[AGL] future skyline

Thu May 18 08:07:07 EDT 2006

I would like to point out that every single "Grand Plan" Austin has concocted has been characterized by disappointment, failure, economic problems, political treachery, added traffic and general disintegration of the social networks in the community.  Does this make Austin particularly special in this regard.  No.

May I point out that in many instances the people who promote and develop these buildings...nee, even design them...probably live elsewhere.  So the construction confusion and later congestion from thousands of extra people, automobiles and delivery services to the downtown are not something they live with on a daily basis.

"Cost vs Benefit" Analysis of this kind of growth is rarely done because: a) no one wants to do it; b) most, if not all, of the "decision makers" are either on the Take, Incompetent or Greedy; c) the Planners want a "monument to themselves" as do most of the Architects.  Well, this country and certainly Texas has never taken either a "long-term" or "rational" or "socially responsible" view toward any function in which the Almighty Dollar is involved.  Why doesn't someone lease out the Intel building?  Why doesn't someone utilized the abandoned site of whatever-it-was-going to be?  Building more "shiney toy"...no matter how "aesthetically satisfying" they may be...is lunacy.  

Currently I am watching the NW corner of VA being turned into middle-class ghettos by omniverous developers and quiescent town councils desperate for "tax money"....money that almost never covers the future cost of infrastructure - roads, police, fire department, schools, etc. etc.  Traffic in the DC area is becoming the worst in the nation, yet people want to buy overpriced houses and take a two to two-and a half hour commute (one-way) to DC.  Result - massive traffice jame and frantic commuters driving 80 mph in their SUVs.  A continuing nightmare. The local power sevices are decrepit and the telephone service is monopolistic.  But, then people will do Anything to Escape....people of color.  Five hours a day in a car means virtual disintegration of family life for many.  This way lies madness.  Naturally, it will flourish.

Please bear in mind that I am an architect and that I have been involved in a wide range of projects, some good and some bad.  I was the Designer of the original Ocean Beach Project which...as a horrid side effect...saw the destruction of Playland at the Beach and Chet Helms place next door.  Think I felt good about that?   Well, it wasn't my fault the financials fell apart.  But the barren site sat for years like an old wound on the city scape, until it was slowly built out in a hodge-podge way.  Maybe better to be hodge-podge.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Frances Morey 
  To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
  Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 2:08 AM
  Subject: Re: [AGL] future skyline

  I totally agree with you Mike. I love the Frost Bank tower and it's impressive presence from a variety of places. It is ubiquitous, like the Westgate was at one time. I can't wait to see the changing skyline from my pov over here on the East side. I wish I had the money to set up a time lapse camera to chart the changes as they appear. 
  As for the unfinished building downtown, it is just a foundation and shell of a building. You'd think that someone could figure out how to utilize the existing structure for residences since Austin is so hell bent on populating the downtown. I think that's a dang good idea. One only has to spend some time in the formerly vibrant downtown in San Antonio now that it seems like a well worn bus stop with sad businesses slanted towards low incomes and vacancies where highly respected stores once stood. Houston downtown is a scary no man's land after dark. Dallas' downtown, as I can only recall from 25 to 30 years ago, was dominated by hotels and girlie clubs a la Jack Ruby, i.e. unsavory. l love living downtown but sixteen stories is about as high as I wanna get. One day the elevators were down and I had to be somewhere and flew down the stairs, in high heels, in short order. Now returning home was not such a cakewalk and someone suggested that I might want to get a hotel room if the elevators were not fixed by the time I needed to get back to my apartment.
  FM

  Michael Eisenstadt <michaele at ando.pair.com> wrote:
    Harry Edwards called the highrise projects cancerous.

    I live downtown and the highrises we already have lift
    my spirit. The new Frost Bank tower is the best, 33
    stories (would that it were 66 stories; what a statement
    that would be!) My favorite used to be the Trammell-
    Crow highrise with a well-resolved top to the building.
    Blue grey glass which changes color with different skies.
    The Federal Bank building on 2d, up from Gerry's Crest
    Hotel (now the Radisson, it was a Statler) is impressive.
    >From some angles its complex facades seem to flatten
    out and seem one dimensional. But the Frost is best
    of breed with its signature slitted glass top. Its Architect
    claimed he was trying to reproduce the spirit of the
    Chrysler building.

    I can't make out the buildings very well in the rendering
    Harry sent us. I do know that a 36 story combined
    offices and condominiums, on Congress Ave, is slated
    to break ground soon. The abandonned Intel building
    on W 5th street is still there, concrete structure with
    rusting rebar sticking up out the top of the columns. It
    looks strangely like a computer CPU chip with its many
    pins upside down. This resemblance is of course due to
    cosmic indifference.

    As for Gerry's brown cloud over downtown, see
    attached photo.

    Mike

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Gerry" 
    To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s" 

    Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 7:23 PM
    Subject: Re: [AGL] future skyline

    > Incredible! Who'd a thought it?
    >
    > Something tells me that it will never come to completion. Glad I'll not
    > likely see it. What are the plans for traffic arteries to get people in 
    > and
    > out of the area? Can you imagine the great, brown cloud that will envelope
    > it all? Visible from 30 miles distant?
    >
    > I recall the excitement when the original Crest Hotel was completed, where
    > Congress meets the river. It was like an architectural spaceship in the
    > city. For the musicians of my era it was a goldmine. Worked many a gig 
    > there
    > as it went through a series of owners and identities. I remember it as the
    > Sheraton Crest. Do you remember Geneva Rawlins? A classy Black lady who
    > played keyboards and sang? Geneva and the Gentlemen. I worked with her a 
    > few
    > times so I guess that qualifies me as a Gentleman...I guess today's
    > musicians will be working atop the Congress Condos, don't you know there
    > will be some highrolling parties up there?
    >
    > This afternoon we had .8" of rain in about 20 minutes, heaviest rainfall
    > since last October. Marble size hail fell for 15 minutes and pummeled the
    > garden plants. Too wet and too soon to take a toll. Sure feels and smells
    > good. Early enough to replant whatever got waxed--unless it got the
    > apples...
    > G
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: "Harry Edwards" 
    > To: "ghetto 2" 
    > Cc: "ghetto survivors" 
    > Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 5:22 PM
    > Subject: [AGL] future skyline
    >
    >
    > This is a rendering of the proposed and under-construction high-rise
    > buildings for downtown Austin as of 05/10/2006. The newer buildings
    > have names on them in the photo and most are scheduled to break ground
    > before mid-2007. Our skyline is gonna look cancerously different in
    > the coming years. The condo tower called Spring, on the far left, will
    > go up right over where I currently work:
    >
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