Houston from balconies and parking garages (and a few from the street)

Ahw7208 · #1 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 5:16 AM**

I'd like to share pictures of my hometown, Houston, with folks that might appreciate them. I took these with my Christmas '13 present from my wife. All of the pictures were taken between ~21-24 December 2013.

These images are mainly of architecture/skylines. I wanted to capture images that make Houston look badass, but some of city's flaws (that most big cities in the region share and, like Houston, are fixing) can be found in several of the photos. Particularly, the large panorama looking at the northern portion of Uptown and the panoramic views from Midtown, where you can see large plots of seemingly empty space/huge parking lots. And, depending on your POV, the new-Chinatown which is clearly a pretty automobile-centric one.

I have to thank my very patient friends and family that would accompany or wait for me as I went to the top of parking garages or ran off somewhere to try to get a good picture. At some point, probably not anytime soon since I don't live in Houston at the moment, I'll try to get a lot of street level scenes around town that capture the culture. All of these photos are free for anyone to use however they wish. I uploaded all of them onto wikimedia.

In Uptown. These photos were taken from a residential highrise (the Dominion at Post Oak) on a balcony (looking north) and from the pool area (looking southeast):

From the Houston Community College parking garage in Midtown looking toward the Uptown/Galleria area:

Part of Houston's "new" Chinatown:

Super huge 19,080 × 1,809 pixel version of the above panorama: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ec_2013%29.jpg

Houston's Midtown:

HCC Parking Garage in Midtown looking toward Downtown

Looking toward museum district/TMC

Hermann Park/Museum District:

Sam Houston Monument looking toward the Texas Medical Center

Amazeballs sculpture

Downtown:

InTheBurbs · #2 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 5:27 AM**

Nice shots, and interesting perspectives, especially those from the middle of the Galleria/Uptown area. Most views of that area seem to be from the edges looking in, rather than the center looking out.

KevinFromTexas · #3 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 5:31 AM**

Some great views there. Awesome pano!

chris08876 · #4 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 6:36 AM**

Very nice pictures.

Did you try to get photos without traffic or people intentionally or was it just desolate? It seems like a ghost city; I thought it would be busier in other words.

natenate · #5 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 7:01 AM**

Nice pics. We need a thread on Midtown/4th Ward/Montrose

Danny · #6 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 7:09 AM**

Very nice shots, Ahw7208! Thanks for sharing.

I like the views of Houston you show in this tour. Houston is a very nice city. I´d like to visit it someday. Those days you took all these pictures were spectacularly clear and blue.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.

OhioGuy · #7 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 11:18 AM**

I enjoyed it! Thanks!

north 42 · #8 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 2:00 PM**

Where are all the cars and people? Very deserted for such a large city!

Reverberation · #9 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 6:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris08876

Very nice pictures.

Did you try to get photos without traffic or people intentionally or was it just desolate? It seems like a ghost city; I thought it would be busier in other words.

Not this again....

LSyd · #10 Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 8:38 PM**

funky savvy thanks for the pics

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Ahw7208 · #11 Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 1:37 AM**

Glad y'all enjoyed the pics.

Ahw7208 · #12 Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 6:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by north 42

Where are all the cars and people? Very deserted for such a large city!

People and cars in taken near the end of the same photo taking stroll I took the downtown pictures above:

That bus honked at me about 15 seconds later

There's even a Segway

Note the backflip

People on a small train

I think there will be more pedestrians, more frequently on increasingly pedestrian friendly environments in this city. I'll try to have a more street level, people focus next time.

The ATX · #13 Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 10:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverberation

Not this again....

That comment ranks up there with the infamous parking lot photo from several decades ago.

diskojoe · #14 Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 10:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSyd

funky savvy thanks for the pics

-

Peep it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewb...hy/8619227109/

Empire state of mind · #15 Posted **Mar 8, 2014, 2:38 AM**

Nice, I like Houston.

Capsule F · #16 Posted **Mar 8, 2014, 5:42 AM**

Bustling pedestrian activity. Nice towers though.

TXLove · #17 Posted **Mar 9, 2014, 5:01 AM**

Great shots and interesting perspectives!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-_Dec_2013.JPG
^^^Chase Tower doesnt look so bland from this angle!

toxteth o'grady · #18 Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 2:31 AM**

I was at Hermann Park over the weekend, and it seemed like there were plenty of people around. Including a saxophonist.

pm91 · #19 Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 2:10 AM**

Awesome job!!! I'd say you've accomplished your goal.

AviationGuy · #20 Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 1:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris08876

Very nice pictures.

Did you try to get photos without traffic or people intentionally or was it just desolate? It seems like a ghost city; I thought it would be busier in other words.

When you're actually there, it's bustling and chaotic overall. Traffic is horrendous in many places in the city. It's possible to find some streets that aren't crowded at certain times of the day, particularly downtown outside of the morning, noon, and evening rush. Some areas are full of cycling and jogging activities, and the parks are full of people on nice days. Realize that photos can be very misleading for any city.

To the OP...excellent perspective that isn't often seen here.