Visiting downtown Houston is a lesson in disappointment. The city core is not blessed with an abundance of restaurants and retail options, like many vibrant downtowns, nor does it offer the variety of cultural venues, like Chicago or New York City. The nation's fourth largest city is depressingly vacant. There are many corporate buildings where people come to work during the weekdays, and an excellent light rail system, but during the weekend the downtown core is virtually abandoned. On Labor Day, the only thing I found open was Phoenicia Specialty Foods, a grocery store that sells a wide array of imported items from Europe and the Middle East and serves some excellent prepared foods. Throughout the area, boarded-up buildings litter the landscape and streets require upkeep. It's a shame because downtown Houston possesses some beautiful architecture, but this is an example of what happens when people of an area scatter to the suburbs and forsake their collective urban identity. Here are some (mainly) architectural photos that I took on walks I made in downtown Houston during my recent visit.
The J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Building is reminiscent (at least to me) of the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Everything from its Gothic architectural motif at the building's top to the ornate entrance reminds me of what I would encounter in my hometown.
The Mellie Esperson Building was my favorite architectural specimen in downtown Houston. With its classically inspired domed top and its colorful detail, it enriches the entire downtown landscape.
The Mellie Esperson Building mixes architectural styles quite well. Above is an architectural relief that is sheer art deco, while below is a window relief that is classically inspired, along with the Texas longhorn skull that is pure Southwestern USA.
The domed top of the Mellie Esperson Building.
Architecturally modern, this Hilton Hotel offers a beautifully subtle display of color.
A water feature that graces a stretch of Houston's light rail system. A beautiful accent to a public service, but it needs regular upkeep.
Beautifully colorful architectural accents!
A modern abstract sculpture that provides an urban environment with much needed color.
Beautiful wall art that provides color and an organic flair to the cityscape.
A beautiful, but vacant historic building, a great place for a pub or a restaurant, or at least a coffeehouse.
It's heart-warming to see city residents express these feelings about their city. I wish my experience of Houston could echo these adjectives, but my experience was completely different. Can Houston be all these things? Does it hold promise? You betcha! Beautiful, classy architecture, both modern and historic, grace this urban setting, and the interactive green park, Discovery Green (more on that later), enhances the quality of life considerably. I have to confess that I was a little stunned by what I found in downtown Houston. If Texas isn't the wealthiest state in the Union, then it must be second, behind California. I would think that Texans would want to showcase their prosperity and consequent cultural achievements by presenting a spectacular world-class city, and that is something Houston can definitely become.
In walking about town, I entertained some thoughts as to how this can be achieved. Start small, then build slowly outward to the rest of the downtown core. Follow the example of Seattle or Milwaukee and create a public market that's housed in a permanent structure. There are a number of vacant buildings in the downtown core, some of them historic. Put them to public use. Have the public market feature locally grown produce and artwork for sale by local artists. Have favorite local restaurants set up small cafe extensions of their businesses to offer visitors the very best of Houston. Being located in the heart of Texas means that Houston already has specific types of cuisine that it can capitalize on, from Texas barbecue to seafood to TexMex, as well as other foods that can highlight the great diversity that make up this city community. Have local bands, singers, and performers come to the public market on weekends and provide entertainment. If creating a public market is too large and too fast, then how about starting with a weekend farmer's market, or a weekend art market, like in Portland, OR? Houston has the bones of a vibrant city; it just needs the vision to dress it up properly.
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