Tag Archives: preservation

The Dome at 50

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We still don’t know what to do with it. The late Judge Roy Hofheinz was a raconteur with a 57-inch waist and affinity for cigars and Diet Dr Pepper with Jack Daniels, a larger-than-life man who hatched the idea of … Continue reading →

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ULI releases its Astrodome plan

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Feast your eyes on what the Urban Land Institute has in mind for the Astrodome. A final assessment by a group focused on sparing the Astrodome from the wrecking ball sets the price tag of reusing the iconic stadium at … Continue reading →

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2015 Mayoral manifesto: Quality of life and other issues

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Preliminaries Transportation Public safety A few quick hits on topics that didn’t fit elsewhere. Making Houston affordable again Remember when Houston was an inexpensive place to live? If you haven’t been here at least a decade – more like two … Continue reading →

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More on the ULI Astrodome plan

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Tory Gattis: This was not a presentation of, “well, if the all the stars line up you might be able to make this work.” The theme was more, “this is an absolutely incredible opportunity and you would be fools … Continue reading →

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Urban Land Institute report on the Astrodome

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Is this, at long last, The Plan for the Astrodome? The iconic, yet aging Astrodome is worth saving from the wrecking ball and could find new life as a massive indoor park and green space, a national land use group … Continue reading →

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Making room for quail

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Preservation isn’t just for urban elites. Jim Willis knows it isn’t easy to love a prairie. The quilt of burnt orange and brown that covers his Colorado County land can’t awe or inspire the way a canyon or mountain range … Continue reading →

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KHOU poll shows little support for Astrodome Park plan

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another result of interest from that KHOU/KUHF poll. The plan to turn the Astrodome into the world’s largest indoor park is politically unpopular with Harris County voters if the transformation requires any taxpayer dollars, according to a new poll released … Continue reading →

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More lot protections

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. A stretch of Riverside Terrace, a rebound neighborhood known for its “large lots, mature trees and a view of the downtown skyline,” will be the first residential pocket in Houston where homeowners can use a new city code … Continue reading →

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The Historical Commission, the expert panel, and the Dome

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And Judge Ed Emmett, the connection between them all. As a group of national experts convenes to figure out what is best to do with the Astrodome, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday briefed the chairman and staff of … Continue reading →

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Revising the historic preservation ordinance

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. Houston officials are preparing to revise the city’s historic preservation ordinance, a signature issue for Mayor Annise Parker that spurred a prolonged and divisive fight over property rights in her first term. That contentiousness has never fully … Continue reading →

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The Third Ward

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good story about a great historic neighborhood. In 1872, four influential African-American ministers and businessmen pooled $800 to buy 10 acres of land along Dowling Street. That was the birth of Emancipation Park, a safe place to celebrate Juneteenth and … Continue reading →

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More on the Emmett Astrodome Park plan

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know that an architect thinks its feasible, but it will need more than that to become reality. Kinder Baumgardner, president of SWA Architects, the firm behind several public projects in Houston involving parks, said plenty of big-idea architectural … Continue reading →

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How about Astrodome Indoor Park?

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

County Judge Ed Emmett gives his vision for the Astrodome. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday proposed turning the Astrodome into “the world’s largest indoor park” and recreation area, a concept he said would honor the reason his predecessor … Continue reading →

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Astrodome Park proponents tout a survey showing people like the idea of Astrodome Park

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How can you argue with that? The NRG Astrodome should be turned into a green space similar to Discovery Green downtown, said a majority of people recently surveyed about the future of the former sports arena. The survey, ordered by … Continue reading →

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The Astrodome isn’t officially a historic landmark just yet

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The decision has been delayed until there can be a meeting to discuss it in Houston. Honoring a request by Harris County officials to table the vote and meet much closer to Houston, the Texas Historical Commission voted Wednesday at … Continue reading →

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Yale Street Bridge replacement set to begin

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And inevitably there’s an issue. Time is running out for the historic Yale Street bridge over White Oak Bayou as its condition deteriorates and surrounding development places increasing demands on it. Some in the Heights- area community believe more should … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo and the Texans would like to demolish the Dome now, please

