential muck circle in Pearland, and more outsize sculpture projects has a buyer. David Adickes — creator of the giant Sam Houston of Huntsville and the disembodied cellist in front of the Lyric Center Downtown, and yes, the original owner and projectionist for sixties psychedelic Commerce St. hangout Love Street Light Circus — is selling his SculpturWorx compound off Sawyer St. to Phil Arnett and L.E. “Chap” Chapman. Arnett and Chapman are best known for turning an old staple manufacturing building down the street from the original Goode Co. Bar-B-Q on Kirby into the Bartlett Lofts. Their plan for Adickes’s 78,175 sq. ft. of warehouse space at 2500 Summer St.: keeping the “artist flavor” (and most of the tenants) of the old buildings, while renovating the property and using up to 22,000 sq. ft. of it (Adickes’s first-floor studio, for example) as commercial space — maybe including a restaurant or two.

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First Ward
05/18/10 3:43pm

Olivewood Cemetery’s Grave Situation: Not Washed Down to the Bayou Yet

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Houston History
8 Comments

An organization that won guardianship of Olivewood Cemetery about a year and a half ago is trying to raise funds to hire an archeological firm to recover and rebury the longtime residents of up to 5 graves — before they’re washed away into White Oak Bayou. The cemetery sits on the boundary line between the First and Sixth Wards, hidden behind Grocers Supply and Party Boy on Studewood, just south of I-10.

Recently, the erosion appears to have picked up, leaving the potential for dozens of graves to wash away. In addition to the ravine system, the cemetery’s woes stem from runoff from nearby Grocers Supply and a downward, south-to-north slope that ferries water through the cemetery. [Community Archaeology Research Institute associate director Robert] Marcom said one goal is to channel water to nearby White Oak Bayou without having to go through the ravine system.

Olivewood became Houston’s first incorporated African-American cemetery in 1875. The grounds are a bit tough to get to, and many of the remaining headstones in the long-neglected property are nestled deep in lush beds of vegetation, reportedly including plenty of poison oak and poison ivy. Descendants of Olivewood regularly organizes cleanups of the 8-acre cemetery, but only the front quarter has been tamed so far.

Like apple pie, July 4th, and auditing the Federal Reserve, Olivewood appears to be one of those rare causes that attracts the involvement of both major political parties. Here’s our evidence:

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Uncategorized
03/24/10 5:15pm

What’s That Thing on Ovid?

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3 Comments

A reader sends photos of this construction site on Ovid St. in the First Ward, two blocks west of Houston Ave. . . . along with questions:

Can you pls tell me what is going into 1611 Ovid St? . . . It’s been an abandoned warehouse belonging to Bradford Warehouse. Construction began last summer n has been ongoing. I heard a rumor that it’s being converted to lofts, which I am excited about. But have been unable to verify. I’m hoping it’s not [starting] up as a warehouse. . . . Wondering what is fact.

The long view:

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First Ward
12/21/09 10:58am

Rail Removal Program Complete for the Year: Heights Hike and Bike Trail Opens

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Houston Heights, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Transportation
38 Comments

Sometime after this photo was taken at the start of the month, the missing rail on the rebuilt trestle bridge over White Oak Bayou was installed. But the rest of the rails are gone! A 5-mile segment of the MKT Trail through the Heights, named after the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad tracks that used to run along it, opened over the weekend. The trail starts at 26th St., runs down Nicholson to 7th St., east along 7th for a bit, down and across the bayou. It ends at Spring St. and I-45. When will it connect to Downtown, or new trails to the north?

Four other bike paths opened in 2009, making 15 new miles in all:

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