Ah, yes: The signs reader Candace Garcia promised. Photos taken recently on Taft St. between West Gray and Dallas:
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Tag: Montrose
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MORE SIGNS OF WHAT THEY’RE THINKING ABOUT IN MONTROSE “There are several more signs on Taft: I really want a baby, just not now. On Westheimer, there’s a sign across for Bj’s that says: I think I’m a bad artist. On Mandell, there are several more signs: I really want to win the lottery and I sometimes think about men. I have photos, just not with me.” [Candace, commenting on Wanted in Montrose: Rock Hard, Built by Apple]
Trying to work in a little last-minute resale shopping before Christmas, photographer Sarah Lipscomb spots a few signs that some desirable hardware is missing in Montrose:
My mom and I were on our way to the Guild Shop the other day and I noticed a couple of multi colored signs posted just before the Fiesta on Dunlavy. The first one says “WHY CAN’T YOU LOVE ME†the next one “LIKE l LOVE YOU?†I thought this was curious, my mom didn’t notice and we kept driving. We get to the Guild and it was closed for Christmas so we turned right on Welch and headed to the Blue Bird (our second choice in Resale shops.) I then see two more signs. The first one says “I WANT A ROCK HARD†next one “SIX PACK†Now I am getting really interested . . .
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT’S GALVESTON GOT THAT HOUSTON DOESN’T? “Interesting that two nearby residents both say that the old Tudor at 1212 Hyde Park was not salvageable. I’m sorry that it became a home for crackheads and that it was neglected for so long, but I have real trouble believing that it was not salvageable. I’ve seen too many historic houses in Galveston that are older than this one and worth less than this one restored and put on display in home tours. I’ve seen burned-out, collapsed, flood-damaged houses which looked far, far worse than 1212 Hyde Park rebuilt in Galveston, many times. I don’t really think the economic conditions, pre-Ike, were all that much better on Galveston. What’s the difference? A city government that is actually committed to preserving historic houses? I’m actually serious about that question.” [marmer, commenting on Swamplot Price Adjuster: Last Resort in Montrose]
What’s so special about this forlorn and blue bungalow just west of the Westheimer Curve? It’s the now-former home of Taurian Body Piercing, the shop where — in late January 2004, Janet Jackson’s stylist purchased a now-famous breast-shield nipple ring. A few days later, near the end of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in Reliant Stadium, Justin Timberlake gave the sunburst-shaped piece of Montrose nipple jewelry a good half-second of international media exposure; at least that part of Jackson’s wardrobe didn’t malfunction.
What’s happening to this former armory, having served its forces so well in the Culture Wars, five years on? Taurian recently moved to that Warehouse District tucked below I-10 Downtown — it’s now cohabitating with Epoch Tattoo at 1306 Nance, down the street from the Last Concert Cafe. And the bungalow?
Unless the owners of the former Tower Theatre on Westheimer just west of Montrose have another feature ready to go, it looks like Houston will soon have a second shuttered and lonely Art Deco theater left to spin its reels. A reader reports:
I went to drop off a video game at Hollywood Video . . . and was told by staff there that they are closing down. I asked the guy there why; he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Bad economy, I guess.” They were clearing the store out and taking down the Hollywood video letters on that Montrose-y iconic sign on the building; I snapped a quick photo while driving away of the letters sitting on the pavement outside the store.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MARKET HAS SPOKEN “TO ANYONE WHO CARES – THE HOUSE HAS SOLD FOR $415K. NOT quite what we were hoping, but clearly the original poster, who claimed this should be priced in the mid 300Ks, is rather mistaken.” [Justin, commenting on Swamplot Price Adjuster: Your Cherryhurst Neighbors]
Sprouted in the patio behind the Art League Houston building at 1953 Montrose, home of the Inversion Coffee House: 3 giant mushrooms, built out of rebar, soil, and moss by artists Nicola Parente and Divya Murthy.
And how are they doing? Not so well, reports the Chronicle‘s Molly Glentzer:
One is planted with herbs; one is planted with Texas natives; and the third is planted with non-native ornamentals. They’ve pretty much been left to survive or thrive on their own through next year, and the artists are perhaps expecting that only the native-planted mushroom will survive.
Just one catch. When we looked on Saturday, they all needed water.
Nothing lives in a black plastic pot for long without a little help from the gardener. And biodegradable brown pots would’ve been more environmentally friendly — not to mention better-looking.
Inside the Art League building: the second part of the installation, which Parente and Murthy put together from debris they collected from the surrounding eight-block area.
- Artists in the Garden [Arts in Houston]
- n.p. news brief November 2009 [Everyday Has Its Meaning]
Photos: Nicola Parente (top); Aaron Courtland (bottom)
So much new stuff going on it’s impossible to keep track of it all!
- Opening Soon? A new “Houston Ave. Bar” at the site of the former Farmers Coffee Shop on the corner of Houston Ave. and White Oak. Here’s the evidence: A permit for a “2 story addition” to the property was approved by the city last month. The corner is already a popular gathering place for floodwaters — several commenters on HAIF have posted photos of the intersection after Hurricane Ike (see above) and Tropical Storm Allison.
- Moved: The Central City Co-op Wednesday market, from that Ecclesia space next to the Taft St. Coffee House to new digs at the Grace Lutheran Church at 2515 Waugh, just north of Missouri St. Sunday markets are still at Discovery Green. Next up for the co-op crew: Selling enough veggies to pay off those loans used for the church buildout.
