October 14, 2009 – 2:39 pm
Before his dog Teddy runs off with it, new Norhill resident John Whiteside finds a convenient doorstop solution: “None of the doors in my house close. Well, the closets do. But the actual doors into rooms – no. . . . It is a little more crooked than most Heights houses (which are always a little crooked, unless they’re new, in which case they will be crooked soon as the shitty modern constructions settles in). I would like it if the doors latched, but I’m not going to deal with that until I am sure there are no additional foundation repairs in the offing. This is normally fine because it doesn’t really bother me if I’m peeing and suddenly the door comes in and Teddy strolls in. ‘Hey, whatcha doin’?’ However, on Saturday I had people over for a little housewarming open house, and I realized on Saturday afternoon that guests might not enjoy Teddy visits during personal moments quite as much. What to do? Why, a doorstop seemed like the ideal answer. I looked around the house for a suitable heavy object. Then I had a great idea; there’s been a pile of red bricks sitting outside next to the air conditioning unit since I moved in. Solid, compact, easy to slide over in front of the door, and kind of rustic – the perfect doorstop!” [By the Bayou]
Read more about: 77009, Construction Problems, Foundations, Home Decor, Houston Heights, Interiors, Norhill Historic District, Soil Movement
September 23, 2009 – 5:23 pm
How heavy are those pieces in Plodes Studio’s new collection of outdoor furniture? At least light enough to tote down to White Oak Bayou off Studewood for this photo shoot. Houston designer John Paul Plauché — who often evokes aspects of the local landscape in his interior furnishings — calls this new line “Float.”
And it looks like each piece just might. The extruded lounge, couch, chaise, and side table are made of foam coated with hard rubber, and are available in 6 colors.
The line’s official launch takes place this Thursday night at Montrose’s Peel Gallery.
Photos: Plodes Studio
Read more about: 77007, Furniture, Home Decor, Houston Architects, Houston Heights, Landscape, Modern Design
September 17, 2009 – 3:24 pm
Early this morning: the 10th and 11th in a series of set blazes in the Heights, all targeting vacant homes. The latest were on 9th St. and 12th St.: “Before today, all the other fires had occurred along Ashland between 10th and 11th streets. Today’s fires were within three blocks of the previous blazes. District Chief Arthur Broussard said both fires appeared suspicious, and the second one appeared to start near an exterior staircase. Firefighters put it out within 15 minutes. ‘It’s pretty brazen, pretty brazen,’ he said of the second fire starting such a short distance from where firefighters and police were still on the scene of the first one.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: 77008, Crime, Fires, Hazards, Houston Heights
September 17, 2009 – 11:00 am
Yes, the Alabama Bookstop carved out of the former Alabama Theater on South Shepherd closed down for good earlier this week. But a few miles to the north, another new business has opened in a reformed movie house. Tonight’s open house at the Heights Theater celebrates its latest incarnation: as a 7,000-sq.-ft. event space.
A quick tour of how the interior looked a year ago, before the latest round of renovations:
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Read more about: 77008, Adaptive Reuse, Event Spaces, Houston Heights, Movie-Theaters, Openings and Closings
September 11, 2009 – 2:44 pm
Former chef Robert Gadsby had named his new Heights restaurant after his hometown, in England. But that was so late-last-year. Here’s the latest: “Partners Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd announced Friday afternoon they signed papers to take over the Heights restaurant Bedford and will turn it into a modern Italian restaurant. Think Texas toast meets Tuscan steak, Caswell said. ‘We’re trying to draw the similarities between the rustic-oriented qualities of the Tuscan region with the rustic qualities of the Texas region,’ Caswell said.” Caswell and Floyd own Reef and Little Big’s. [Cook's Tour; previously on Swamplot]
Read more about: 77008, Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Theming
September 11, 2009 – 12:40 pm
A reader from the Heights sends in photos documenting only the latest scene in Houston’s long and theatrical history of commingled real estate and political ambition. If you like, say, the pricing on the homes Karen Derr’s former company sells — like this one at 946 Arlington St. — you’ll certainly want to see Derr join city council!
But what’s with that part in red letters? Maybe just to let voters know she’s a little less favorably disposed toward freeform demolition than, say, former candidate/broker Michael Berry was. Writes our reader and snapshooter:
I am guessing that Karen Derr’s office rec’d so many calls as to the future of this house- one the few remaining 19th century homes in the Heights, that she had the “Remodel” sign made and stuck atop her broker sign. . . . Karen used to be on the board of the Houston Heights Association and she is locally active and running for office, so she does not want to piss off too much of her long time neighbors.
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Read more about: 77008, Demolitions, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights, Political Campaigns, Real Estate Agents, Renovations, Signs
September 4, 2009 – 11:24 am
What’s new to eat?
- Opening Soon: Lola, a diner-ish spot serving “American comfort foods” — in the restored and refashioned former Eckerd Drug across from the Heights Post Office on Yale and 11th. This’ll be the third Heights restaurant venture from Ken Bridge, who also runs Dragon Bowl and Pink’s Pizza.
- Opened This Week: From famed New York, Las Vegas, and Dallas chef John Tesar, Tesar’s Modern Steak and Seafood, directly across from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. You’ll certainly want to eat everything on your plate when you visit: “Tesar’s entire menu will be one hundred percent sustainable created with a zero-waste food ethics in mind,” declares the restaurant website. Whole fish will be a specialty. Outside: a burger bar.
- Closed: The Texadelphia in the fast-food-friendly strip center on Memorial Dr. and Asbury, across from Otto’s — reportedly on account of the parking lot being too darn clogged. No worries: You can still get your cheesesteak fix at 3 other Houston locations, and it’s now a bit easier to find a spot in front of the Kolache Factory.
