Top 50 Best Places to Travel 2023 - Houston is only TX place to make the list (Dallas: homes, schools)

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I'm sure it's been symbiotic. The owners / developers of ROD, Highland Village, Arrive RO etc. figured out that an alternative to The Galleria was viable for luxury shopping (despite the demise of The Pavilion on Post Oak, which was more luxury-focused than The Galleria), including shopping done by visitors to Houston. Adding or improving these places further added to Houston's visitor appeal, and it begat a virtuous cycle.

What I would like to see in the future is some of these developments start to Close the gap between each other. Some parts of River Oaks are very nice to take a stroll in. I like our tree parks proximity to the OG River Oaks shopping center and all of those new developments right around there. I also praise Oggi River Oaks shopping center for starting to build vertically and mesh more with these new developments. That allows them to live in harmony much better. I know there was a preservation debate about keeping the entire shopping center as is but I don’t think that is a good idea when it sits between so much potential. As long as the westernmost portion where Barnes and Noble and the “entrance” is stays, that’s the single portion who’s history should be preserved

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

What I would like to see in the future is some of these developments start to Close the gap between each other. Some parts of River Oaks are very nice to take a stroll in. I like our tree parks proximity to the OG River Oaks shopping center and all of those new developments right around there. I also praise Oggi River Oaks shopping center for starting to build vertically and mesh more with these new developments. That allows them to live in harmony much better. I know there was a preservation debate about keeping the entire shopping center as is but I don’t think that is a good idea when it sits between so much potential. As long as the westernmost portion where Barnes and Noble and the “entrance” is stays, that’s the single portion who’s history should be preserved

The section where Barnes & Noble is located is not historical. The historical structure in that area was demolished and replaced with new construction about 15 years ago.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by oil capital

The section where Barnes & Noble is located is not historical. The historical structure in that area was demolished and replaced with new construction about 15 years ago.

That Barnes and Noble and the other establishments there are far better than the old building, which couldn't make enough rent relative to the value of the property.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by oil capital

The section where Barnes & Noble is located is not historical. The historical structure in that area was demolished and replaced with new construction about 15 years ago.

Originally Posted by WRM20

That Barnes and Noble and the other establishments there are far better than the old building, which couldn't make enough rent relative to the value of the property.

The semi circular structure where Macaron by Pattise is is new?

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

The semi circular structure where Macaron by Pattise is is new?

No, the section you referenced, where Barnes & Noble is, is new.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by oil capital

No, the section you referenced, where Barnes & Noble is, is new.

By historic I actually meant the semicircular entrance as a whole. I didn’t realize the Barnes and noble section was so new, but nonetheless it seems to have maintained the same entrance style

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

By historic I actually meant the semicircular entrance as a whole. I didn’t realize the Barnes and noble section was so new, but nonetheless it seems to have maintained the same entrance style

The older building on the North side, where B&N is now, was a mirror image of the building on the South.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I'm sure it's been symbiotic. The owners / developers of ROD, Highland Village, Arrive RO etc. figured out that an alternative to The Galleria was viable for luxury shopping (despite the demise of The Pavilion on Post Oak, which was more luxury-focused than The Galleria), including shopping done by visitors to Houston. Adding or improving these places further added to Houston's visitor appeal, and it begat a virtuous cycle.

Although it’s not as cohesive as I’d like, I do appreciate that our shopping area is all in one continuous zone. The area in HV where the Yeti and Apple Store has came together quite nicely. Like a pedestrian strip within HV. It would be great if the south end of westheimer HV in that same spot had their buildings on street and mirrored the northern end in this aspect. Would be a solid idea for the future of HV to mirror what they did on the northern end.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I do agree that the core of the city has become more and more attractive for visitors in the last 20 years. Improvements to museums and parks have been a big deal. Plus the variety of food and cultural options really took off.

Did you know that in the 1990s Downtown had fewer than 2,000 hotel rooms? Back then, most visitors to Houston stayed in Uptown (the biggest visitor destination, more than double the rooms of Downtown), the TMC (for obvious reasons), or more outlying suburbs. And of course there was no AirBnB. Really tells you a lot about how far the visitor attractiveness of the core has come.

I remember visiting Houston in the 90s and early 00's. Back when Houston didn't care to cater to tourist. I remember going to a church youth convention in George R. Brown back in 00-01 era. Right before I was headed off too college and recall meeting all these kids from different parts of the country. Remember we stayed in a hotel in Uptown. But back than Downtown Houston was dead. I can recall it being nothing across the street from George R. Brown. I remember when some teenagers around my age from Ohio was asking me and my friends what is there to do in Houston? We basically told them to hit up the Galleria. Houston was much different then. That's why I do give Houston credit for improving it's core.

Before I officially moved here back in 2009, I had been going to Houston regularly and I just remember how suburban the social scenes and nightlife scenes were then. Like I remember the Richmond strip and parts of Westchase were really popular. I remember when Main st. had it's moments than would slowly die down. I remember when I first moved to Houston back in 2009 and me and my friends would eat at this Mexican restaurant every other Friday night downtown right off Main st. and I just remember the area being so DEAD.

Houston has a come a long way, and even with the improvements to downtown there's still a lot of room to improve. Because compared to it's peer cities it's still not as cohesive as it should be in it's core. But it's a total improvement from what it use to be and it's cool enough.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Although it’s not as cohesive as I’d like, I do appreciate that our shopping area is all in one continuous zone. The area in HV where the Yeti and Apple Store has came together quite nicely. Like a pedestrian strip within HV. It would be great if the south end of westheimer HV in that same spot had their buildings on street and mirrored the northern end in this aspect. Would be a solid idea for the future of HV to mirror what they did on the northern end.

The Westheimer ROW from the Loop to Weslayan in general needs a quality makeover, a la Uptown or ROD. I think this would help the cohesiveness. There's probably creative ways to deal with the RR tracks.