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I don’t know how well this will go over. County leaders said Thursday they are open to considering a $66 million plan devised by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans to demolish the iconic … Continue reading →

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The bricks of Freedmen’s Town

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Surely we can do something about this. Most in the Fourth Ward community know the lore – that freed slaves and descendants first laid the bricks on the streets 100 years ago. Now most agree the roads need repairs, but … Continue reading →

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Astrodome preservationists make their case for historic landmark status

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Powell and Cynthia Neely, the driving forces behind the push to designate the Astrodome as a national and state landmark, write an op-ed outlining their reasoning. As the Texans and the Rodeo view a third-party investor as not boosting, … Continue reading →

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They don’t make historic landmarks like they used to

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If it can still be demolished, it’s fair to ask what was the point. The impending designation of the Astrodome as a so-called “state antiquities landmark” has offered new hope to those who want to save the iconic stadium, but … Continue reading →

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Let’s talk about the Dome

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Time for a come to Judge Emmett meeting about everyone’s favorite historic yet threatened local landmark. Emmett said he wants to use the meeting next Wednesday to clear up any confusion surrounding last week’s unanimous vote by the state’s Antiquities … Continue reading →

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A step forward for the historic Astrodome

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: Efforts to make the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark took a key step forward Tuesday as the state Antiquities Advisory Board voted unanimously to forward the application to the Texas Historical Commission. Such a designation would prevent the … Continue reading →

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The historic Astrodome

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what effect this will have. The National Park Service has added the Astrodome, the world’s first domed stadium, to the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for tax breaks to aid in its rehabilitation but offering … Continue reading →

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The preservation ordinance is a work in progress

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the tl;dr version of this. In October 2010, an emotional Sue Lovell, then a city council­woman, lauded the passage of a strengthened historic preservation ordinance for Houston after a long, complex and divisive battle she and Mayor Annise Parker … Continue reading →

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Finally doing that front door facelift

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never. Renovations started this week on the historic Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing on the north end of downtown. The more than 100-year-old structure, now behind a fence as construction begins, is getting a $5.3 million … Continue reading →

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Saving Rice Stadium

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Houston has another historic stadium in it that’s seen better days, but this one is still in use and has some hope of being restored to its former glory. As a place to watch a game, there are few better … Continue reading →

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Not in a rush about the Dome after all

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll get to deciding what to do with the Dome when we get to it. Harris County leaders are in no rush to decide what to do with the Astrodome, leaving the empty and decaying stadium to languish further following … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The Dome and the jail

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now that precinct data is out, the Chron has an updated take on what sunk the Astrodome referendum. Overall, 53.4 percent of Harris County voters rejected the bond issue that would have renovated the long-vacant Dome into a convention and … Continue reading →

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On the uses of the New Dome

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So it’s looking pretty good for the Astrodome renovation referendum. But what exactly will we get if it does pass? In particular, will the New Dome be economically sustainable in a way that the current one is not? To date, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Saving the Dome

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle gives its blessing to the Astrodome renovation referendum. There has been a lot of finger-pointing over the Astrodome’s mismanagement, but come Election Day it only matters that voters point their fingers to the ballot button and approve the … Continue reading →

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Who’s advocating for the Dome?

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some old familiar names are getting back in the game. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday after the Commissioners Court meeting name-dropped two former county judges — Jon Lindsay and Robert Eckels — who will lead the charge on … Continue reading →

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Astrodome-palooza

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In case you aren’t completely full of my opining on the Astrodome and its possible fate, I was the author of a op-ed in the Sunday Chron on the subject. It’s kind of the Reader’s Digest version of the things … Continue reading →

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It’s about use, not just sentiment

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

NYT reporter Jere Longman, who hails from Houston, penned a love letter to the Astrodome after hearing about its possible impending demise. So it was despairing to hear that the vacant Astrodome might be torn down and its site paved … Continue reading →

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Does the Super Bowl doom the Dome?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texican ponders what the announcement about Houston landing Super Bowl LI means for everyone’s favorite unused arena. So what does this mean for our Dome? A parking garage would be an ignoble end for the Dome, though I am … Continue reading →

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