More food fun:
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Read more about: 77007, 77008, 77024, 77027, 77056, 77098, 77380, CityCentre, Galleria, Houston Heights, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, The Woodlands, Upper Kirby
September 2, 2009 – 5:05 pm
Which area freight rail routes might share their tracks with commuter rail lines? Probably not the Union Pacific line along U.S. 90A to Sugar Land. “But two other freight lines have less traffic, and Union Pacific is working with government planners to free them up for commuter trains. One runs out the U.S. 290 corridor and one runs along Texas 3 to Galveston. TxDOT is considering granting $2 million in stimulus funds for two engineering studies on those routes. ‘My goal is to have trains running in three years,’ said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. The engineering studies will design routes that bring suburban commuters to the 610 Loop, but no farther. The freight traffic inside the Loop is still too busy, and although there is an abandoned rail line, it runs right through the Heights — a politically vocal neighborhood. ‘That’s not something I want to take on,’ said Emmett. The compromise is to build some commuter lines now, connect them to light rail or bus lines, and figure out later how to get them inside the Loop, to downtown.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Commuter Rail, Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Rail, Sugar-Land, Transportation
August 20, 2009 – 11:28 am
And now, an entirely unverified rumor concerning Heights watering hole the Shiloh Club, at 1321 Studewood. A tipster writes in:
Stopped in for a cold one yesterday and the word is the lease to Joe (the owner since the late 80’s?) is not being renewed.
Heard- two daytime locals are taking over the lease on September 1. No word what will become of the current bar.
Observed- Friday nights about 10:30 the bar is inundated with young hipsters grabbing cheap drinks on their way out to go clubbing.
Thanks for noticing!
Photo of Shiloh Club, 1321 Studewood St.: Heights Blog
Read more about: 77008, Add new tag, Houston Heights, Leasing, Nightlife
“Forget Ross and Kroger….I’m excited about the new Auto Parts store that just put up a contruction sign up on 11th and Dorothy (across from Dragon Bowl). How exciting to have a third auto parts store within the 1/10th mile!!!” [biggerintexas, commenting on Opening Day: H-E-B Buffalo Market Stampede Begins]
Read more about: 77008, Comments, Houston Heights, New Construction, North Shepherd, Openings and Closings, Retail, Theming
The Heights Life draws attention to the 1,781-sq.-ft. 1915-vintage bungalow at 1620 Cortlandt St.:
When the property next door went on the market for lot value, a Heights family of five couldn’t resist the potential of a nice big yard for their own well-lived in bungalow. They bought the land, which happens to come with an adorable Craftsman home that currently sits on it.
So . . . it’s for sale. How much?
Because they essentially bough the land and the house is uninhabitable, they aren’t certain of the value. They are willing to consider different offers and work something out that benefits everyone. A very rough estimate would be $50-75k, based on some input they received from Historic Houston.
Photo of 1620 Cortlandt St.: The Heights Life
Read more about: 77008, Bungalows, Homes for Sale, Housemoving, Houston Heights
Bloodhound steward and low-cost-wedding expert Sara E. Cotner discovers that the snoballs at the new MAM’s House of Ice in the Fiesta parking lot at 14th and Studewood reside in the upper echelons of the highly stratified frozen-water market:
The New Orleans-sytle snowball shop has been up and running since Friday, May 29, although it has been “a year in the making.” The co-owner that I chatted with is from England but has lived in The Heights for the past 2.5 years. He quit his job as an architect and decided to “jump on a whim” and “have a go at it” by opening a “cottagey, cutesy, cutesy” snoball shop on a piece of parking lot leased from Fiesta. One of the other owners is in the process of quitting her job as a receptionist, and the third owner works in banking as an accountant.
During their year of research, they uncovered a hierarchy of ice. Apparently, snow cones are on the bottom, shaved ice is the next highest level, and snoballs are at the very top, since they are like “eating snow.”
Photos: Sara E. Cotner (top) and MAM’s House of Ice
Read more about: 77008, Houston Heights, Mobile Food Vendors, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
Too hot for the squirrels, apparently.
This latest edition of Seen on the Street sticks close to the pavement. First up: Artist David Cook snaps this hot photo of . . . no, that’s not an egg frying on Kirby. Just a street button with . . . culinary aspirations?
What’s more to see around town when you keep your head down?
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Read more about: 77005, 77008, 77098, Art, Critters, Houston Heights, Museum District, Public Art, Streets, Upper Kirby
“I’m always surprised at the people in the Houston metro area who live in the suburbs in order to avoid scary traffic. To me, the traffic in the commercial centers of the suburbs is just as bad, if not worse, than what I encounter within the Loop. My boss dropped me off at home once, with the surprised comment that ‘wow, you can drive from the Med Center to the Heights without going on the highway’. Then proceeded to tell me that the reason he lived in Sugarland was that his wife was terrified of highway driving. I still don’t get it.” [Sunsets, commenting on Sub-Suburban SUV Adventure: Braving That Big Trip “Downtown”]
Read more about: Comments, Freeways and Toll Roads, Houston Heights, Real Estate Marketing, Sugar-Land, Traffic
Comment of the Day: North Shepherd Automotive District Expansion Program
“Forget Ross and Kroger….I’m excited about the new Auto Parts store that just put up a contruction sign up on 11th and Dorothy (across from Dragon Bowl). How exciting to have a third auto parts store within the 1/10th mile!!!” [biggerintexas, commenting on Opening Day: H-E-B Buffalo Market Stampede Begins]