In this Hear Our Houston audio tour and contribution to Unexpected City, writers Diana and Steven Wolfe stroll from their first Houston residence, a house in the Heights at 920 Ridge where they lived together thirteen years ago. Turning left onto Julian Street, they pass under the oaks and crepe myrtles to Bayland Street, where “if you look down to your right the streets just become this whole cathedral of overhanging oaks that are like protective Heights spirits, and they make it feel beautifully warm and welcoming.”
Listen by clicking on the link below:
Oaks and Crepe Myrtles in the Heights (mp3, 12 MB) by Steven and Diana Wolfe
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The entrance to Poison Girl would be easy to miss except that it is fuchsia.
The Cite 85 launch party was held last night at Poison Girl, a bar on Westheimer that is often home to literary readings. Kelly Moore read from her contribution to the issue, “Sidewalks, Steps, and Labyrinths: Navigating Houston in a Wheelchair.” The audience sat in rapt attention under a clear sky and the gaze of the giant Cool Aid man sculpture. Hank Hancock read a piece by legendary columnist Sig Byrd from the collection Literary Houston. He brought Byrd’s beat-style 1950s Houston vernacular back to life.
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Yasufumi Nakamori gave a talk at the Architecture Center Houston. Photo by Hank Hancock.
The Spring 2011 issue of Cite
(85) was mailed and is at the Brazos Bookstore, CAMH, MFAH, Issues, Domy, River Oaks Bookstore, and other stores. Below is a letter by Julia Mandell and Susan Rogers about this special issue, followed by the Table of Contents.
This issue of Cite features articles on a broad range of topics. In all the pieces, the unpredictable development patterns of Houston play a role. The lack of planning and zoning here, or the “ad hoc” form of zoning as John Mixon describes it in his contribution, leads to innumerable challenges for individuals, communities, and designers. The vagaries of Houston’s growth at times feels like a game, fun and entertaining, grueling and shameless, rewarding some and relegating others to deprivation. Guest editors; Julia Mandell and Susan Rogers sought to highlight proactive responses and efforts to take a stand.
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OffCite presents the eighth submission to the Unexpected City challenge, made by Mary Gloriod. Click here to learn about making your own submission.
Wabash Antiques and Feed Store advertises itself to be “A little bit of country in the heart of the city.” I’ve walked through the store and seen what looked like grandparents guiding their grandchildren through the rows of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and other livestock. I’ve bought some delicious food, vegetables, and jellies directly from people who grow and make the items, and who bring them to Wabash’s farmers market days.
According to Wabash’s website, the store began as a grain store that eventually evolved into an antique shop:
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Cite 84 cover photograph by Jack Thompson.
The Winter 2011 issue of Cite (84) was mailed and is at the Brazos Bookstore, CAMH, MFAH, Issues, Domy, River Oaks Bookstore, and other stores. Below is a letter by Raj Mankad about this special issue, followed by the Table of Contents.
The Houston region was named the nation’s number one job creator for the past five years in a ranking by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to Manufacturing News, Houston has the largest manufacturing workforce in the nation and is, in another measure, the home to the highest level of entrepreneurial activity out of the 15 largest cities.
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In May of 2010 I was one of the thousands of students across the nation who emerged from the brutal trials of the architectural academy into a profession unable to offer gainful employment. Among the many weeks of checking and rechecking online job boards and pestering personal contacts I received a particularly ominous email. It came from a principle from a major Houston architecture office and, while I won’t disclose the author, I will quote him directly, for his words sent a chill from my spine all the way to the bank that holds my student loan note:
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New archival wing reading garden of Julia Ideson Building.
OffCite presents the seventh submission to the Unexpected City challenge, made by Wendy Heger, Assistant Director for Planning & Facilities for the Houston Public Library system. Click here to learn about making your own submission.
A little-known oasis in downtown is the recently-completed Outdoor Reading Room at the corner of Smith and Lamar, part of the Julia Ideson Building which houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center. Graceful palm trees complement the Spanish Plateresque architecture framing the courtyard. Seated on a chair next to a historic bubbling wishing well, visitors are slightly elevated above adjacent public sidewalks, allowing peaceful reading or contemplation in the midst of a busy downtown landscape.
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On Saturday, December 4, Betz Gallery (1208 W. Gray) hosted an opening reception for an exhibit of color and black-and-white photography by Houstonian Tom Haymes, “Skyscraper City,” which will run through December 23, takes the Houston’s tallest buildings as its subject, offering fresh perspectives on the familiar towers of Downtown and Uptown. Two strategies dominate, from narrowing on repeated patterns of windows and awnings, as with a startling juxtaposition of the Chevron and Exxon buildings, or by casting whole buildings vertiginously against the sky. Both approaches rely, as with Ansel Adams’s landscapes, on a careful consideration of the role and quality of light and climate, and on the nearly tactile activity of the clouds. Often, vast reflective surfaces provide a sort of interpretive strategy, a rippling mirror of the surroundings, including other buildings and streetscapes. Several employ a fish-eye lens, including one dizzying shot dominated by one of the decorative stainless steel arches along Post Oak Boulevard.
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