Downtown Houston Photos

Johnny Sal and I got together one evening and went on a "photo safari" in downtown (Stadtzentrum) Houston. That included drinking a couple of beers and wandering around downtown looking for interesting stuff to take pictures of, all while catching up with a good friend and enjoying some sorely-missed Texas humor.

To start off the tour, allow me to introduce you to Johnny Sal. John and I have been good friends since we met 7 or 8 years ago while studying at University of Houston. In this picture, he's DJ'ing at the Drink Bar, our usual hangout at night in Houston. Though not taken on the same night as the photo safari, I threw in this and the next picture so I could introduce you to the safari-ers...

That's me in front, wearing one of the €2.50 T-shirts I picked up in Thailand a week or so before this picture was taken. Sal is on the turntables behind me, and Hill and Roca are standing in the background.

The Houston Continental Club has a pretty down-to-earth Texas atmosphere, as well as a good musical scene. It happens to be just down the street from Drink Bar and BarFly - convenient.

I guess the Houston version is the little sister of the original in Austin.

John - what are these fountains called again?

And this church? Do you remember the name of it?

Houston's one light rail transportation (Straßenbahn) route opened up in late 2003. Welcome to the late 19th century (just kidding, sort of).

Here's another church whose name I don't know.

For 30 of the days that I was home, flags all over the country flew at half mast in memory of Ronald Reagan.

Nice new Metro (Houston's ÖFIS) bus terminal downtown.

Random downtown buildings.

The Kennedy Bakery building was built in 1847, which makes it the oldest commercial building in Houston that still stands. The National Register of Historic Places and the Texas Historical Commission list the building as a historical landmark (denkmalschutz). This plaque hangs on the front of the building.

I can't remember if this is an accurate respresentation of the building's lean, or not. I do know that the building leans noticeably, though.

The Kennedy Bakery building houses La Carafe, the oldest bar in Houston. A couple of other interesting links about downtown Houston's history: 1, 2.

The Brewery Tap has a pretty cool downtown location, a wide selection of imported and domestic beers and an English pub atmosphere. The bartender who was working the night we dropped in was pretty cute, and she spoke a little Deutsch, so German-speaking visitors to Houston might want to give the place a visit. Apparently, the bar also serves as a hangout for some of Houston's European Ausländer.

Some more random Houston buildings, along with the tail end of a passing tram.

I can't tell you much about the building, but I liked the way it looked at night.

This section of the tram line is pretty nice. The tracks run through a pool, and two fountains on either side shoot water over the tops of the passing trains.

I thought the interior of Pearl (website was down at the time this was posted), a downtown club owned by a group of Austrians, merited a photo or two. Apparently it's become a real hotspot, but there weren't too many people in when we were there.

They had these loungy couch/bed areas, a bar and a dance floor on the ground floor. Apparently the club also has a second floor. I think we had a drink or two on the house because we told them I was doing a photo shoot for an Austrian article about Houston nightlife.

This old pickup belongs to one of the managers of The Continental Club. The bright neon light in the second story window is a purple neon cross with the words "Jesus Saves" written in white neon, like this:
JESUS
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