Energy Corridor branding and street name signage

Wells Fargo bank signage and theme pics

Wells Fargo Sign against sky

Wells Fargo Stagecoach passing the Hyatt Regency Hotel 

in Downtown Houston at 2013 Rodeo Parade

Joe's Crab Shack

 

Colorful Joe's Sign

Feb 12, 2013 news item: Shaina Zucker of the HBJ reports that Joe's Crab Shack is rolling out a new advertising campaign under the motto "100 percent shore"

Joe's Crab Shack on Highway 6 - Storefront view at night

Playground for kids outside Joe's front door

 

The LH7 Brand - Texas Longhorn Cattle Ranch once operated in Barker, Texas

George Bush Park was once part of a large cattle ranch. 

Much of the ranch land later became Barker Reservoir, built to hold back water from heavy rains upstream to prevent flooding downstream in the City of Houston. 

The site of the Marks LH7 Ranch buildings today has a historical marker to commemorate its glorious past. Even the Houston Rodeo has its roots here. 

LH7 Ranch Texas Historical Commission Marker

These structures - a church, a general store and post office, and other farm buildings stand on the property today. They may not be original buildings that were part of the Ranch when it was operating, or were moved.
(I converted the digital photo taken 1/3/2013 to black & white to give an historic postcard-like look.) 

Satellite view of LH7 ranch site at Kingsland Blvd. / Barker-Clodine Rd. with small photo of ranch gate
and church building

Going for iconic: Energy Corridor signage and theme pics

Framed Blue Cube - Enclave Parkway Energy Corridor Emblem

Three-dimensional Energy Corridor signage erected on esplanade  of Enclave Parkway at Briar Forest Drive
Sysco Headquarters in the background on the left (its not just energy companies, oil-field service outfits and engineering firms in the Energy Corridor; Sysco is a food wholesaler and restaurant-supplier. Toyota
also has a presence nearby)

Enclave icon mounted on a marble column at the North-West end of the stretch lined by corporate campuses
This one is located near Turtle Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant
and Beeler Family Cemetery (now a Harris County Pocket Park)

Landscaped Enclave Signage on grassy tree-lined corner of Enclave Parkway and Briar Forest Drive
West Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Night-shots: Energy Corridor Office Buildings in the deep-blue dark - Night-time vistas

Energy Corridor Skyline at dusk (Jan 2013 photo added)

Gulf Interstate Engineering and BP America Buildings
Night-time Energy Corridor skyline seen from the West
(teleshot from Barker Dam)

KBR Logo on top of Eldridge Oaks I Office Tower
located on Eldridge Parkway near the Bayou bridge at night

Eldridge Oaks Office Building at night behind sign
with new tenants

EXPRO logo at night on Memorial 6 Office Building
located at intersection of SH-6 and Memorial Drive

Toyota outpost on Enclave Parkway - Red logo in the Dark

bp America's green and yellow star logo now at Three Eldridge Place
British Petroleum recently added this property to its inventory of office space
in the Energy Corridor, and has another building coming at Westlake

Night-time view of the Wyndham (erstwhile Crowne Plaza) Hotel on Highway 6
just North of Katy Freeway; with office building on Old Katy Rd in front.

Red Strayer University signage on school's building on Old Katy Road
at night

New Crescent Circle Apartments now sport brand name - Domain

New apartment development on Crescent Circle @ Eldridge Parkway gets domained 

The recently completed high-end multifamily apartment complex on East side of Crescent Plaza Drive, located next to Eclipse Apartments and opposite Ray Miller Park, finally has a name: Domain. Alas the signage at the leasing office entrance does not provide for strong contrast against the dark-shaded parts of the building’s exterior, making the name-sign almost unintelligible from afar. 

But the variegated coloring scheme of the buildings themselves easily makes up for the initial namelessness and the less than stellar visibility of the signage, especially when the grass is green, and the sky blue: a quite appealing sub-urban vista indeed.

As long as the apartment front row is not obscured, that is. There is currently a huge field with a tree, but that property is posted for sale, and will no doubt eventually see construction too.  

