The "Real Houston." (photos) (Allen, Richmond: power lines, rent, houses)

[jfre81]

By popular demand, here it is.



.....egads, Brain! Let's fix that white balance.



Better. Anyway, first real walk in awhile, so let's do it.



From where the mighty Chicken 'n' Eggroll once stood will rise....uh, something. I don't know what they're putting here. Maybe it'll be a restaurant that sells chicken and egg rolls.



Power lines and strip malls. It's beautiful. You know something, I have family out in Southern California, and I should, like, put this on a postcard and send it to them. And, like, people in SoCal totally talk like this.



Just like we all sound like rednecks and ride horses to work. Stereotypes are awesome. They take all that hard work of actually getting out and exploring the world and getting to know the people who live in different places.









So we're on South Shepherd Drive. I bet you'll get as tired of looking at it as I got tired of walking along it. Oh, it gets interesting here in a bit.











I see....in your future....a plentiful wealth of photos depicting concrete and billboards.





And beer. Lots of it. Beer is good.





















Yes, that's two Starbucks across West Gray from one another. Lewis Black called this "the end of the universe."



Here's why we don't bury the power lines here. Where else are we going to hang our shoes?





















So yeah, I love power lines going over everything. I love power lines, period. I eat them for lunch. I twirl them around on my fork like spaghetti. But I make sure they're not live first.









Beautiful.





You know, there's actually a perfectly good, safe sidewalk down there along the Allen Parkway exit, but I like to live dangerously.



This really shouldn't be attempted by anyone, so if you fall into traffic or do a 20-foot faceplant onto Memorial Drive because you emulated something some idiot did on the Internet, it's not my fault. I warned you.







You see, I just thought it would be cool to take some pictures from up high. Maybe I should rent a helicopter next time.











Well look, somebody was so nice as to leave me a spare battery. They knew I was coming through and that my camera uses AA's.





Well, let me get down from here. I'm kind of glad to be on the ground actually. Not that I cared about the kid at the bus stop looking at me like I was from outer space, but there's really not a whole lot of space to maneuver up there. But I survived.













Skaters, please do not use the back lot.



Anyway, I'm about sick of Shepherd. Turning eastward on Floyd Street.











Here kitty kitty. Actually came up and approached me.







I thought these guys were here to fix the leaning light tower at first, but it turns out they were just picking up trash.













How long before this....



....gets plowed under for this?





Got more coming.

















All this along the Washington Avenue corridor is densifying, and it looks like a lot of those older houses may not be for long. But, you know, that's the way we roll in HTX.



Let's do a little Washington Avenue. Maybe next time it won't be on Monday afternoon when everyone's hung over at work.



Much thanks to the University of Northern Iowa Panthers for completely wrecking my bracket, btw.











I think what this means is it's not public property. Could be wrong though. It's on the sidewalk. Yes, there are sidewalks here.



Is this to mean "why is Washington Avenue the big hotspot now?" I don't know. It's kind of like the new Richmond Strip, except I don't see it falling into that same level of decline. Too close in. I do see a lot of the "party" gravitating back toward downtown in time.







More power lines. Mmmm.



Look at this guy in the street. For awhile there I was thinking I was the only idiot walking around, but then there I go getting proven wrong. A cop came up while he was out and barked at him through his loudspeaker to get out of the road a few seconds after I snapped this.





Well look at this. Oh my. Residential with street level retail.



You don't say.



Anyway, here's Shepherd again.









Does this mean I can't just stand around over here?





I'm tired. Let's take a nap. Here's as good as anywhere.



Er, maybe not. Bad things could happen. Like getting arrested for trespassing on railroad property or something.

Oh, and is that a "NOW HIRING" sign? Those are kind of rare nowadays.



I wasn't being entirely facetious there about being tired. You see, I had originally planned to continue all the way into the Heights, but I'm just not feeling it. Not today. But there's a whole spring to look forward to before it gets hot. And even then, well, I'll get out a bit.









So yeah, freeways....





...concrete...







...wires everywhere...



....taco trucks.



And billboards too!

I'm a Houston booster!



Well, I hope I grossed more people out so we can keep getting more complaint threads around here. They make the world go round. Here's a bus. I'm going home.



I WILL RETURN! (And go to those more attractive spots that a few of us know about)







Oh, and don't walk in front of METRO buses. Till next time...

Follow jfre81 and his strip mall, power line-shooting adventures on Facebook!

[XodoX]

Don't see the real Houston yet.

[Kenpar]

This may be my favorite post of photos you have done yet. It was looking a little rich there, but then it got a little hood/hippie there. Nice. It's part of the real Houston! In some places I knew where you were, but I never really went all the way don't Sheperd.

That Red Lion Pub looks cool. I think I am going to start favoring pubs. There is one, on Richmond and Fountain View, that has one of the very few beers I would drink. I think it is a German Ale.

The Cherry Blossom trees are cool. I still don't know why people want Palm Trees in Houston. I would put Oaks and Cherry Blossoms everywhere!

And I liked the view of Downtown. I want to take that type of pic. I will definitely put that one on my Facebook.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Real Houston indeed. Thanks for the photos again.

Interestingly, these pictures point out something I mentioned in an earlier thread.... pay attention to the posts, and wires in these shots. Contrast those shots with the photos without posts/wires. It would make even the shabby areas look better without them. I'm sure it's just me, but those wires and posts scream at me for attention.

[jimboburnsy]

Great collection. You should get extremely real by heading down S. Post Oak.

[graytabbie]

Thanks jfre81...love your photos! Especially love the cat, the cherry blossoms, and the two UFOs in the sky in the railroad tracks photo! At least I thought they were UFOs...

[citizen_jane]

The pictures are beautiful as usual but I don't think the flowering tree is a cherry tree. It's a red bud.

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by Kenpar

This may be my favorite post of photos you have done yet. It was looking a little rich there, but then it got a little hood/hippie there. Nice. It's part of the real Houston! In some places I knew where you were, but I never really went all the way don't Sheperd.

That Red Lion Pub looks cool. I think I am going to start favoring pubs. There is one, on Richmond and Fountain View, that has one of the very few beers I would drink. I think it is a German Ale.

The Cherry Blossom trees are cool. I still don't know why people want Palm Trees in Houston. I would put Oaks and Cherry Blossoms everywhere!

And I liked the view of Downtown. I want to take that type of pic. I will definitely put that one on my Facebook.

Those are red bud trees.

The Red Lion is, indeed, cool, and you can order bangers and mash there!

[mtgmike]

Very cool, thanks for posting!

[TFW46]

Awesome photos, as always, jfre. I'm sure there would be a market for a book of your photos. At the very least, you could sell individual photos for framing. I know it's a beloved hobby, and not a business, for you -- but there are a lot of people (both in and out of Houston) who would appreciate being able to buy either a collection or enlargements.