Tag Archives: preservation

Fixing our front door

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds very cool. The century-old Sunset Coffee Building, looming in disrepair over Allen’s Landing at the north end of downtown, will become Houston’s “front door” with an $8 million public-private renovation set to begin in April. The three-story brick … Continue reading →

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Germantown gets historic designation

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to what may be the last historic district created in the city of Houston. The first historic district created under a stricter rewrite of Houston’s preservation ordinance passed City Council on Wednesday, though conservationists predicted future districts will be … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over historic preservation ordinance

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I got an email last week from Kathleen Powell of Responsible Historic Preservation for Houston announcing that the first lawsuit against Houston’s new historic preservation. You can see a copy of the complaint here. What I have not seen is … Continue reading →

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RIP, Bubba the roach

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another Houston institution bites the dust. For 42 years, a 2-ton sign featuring a neon-lighted cockroach blazed over the Southwest Freeway near Westpark, a garish but iconic advertisement for Holder’s Pest Control. The 8-foot-by-16-foot sign, nicknamed Bubba, was taken down … Continue reading →

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What’s to become of the downtown post office?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray writes about the future of the downtown post office on Franklin. In the past couple of years, there have been rumblings that the U.S. Postal Service plans to leave 401 Franklin and sell the 16-acre complex – a … Continue reading →

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More thoughts on the Mayoral election

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I think there are two key things to keep in mind when contemplating Tuesday’s election results in Houston and what they may mean for 2013. First and foremost, I believe you have to see the Mayor’s percentage of the vote, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Leticia Gutierrez Ablaza

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Leticia Gutierrez Ablaza was a deadline day filer for Houston City Council in District I. A resident of Glenbrook Valley, she became politically involved during the fight over the historic preservation ordinance in that neighborhood. She has a degree in … Continue reading →

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Trader Joe’s makes its move

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Alabama Theater, here they come. Trader Joe’s is officially considering the historic Alabama Theatre for its first Houston outpost. The proposal is on the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission, which would have to … Continue reading →

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Trader Joe’s to the Alabama Bookstop?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Trader Joe’s is eyeing the old Alabama Theatre on Shepherd and West Alabama, according to a source familiar with the situation. Earlier this year, the grocer said it planned to open stores in Houston and Dallas. Specific locations were … Continue reading →

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Meet the new historical districts

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not so different from the old historical districts. After months of petition drives and acrimonious public testimony over the protection of old Houston neighborhoods, the only change to the six historic district maps headed to the City Council on Wednesday … Continue reading →

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Historic Houston closing its salvage warehouse

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What a shame. LOCAL NONPROFIT Historic Houston is no longer accepting donations of building materials, and is closing its salvage warehouse and ending its salvage program, reports the organization’s founder and executive director, Lynn Edmundson. The organization stored and sold … Continue reading →

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Historic preservation has been preserved

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot: THE RESULTS ARE in, and it looks like the great campaign todissolve Houston’s historic districts has been a bit of a bust. Houston planning director Marlene Gafrick reports that the “survey period” for Heights East, Heights West, Heights South, … Continue reading →

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Preservation reconsideration

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the pieces to the new historic preservation ordinance was the designation of a period in which already-existing historic districts could submit a petition to have the city reconsider their status. The deadline for that has passed, and 8 … Continue reading →

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What the Planning Department says about the new preservation ordinance

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via The Heights Life, here are a series of YouTube videos produced by Planning & Development Director Marlene Gafrick to explain what the new preservation ordinance is all about: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRJrDd6cb7A Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae5DyFiwuk4 Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp81p1Yq2HQ Part 4: … Continue reading →

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Council passes revised historic preservation ordinance

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see that City Council finally passed the long-awaited and much-revised historic preservation ordinance, and even more glad to see that the 90-day waiver for demolitions has been excised, so that what we have now is an actual … Continue reading →

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The preservation ordinance fight

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The revised preservation ordinance came before Council last week. It got a lot of feedback in addition to being tagged. Mayor Pro Tem Anne Clutterbuck also opposed the changes to the ordinance, which include a provision that would prevent property … Continue reading →

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Public Hearing on Final Draft of Historic Preservation Ordinance