- Opening Softly, Later This Month: A place called Canopy, from the folks who brought you that place called Shade. Claire Smith and Russell Murrell’s new restaurant will go in the spot where Tony Ruppe’s was, in the double-decked strip center at 3939 Montrose, reports Cleverley Stone. Three meals a day, 7 days a week, plus 3 seating areas:
a bright and refreshing dining room, festive bar and side street patio. We will eventually offer curbside “to go” service.
- Opening Early Next Month: The brand-new Dessert Shoppe, in the strip center portion of 19th Streete in the Heights. Fred Eats Houston writes that sisters Sara and RaeMarie Villar will be serving up “whole cakes and pies to individual desserts, along with assorted breakfast pastries, cookies, quiches, cupcakes, and some breads.”
- Reopened, for the First Time Since Ike: The Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston. The combined boards of the International Shriners and Shriners Hospitals for Children had originally decided to close the hospital for good, after 30 inches of water wandered through the building’s first floor during the Hurricane. Shriners voting at this summer’s convention in San Antonio reversed that decision. The new hospital will have a smaller staff and budget. The Chronicle‘s Todd Ackerman reports that the hospital should already be open for reconstructive surgery cases; burn victims will have to wait until December for treatment.
And yet even more new stuff:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS “My friend lives in a small Montrose (Audobon Place) apartment complex. He had a pair of pants and a sweatshirt stolen out of the dryer. He called the police AND THEY CAME OUT! For a pair of pants! I didn’t think they came out anymore even for a car break-in. Even more unbelievable is the police actually caught a homeless guy wearing my friends clothes about 20 minutes later and brought him back and made him take the clothes off and give them back.” [Tangyjoe, commenting on The Front Porch Gang]
The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.
Location: 1206 Hyde Park Blvd., Hyde Park, Montrose
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,680 sq. ft. on a 10,100-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $1,199,999 [corrected from before]
History: On the market for 7 weeks
All the fine furnishings in this 1920 Montrose mansion didn’t sway the Swamplot reader who nominated the property:
“River Oaks living in Montrose”? Certainly River Oaks pricing in Montrose!
Given the location, the neighborhood, and the house itself the HCAD appraisal of almost $700k seems excessive. . . .
This house was sold in 2004 per HCAD, and the 2005 valuation was $563k – my guess is that is very close to the sale price.
The 2009 valuation of the house is about $700k. All the neighboring houses are about $300k in value. The neighborhood average is well under $200/sq ft (a beautiful house, fully restored . . . on Harold recently sold for about $200/ft on a similar sized lot)
And a better price for this property would be . . . ?
From his perch high in the (formerly AIG) America Tower on Allen Parkway, Swamplot reader Stephen Cullar-Ledford forwards this latest dramatic scene, which aches for suitably metaphorical captioning.
A few months ago it was fog, this afternoon it’s a rainbow over downtown . . .
- Previously on Swamplot: More AIG Bonus Photos: Right Back Atcha!, AIG Surrounded by Fog in Houston, Too
Photo: Stephen Cullar-Ledford
COMMENT OF THE DAY: APARTMENT MODEL SHOWINGS “If ‘Nudist sundeck + 1 hired model –> 100% occupancy’ was the case, then the Core (on Washington Ave) and Bel Air (on Allen Parkway) and many others in the similiar ‘scene’ and price range would be at 100% occupancy too. But they are not. BTW, the Bel Air pool is really really nice!” [irfan, commenting on Taking More Than Half Off at Those Apartments with the French Quarter Look]
The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.
Location: 1617 Fairview St., Cherryhurst
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 2 baths; 1,810 sq. ft. on a 5,000-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $475,000
History: On the market for almost a month and a half.
Note: We now have a response from the seller! See updates below.
The reader who nominated this expanded bungalow on Fairview likes the place, but . . .
What’s not evident from the photos are the basic problems with this house at this asking price:
[First, it’s ] across the street from Wilson Elementary. Not such a bad thing if you have kids who might attend Wilson, but otherwise a drag. School buses have a tendency to idle in front of the property. Noise and trash coming from, well, kids. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, year in and year out, a litany of soccer matches, volleyball tournaments, Frisbee “flag footballâ€, etc. emit a constant din. You know, just what you want when you’d like to sleep in a bit.
Some opinions about the home’s other immediate neighbors, too:
The townhomes aren’t that big of deal other than the residents can peer into your backyard and house. But, the house to the east is a nightmare. . . . Overgrown yard, house falling in on itself. Great for Boo Radley’s house. I can imagine prospective buyers looking at the thing next door and immediately saying, “Nope.â€
So . . . what might be a better price?
A few details on that new Whole Foods Market planned for the corner of West Dallas and Waugh, just south of the now AIG-sign-free America Tower: Finger Companies, the owners of the land, says the new store will be 40,000 sq. ft. — slightly smaller than reported when the company first announced the project more than a year ago. Also: The store will have “a variety of eco-conscious elements and tons of inviting space for neighbors to congregate.”
The Finger Companies says the Whole Foods will be built “in conjunction with the developer’s proposed new luxury apartment project.” That project, also announced in the spring of 2008, was slated for the eastern portion of the site, closer to Montrose Blvd.
- The New Whole Foods at West Dallas and Waugh [Swamplot]
- AIG removes embattled moniker from building [Houston Business Journal]
Image: The Finger Companies
