“This must have been quite a fearsome impact,” reports ever-vigilant blogger Slampo, who files these photos of what had until the wee hours of Wednesday morning been the No. 4 inbound bus shelter on Beechnut just east of Hillcroft, directly in front of the Foodarama parking lot. “There’s one of those concrete-lined garbage containers somewhere in there under the former shelter’s roof.” These photos were taken a few hours later.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: COLQUITTERS, IT’S YOUR OWN DAMN ASPHALT “What is it about Colquitt? I have seen other streets in your same zipcode surfaced twice in the last dozen years, while certain blocks of Colquitt (the high teens) look like Beyond Thunderdome. I am not so naive as to be ignorant of why some streets get better attention than others, but who did you Colquitters piss off?” [Harold Mandell, commenting on Steve Radack’s Next Little Idea]
Midtown late-night staple Mai’s, which has been claiming since 1978 to be Houston’s first Vietnamese restaurant, burst into flames sometime after 10 o’clock this morning, according to an astounding number of Twitter reports — and the Houston Press‘s Craig Hlavaty:
The damage seems most severe on the second floor of the place, which for years has been the subject of various theories about what exactly happens up there. The restaurant itself, on the ground floor, seems in better shape, but smoke and water damage will still be significant.
A portion of the roof has collapsed already. Another view, from across the street:
REVENGE OF THE BLOWUPS A small fire at a new strip center on Cullen Blvd. just south of the Beltway early this morning is being blamed on a giant inflatable gorilla on the roof. “Houston Fire Department District Chief Fred Hooker says some type of a ‘blowup doll’ was on the roof, the item deflated and landed on some lights, leading to the fire. Fire authorities say two stores suffered minor water damage.” A new Houston law banning inflatable signs took effect at the start of this year. The strip center was just outside city limits. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
The long-simmering feud between Rice Village bocce bastion Hans’ Bier Haus and some residents of the 2520 Robinhood condo tower next door has reached the courts. The condo association and residents are now subject to a restraining order that forbids them from tossing “produce, water, or anything” onto the bar patrons below. Hans’ Bier Haus’s owners are seeking a permanent injunction and compensation for the damage and lost business caused by projectiles coming their way from the 16-story condos. And 3 Robinhood residents have apparently been planning their own civil lawsuit against the bar owners.
But as of today, the battle’s obviously become much more serious, as the story has found its way into . . . the newspaper! Writing in the Chronicle, Mary Flood adds a colorful account of a few details bar co-owner Bill Cave appears to have glossed over in the description he gave to the Houston Press — namely, how he wound up with a misdemeanor assault charge after a scuttled gig on that fateful December 13th:
HOLIDAY FIRE ROUNDUP A former auto parts store converted to a house of worship for the local congregation of a Nigerian-based church burned in the early hours of New Years Day, in a fire begun from a candle at the altar. The facility at 9430 West Bellfort, which backs up to Braeburn Valley West, was completely destroyed, except for some metal siding. Congregants, who are now holding services in a northside restaurant, have vowed to rebuild. A few days earlier, in the gated enclave of homes just north of Rice University known as Shadowlawn Shadyside, another fire struck a $12 million mansion with some history behind it: “The home was designed by New York architect Harrie T. Lindberg for William Stamps Farish, the founder of Humble Oil, which was one of the companies that eventually became Exxon Mobil Corp. According to a biography of [Howard] Hughes, the mansion at 10 Remington Lane was where Hughes married Ella Rice, the sister of Farish’s wife.” [abc13; Reuters]
You know you want to see it: Yesterday’s “controlled demolition” of the hobbled 31-story Ocean Tower condo at the northern end of South Padre Island. Controlled Demolition’s dynamite work took down the tallest reinforced-concrete structure ever to be imploded.
A few more videos below. South Padre sure knows how to party!
Here’s a little drive-by tour with expert commentary on the lost and leaning Ocean Tower on South Padre Island, slated for implosion this Sunday at 9 a.m. The condo tower has supposed to have 31 levels, but accumulated many more stories: Construction was halted last year after one side of the building sunk more than 14 inches into the sand.
Three months after topping out the tower last spring, developer Antun Domit sent a letter to buyers noting that a problem of “differential settlement” had occurred:
Unfortunately, there is a layer or stratum of which the engineers tell us is “expandable clay”, meaning that it is a clay stratum that compresses [when] weight is placed upon it. Although our foundation is engineered to a depth above that stratum, the weight pressing on the stratum has caused sinking of the building on it.