Speaking of construction activity along this stretch of Eldridge Parkway just South of Briar Forest, a daycare (The Goddard School) has already been built at the north end of the circle, and an Alzheimer’s memory care facility (pleasingly named Autumn Leaves) is underway.

In anticipation of the influx of additional residents and their discretionary spending dollars, the retail sector is seeing renewed activity too. A new pub has opened in the ground-level corner space (with patio) at The Parkway Village Plaza retail center, which already features two cafes (Kim Son Café and Pastelitos Cafe), and a dessert place, along with  a tea house and other businesses. 

There is still retail space posted for lease The Parkway Village Plaza property, but it will no doubt soon find eager takers too, given the incipient boom in the Energy Corridor and adjacent neighborhoods.  

Apartment Re-branding - From Renaissance Village to Arium Briar Forest (not Atrium)

After and before the renaming in 2012

ARIUM BRIAR FOREST (not Atrium) - Sign on Corner of Enclave Drive

Old sign with previous name: Renaissance Village

Arium Leasing Office with Drive

Streetside view from Enclave Parkway

Ce what? From Cafe Chatters to Ceviche y Alma Peruviana - and back to the chattering concept

4/1/2013 UPDATE: The Chatter's signage is back up on the building. Apparently, Cebiche was just  a brief Latin interlude.

New Latin restaurant opening in the Energy Corridor, offering South American soul ("alma") and "cebiche" ... Really? Is that a new Tex-Peru version of ceviche, or the appellation original for the truly authentic Andean variant? -- Intriguing. The press release upon grand opening might have served as an opportunity to educate the less-Latin-savvy public. Perhaps it's just clever marketing: something new and different to pique the interests of exotic-cuisine-friendly local palates and linguists alike, not to mention would-be polyglots and spelling-bee aspirants.  

And as to the branding ... Is that how soul is spelled in Peruvian?
You better know the name of the place you are headed to, for deciphering the signage is something of a challenge
Perhaps the Latin America expats at CITGO on the next block have an advantage here

Chatter's Cafe & Bistro shortly before it closed
(ironically with NOW OPEN sign)

1275 Eldridge Parkway, Houston, TX 77077  

Various local foodie news outlets report that the new Alma & Cebiche restaurant is the creation of the former chef at Samba Grille, who moved West to greener pastures (and better business prospects) when the Latin American venue at Bayou Place in the Downtown Theater District closed earlier this year. 

  

Eldridge Parkway is indeed aflutter with excitement and adorned with "coming soon" and "now open" signs (Cafe Express, Sharky's American Grill, and The King's Head are recent arrivals on the dining and waterhole front; not to mention the massive Top Golf project North of I-10 at Highway 6, which is rapidly taking recognizable shape), while the Central Business District is struggling and jugging along -- plastered with "For Lease" signs, if not lock-out notices from the landlord for non-payment of rent.   

Notable recent exception: Pepper Jack just opened a restaurant y cantina in what used to be Cabo, a margarita venue with the second-floor equivalent of a patio on the edge of the Theater District and not far from Old Downtown Houston Market Square. To their credit, they even kept the original swordfish sign, changing only the name.  

  
For pure nostalgia value, a last look at Samba Grille: 

The last samba at Bayou Place in Downtown Houston's Theatre District
Summer 2012

And for good measure: Cabo, in all its original colorful glory:

Signage at Cabo, now Pepper Jack's Mexican Grill and Cantina
419 Travis Street Houston, TX 77002

And its reincarnation as Pepper Jack's: "Yes, We Are Open Now".

The light will switch to Green any minute now

From Crowne Plaza to Wyndham: Energy Corridor Hotel sports new brand

Moving up the pecking order? Crowne Plaza Hotel on Katy Freeway at Highway 6 is now Wyndham Hotel
14703 Park Row - Houston Texas 77079 U.S.A. 

New hotel signage at X Lounge & Bar and water tower in the background

New blue roof-top Wyndham signage at night

Crowne Plaza signage before the hotel re-branding

Energy Corridor Hotel North of Interstate 10 at SH-6 with original Crowne Plaza signage
(view from Barker Dam)

Crown Plaza - now Wyndham Hotel - North of I-10 on the map (with 2011 photo showing
Crowne Plaza logo at rooftop level)