Houston vs. Dallas (Arlington, Irving, Lone Star: transportation, tickets, cities)

[jfre81]

Yes - the Tribune Tower is one of the coolest buildings ever.

I have never been to Chicago so I only go on second-hand accounts and pictures. I was only making a statement about personal architectural tastes - as a whole Chicago makes me think of what Houston would look like if it could have had some well preserved older buildings. Houston is beautiful but almost strictly modernist. If not for the material shortages of WWII and the depression (at this time Houston was just starting to really grow) our skyline here might have a little more for everyone.

We just need more rail so more people can get to downtown without driving. That makes it not matter so much where you're parked. Fewer cars will mean cleaner air. The worst problem about Houston's skyline is not the limited styles or the run-down ugliness on the lower side, but because I sometimes have trouble seeing it through the smog. Similarly, Downtown LA is striking....but once again...can you see it?

Really, DART and its capability to get you more places without driving is the only reason why I'd consider leaving Houston for DFW. Otherwise, I like the Houston attitude a lot better. Point in H-Town's column when all's said and done.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Like what sprawl? Plasticity? Materialism? L.A. is comedic but should be enjoyed in moderation (don't live there, just visit). The only thing I have seen with smart growth are tacky lifestyle centres built on virgin land instead of revitalizing real town centres.



After Sears left the Sears Tower 15 years ago, they relocated to their current campus in Hoffman Estates. If you can find the address and look on the satellite view on Google, you can see a spawling one-story suburban office campus with a circular drive moat and lakes of parking lots (I don't want to end up parking on the back row if I work here!).

Unlike Houston, these things are all over DFW. In Plano/Frisco, the Frito-Lay, EDS, and J.C. Penney headquarters are sprawling office campuses in the same sprawling office park. In Las Colinas in Ivring, the ExxonMobil headquarters are the same thing but in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. It's too bad the executives are not located in the Exxon building in DT Houston but the exploration employees are. (The chemical subsidiary is located on the Energy Corridor in Addicks, West Houston.) Most of the employees (exploration & chemical) live in Houston but sadly the executives do not. They should be spending their windfall at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus in the Galleria instead of some malls in DFW.

The only sprawling suburban office campuses I can think of in Houston are Flour Daniel in First Colony, Sugar Land and Shell's Westhollow Technology Centre in West Houston (which was built in 1975, predating the mall and the rest of the buildings in the area). Even The Woodlands doesn't have those tacky campuses (the Anadarko building is 32 stories high at 134 m and the other buildings around the mall are probably 10 story low-rises). Houston has a fascination with tall buildings for some reason.



Oh, those tall things that Chicagoans call 'condos.' Those things drive the poor out of the city and into the suburbs. No wonder Des Plaines, Mt. Prospect, and Arlington Heights are full of them. In Houston, there is a recent condo boom in the Galleria area (Texas' version of Beverly Hills) for whatever reason.



I guess you think the Tribune Tower represents the real Chicago architecture. If the Library Tower (what GWB calls the Liberty Tower) also fell that day, the Chase Tower would become the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi.

The only surface parking lots I saw in Chicago was around the Rock 'n Roll McDonald's; the rest were buildings--Chicago hides the garages so well. I think the surface lot costs $10-20/h.

I wasnt referring to LA when talking a/b smart urbanism. I believe other cities have learned from LA and improved upon it.

[jabbit]

lets face it... the best sports teams in texas dont come from the two biggest cities anymore and the best places to live aren't in the two biggest cities.

these two big cities are monsters and last time i checked monsters aren't pretty.


its all about austin, denton, san antonio and corpus christi.

fact.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by jabbit

fact.

to who?

I like my cities big, fast, and chaotic. San Antonio and Austin does not do that for me.

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by Spade

to who?

I like my cities big, fast, and chaotic. San Antonio and Austin does not do that for me.

then move to ny or socal.

b/c the dfw metro nor houston are anywhere as chaotic and big.


dallas is just a wanna-be.


you're teasing yourself.


why want fast when you aren't in fast.


fast for texas? lol

its all about the "already?" down here.


look into the screw-n-chop culture/aesthetic... coincidently from h-town and you may begin to understand my point.

[jfre81]

This is Houston vs. Dallas - not a tag-team match of Houston/Dallas vs. NY/LA.

Awwwready.

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by jfre81

This is Houston vs. Dallas - not a tag-team match of Houston/Dallas vs. NY/LA.

Awwwready.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by jabbit

then move to ny or socal.

b/c the dfw metro nor houston are anywhere as chaotic and big.

BOTH are alot bigger and more chaotic than Austin and San Antonio and that's what we are talking about. Not NYC or Socal. Let's stick to the point.

dallas is just a wanna-be.

yeah whatever

why want fast when you aren't in fast.

I'm in DC now, I'm IN fast.

fast for texas? lol

Houston and Dallas pace are faster than most cities in this nation whether you like to admit that or now.

its all about the "already?" down here.

in 1999. That word is so old that nobody says it anymore.

look into the screw-n-chop culture/aesthetic... coincidently from h-town and you may begin to understand my point.

I know what that is. I listen to nothing but hip hop and r&b. What's yout point? Atlanta makes faster music but it's slower in pace to Houston. Music surely does not determine if a city is fast paced or not.

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by Spade

BOTH are alot bigger and more chaotic than Austin and San Antonio and that's what we are talking about. Not NYC or Socal. Let's stick to the point.

no you are talking about "fast" too.

lets stick to the point.

Originally Posted by Spade

yeah whatever

yeah whatever

Originally Posted by Spade

I'm in DC now, I'm IN fast.

lived there for 4 yrs. had fun.

Originally Posted by Spade

Houston and Dallas pace are faster than most cities in this nation whether you like to admit that or now.

Originally Posted by Spade

in 1999. That word is so old that nobody says it anymore.

glad you liked the joke.

Originally Posted by Spade

I know what that is. I listen to nothing but hip hop and r&b. What's yout point? Atlanta makes faster music but it's slower in pace to Houston. Music surely does not determine if a city is fast paced or not.

you love my jokes i know.

[hamiltonpl]

Jabbit, did your girlfriend from Texas just break up with you? This is silly.