But there’s a fix for that!
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
FAILING THE PARTICLE BOARD REVIEW Levels of soot in Houston now exceed the EPA’s longstanding annual limit: “The area of concern is along the Ship Channel, the only place in Texas where levels of the tiny particles surpassed the EPA’s annual limit from 2006 to 2008, according to the most recent data available. The agency uses a three-year average to determine whether an area is in compliance. Monitoring shows air near the Ship Channel is getting cleaner, thanks in part to new rules for idling trucks and the paving of gravel parking lots. But EPA and local officials don’t know whether the improvements will be enough to drop the rolling average below the annual limit of 15 micrograms per cubic liter of air, since that average includes higher 2006 levels.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
PINE BARK BEETLES GET TO WORK ON THE WOODLANDS Drought-stressed trees in The Woodlands are under attack! “Since July, nearly 1,000 pine trees have been removed because they were attacked by pine bark beetles, community officials said. And that does not include the hundreds of dead trees on residential property. Recent rain and cooler weather has lessened beetle activity, but sparse, brownish-orange pine trees can still be spotted throughout The Woodlands, which is known for its forested landscape and protective tree covenants. ‘It’s been a major outbreak,’ said John Powers, interim co-manager of the Community Associations of The Woodlands. ‘In July and August, we were adding dozens of trees to the tree removal list every day.’ The infestation isn’t just in Montgomery County. It’s affecting trees throughout Southeast Texas, including Harris, Chambers, San Jacinto and Waller counties, according to the Texas Forest Service.” [Houston Chronicle]
TROLLING THE TOWN FOR TRUMP CHUMPS “The seminar, one of seven held in the Houston area this week, attracted people hoping to find a gold lining in the economic downturn. Banking on the Trump name to draw crowds, the classes promoted a method of house-flipping some Houston financial advisors call a high-risk sleight of hand, difficult to pull off without a measure of deception. Trump didn’t make an appearance: the class was taught by his ‘No. 1 instructor,’ Stephen Goff, who says he has flipped 200 properties with great success. ‘People ask me, “Steve, if you’re making so much in real estate, why do you travel the country teaching people?‒ said Goff, wearing a charcoal suit and a button-down shirt the color of money. ‘If it was in your heart to help people, and Donald Trump asked you, what would you do? I got on the first plane.’ Goff led the seminar in the call-and-response style customary to revival meetings. . . . [Retired real estate agent Jayne] Pace said Goff reminded her of Houston’s ‘prosperity preacher,’ Joel Osteen, but without the same megawatt smile.” [Houston Chronicle]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ON THE CASE OF THE DEMO FIRES “Chron.com reports “Unoccupied home [in 5100 block of Wipprecht] burns in NE Houston.†Wonder if that was the demo.” [GoogleMaster, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Wipprecht Gammage]
DOWNTOWN’S PIGEON POOP POWDER KEG WILL NOT GO BOOM Swamplot reader ms. rosa reports on tonight’s scheduled demolition of the 1906 Savoy Apartments building (later the Savoy-Field Hotel) at Main St. and Pease Downtown: “Just spoke with Cherry [Demolition]. They will start tearing down the building tonight (Friday, October 2, 2009) at 7:00pm. It will not be imploded (as hoped!)” [Swamplot; previously]
City officials have decided to give the owner of the original 1906 Savoy Apartments building on Main St. Downtown an extra week to knock down the structure before going ahead with their own emergency demolition plan. The building’s owner — listed in Harris County records as Michael Nassif — will now have until midnight next Friday, October 2nd, to have a contractor of his own choice begin dismantling the structure. If that doesn’t happen, the city-selected contractor will complete the demo that weekend — and leave the property with a lien for the $448,600 cost.
While negotiations have focused on how quickly work can begin, residents of the Beaconsfield across Pease St. may be more interested in how long the demo will take — and how it will be done. Architect David Hall, who has studied the building for several developers, spoke to abc13 reporter Gene Apodaca about the asbestos embedded in the building’s crumbling interior plaster:
“It’s full of environmental issues. There are pathogens that are a result of the pigeon droppings, there are areas of the building I measured where pigeon droppings were six inches thick,” said Hall.
