07/05/10 12:49pm

Armed with your suggestions, roving Swamplot photographer Candace Garcia set out to document the smallest freestanding commercial buildings in Houston she could find. And here are the results! Above, “The Spot” hair salon at 1207 Westheimer in Montrose, at the corner of Commonwealth.

More tiny:

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12/09/09 11:57am

Here’s a view from a Seabrook resident’s home this morning, looking across the way to the American Acryl acrylic-acid plant at 11600 Port Rd. off Old Texas 146, less than a mile east of the newer Hwy. 146. A loud chemical explosion is certainly a lot to get excited about in the morning, but people in the area may just want to go back to bed:

Area residents were asked to shelter in place after the blast, but that recommendation was lifted by 11 a.m. Officials said the blast involved toluene, a toxic substance that can cause nausea and tiredness in low to moderate levels.

However, in a recorded message company said the explosion did not cause a release of the chemical.

Update: From NASA engineer Jim Thompson, here’s a collaborative map showing the observations of people nearby, including a photo of the blast as seen from the Johnson Space Center.

Photo: Twitpic user nelagster

10/15/08 2:49pm

Van Missing Letters, Houston

A few fun — and not-so-fun — sights around town: First, Houston visitor Mike Smith’s photo shows some of the few letters left after Ike’s attack.

More hurricane photo souvenirs below!

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09/17/08 4:25pm

Aerial Photo of Villa Dr., Seabrook, Texas, after Hurricane Ike

Having trouble finding photos of your Iked house on Flickr? Try finding it from the air, using NOAA’s brand-new aerial photos, taken only a few days after Hurricane Ike.

Aerial photo of Villa Dr. in Seabrook after Hurricane Ike: NOAA

08/29/08 12:41pm

Should your Labor Day weekend — or relocation — plans bring you to Seabrook and Lake Cove, you might want to take a peek at these open houses:

2330 Pin Hook Ct., Lake Cove, Seabrook, Texas

Location: 2330 Pin Hook Ct.
Details: 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,484 sq. ft.
Price: $215,900
The Scoop: Brick 2-story home from 1992 in Lake Cove. New granite countertops and appliances in the Kitchen; Downstairs Master Bedroom. Mirrored Dining Room; sprinkler system. On the market for more than 100 days. Price dropped 3 times, $9K total.
Open House: Sunday, 1:30-5 pm

Four more coastal casas to check out, below:

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07/10/08 7:26pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game 15: Sewing Room

You guys are good! And better at this than you think you are. You found all the right clues to this week’s puzzle . . . the problem was just putting them together!

Before we get to our winners, your list of guesses: Oak Forest attracted 4 votes. There were 3 guesses each for Montrose and West University, and 2 each for Bellaire and Lazybrook. We had 4 separate votes for Knollwood, Timberside, Woodshire, and Stella Link. The rest went to Meyerland, Timbergrove, Clear Lake, Kemah, “something out I 45 towards the Gulf,” the Houston Ave./Sawyer/Washington area, Afton Village, Cleveland, the Heights, “that area south of Richmond, east of Shepherd but immediately north of the recessed portion of 59 over by Mt. Vernon,” Alief, and Braes Terrace.

This week’s win goes to two players: CK, who called Clear Lake:

. . . it’s hard to tell if it’s a street outside or lakefront.

Aha!

And Joni Webb, who called Kemah:

It’s old – say 50 years, low ceilings, actually cute for once . . . mature landscaping . . . lots and lots of palm tree type plants and it could be around Kemah – those really cute old houses there. Artsy community.

For this game, Clear Lake and Kemah were close enough. Seabrook would have won it outright, and Ruggles East would have beaten that!

So . . . what were the clues? marmer picked up a few:

The craft room and living room are on the front of the house, and narrow, probably original rooms. Most everything else is an addition. What’s with the weird bedroom with French doors and no window treatment? Do exhibitionists live here?

And so did toadfroggy:

My only thought is that those blue cabinets would never have survived in an area that’s seen much flipping, so it’s unlikely to be in any of the close-in nabes if it’s even in Houston at all.

. . . which earn them both honorable mentions. No interfering liars this week!

After the jump: Around and about that house!

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