COMMENT OF THE DAY: AT LEAST THERE’S A LITTLE SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT LEFT IN UPTOWN 
“Well, at least I am glad they recognized and saved the [Morse-Bragg] cemetery. It is a shame there is nothing left close by to reflect the history of the mill, or cotton gin. Nice to imagine incorporating [some] coffee shops [or] restaurants around a small museum as part of Uptown. For those who are not familiar with the area, it is on a street called Wynden Drive (43 S Wynden Dr.).” [MontroseResident, commenting on Texas Leads in Housing Starts; Houston Home Prices Shoot Up; previously on Swamplot] Illustration: Lulu
Sign up for the Newsletter
Tag: Historical Preservation
Crews are digging in at the northeast corner of Milam and Franklin streets, a reader notes, where a 10-story parking garage is planned. The rendering up top (labeled as Powers & Brown’s) made a recent appearance at a city historical and archaeological commission meeting, following several months of deferrals and redesigns — including the addition of some ground-floor canopies and simulated window frames (which will have no glass “for flood reasons”). The application says the features are meant help the structure blend in with the surrounding buildings in the Main Street Market Square Historical District, including the Magnolia Ballroom across Milam, the Cotton Exchange building across Franklin at Travis St., and the Bayou Lofts building one block to the east.
Here’s the garage design originally submitted back in June:
Ground Floor Faux Retail
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO CLOTHE INDECENT EXPOSURE OF HOUSTON’S CONFEDERATE TIES 
“Build a museum around it. Stop erasing our shameful past and start putting it in context.” [Memebag, commenting on Downtown’s Naked Confederate Birdman Unflapped By Renamings] Photo of the Spirit of the Confederacy statue in Sam Houston Park: Gabrielle Banks
The blue all over the Mecom Fountain on Monday signaled the start of the now-fully-funded work to undo the damage to the 1960s monument caused by the quickly-backtracked application of limestone panels to its exterior earlier this spring. Also on the docket, as the panel damage gets fully repaired: another restoration, this one using architect Eugene Werlin’s original plans (which the fundraising group Friends of the Fountain says it found in a Houston parks department office).
The group says workers are using historically appropriate materials, including Cocoon brand liquid polymer coating (to be layered over the blue primer on the exterior) and Moon Dust plaster (to line the insides of the basins). Here’s a look at parts of the 1964 architectural drawings, which call for Cocoon in the notes:
Drained on Main
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CHOPPING OFF A VESTIGIAL TALE IN MIDTOWN 
“Yes, it is ‘a vestige’ of history, but only that. The interior doesn’t have a century-old feel — because every century-old vestige is removed! I would have thought to keep rooms evident in the interior, since it looks like a home from the outside . . .  this can be achieved and meet fire safety requirements. I hope the place succeeds. But if [the building] gets torn down in 3 to 4 years, I won’t be sad — it’s already gone.” [movocelot, commenting on Century-Old Sterling House To Open As Sterling House After All] Photo of the Sterling House at 3015 Bagby St.: Swamplot inbox
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.
Nearing Launch at Allen’s Landing