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Final Draft of Proposed Amendments to Historic Preservation Ordinance Released Houstonians, After a two-month process involving public input from stakeholders, I have released the final draft of proposed amendments to the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance and a … Continue reading →

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Public meeting regarding Koehler Street Development

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Public Meeting Regarding Koehler Street Development Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 … Continue reading →

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Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned there were pro-preservation ordinance signs out there, so I thought I’d show what they look like: The link is to http://www.preservehouston.org/, the Houston Historic Districts Coalition. It’s a busy little website, especially in contrast to the Responsible Historic … Continue reading →

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The preservationists make their case

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ramona Davis of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has a long and detailed op-ed in the Sunday paper that makes the case for the new preservation ordinance currently working its way through Council. Here’s a sample of the bullet points: … Continue reading →

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Pushback on the historic preservation ordinance

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m seeing a few of these signs in my neighborhood: The first ones I spotted were in front of houses on Heights Blvd; this one and a couple of others were on Studewood on an empty commercial lot. I’ve since … Continue reading →

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The new Historic Preservation ordinance

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: The mayor’s office is out with a “public comment draft” of proposed changes to Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. The biggest (and most expected) change: There’ll be no more 90-day “compliance waivers” issued for historic-district properties. Under the previous … Continue reading →

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Do we really want to save the Dome?

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to the Department of Anecdotal Evidence, we do. Respondents to an online survey run by Reliant Park’s landlord “overwhelmingly” support saving the Astrodome, according to the official in charge of the survey. Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris … Continue reading →

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More on the three options for the Dome

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As promised last week, we now have more information on the three options for the Dome. The Sports & Convention Corporation hosted a news conference Monday to present the broad outlines of three possible plans for the 45-year-old Astrodome and … Continue reading →

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Council passes demolition moratorium for historic properties

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Houston City Council has taken a step forward to providing stronger protection for historic properties. City Council passed a temporary law today that puts a moratorium on demolitions in Houston’s 15 historic districts. The city’s 15-year-old preservation ordinance has allowed … Continue reading →

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Council may vote today to strengthen preservation ordinance

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, we heard that Houston City Council was considering a change to the historic preservation ordinance that would actually prevent structures from being torn down or moved if the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission denied the request to do … Continue reading →

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Changes coming to the preservation ordinance?

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot has a scoop. Some major changes to the implementation of Houston’s long-ridiculed historic preservation ordinance may be coming very soon, if a proposal supported by Mayor Annise Parker passes a city council vote that could occur as early as … Continue reading →

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Still trying to save the Dome

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nancy Sarnoff reports. A new page has sprung up on Facebook called Save the Astrodome. It was created by the Houstonian behind www.AmnesiaHouston.org, a Web site aimed at bringing attention to the city’s disappearing landmarks. The creator compares the Astrodome … Continue reading →

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One last time for the Dome and the Dynamo

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose now that the Dynamo have finally gotten an official commitment from all relevant parties to go forward with their downtown stadium idea that it was inevitable the question of why didn’t they just use the Astrodome came up … Continue reading →

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Weingarten’s whining

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, the folks at Weingarten are a wee bit sensitive about the negative reactions they’ve gotten since their plans to demolish the interior of the Alabama Theater became public knowledge. They’ve been keeping their PR people busy with a continued … Continue reading →

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The state of the city 2010

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker gave her first State of the City address today before the Greater Houston Partnership. Here are a few highlights from her address, which you can read as written here. We don’t know everything that lies ahead. The pressures … Continue reading →

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Staples confirms it is not looking at the Alabama Theater

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot noted this last week when one of its readers sent an email to Staples, and now the company has written a letter to the Chron to confirm that they are not seeking to redevelop the Alabama Theater. Staples was … Continue reading →

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Whose job is it anyway?

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron editorial reviews the Weingarten/Alabama BookStop situation, and raises a pertinent issue: Most cities aggressively protect the handful of places that make them special. Houston doesn’t. We offer incentives to make stadium deals work for sports teams. Why not … Continue reading →

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No Staples for the Alabama Theater

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some news from Swamplot, from a commenter there named Andrea: “After writing to Staples PR this is their canned response: ‘While there has been speculation about Staples in connection with the historic Alabama Theater, we do not have a lease … Continue reading →

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