deanhorn

I was at a Charge game in early February at Public Auditorium. We had seats on the West side of the building. There are windows outside of the seating area with a view that is similar to the pictures above only obviously higher. This was one of the best views of the Cleveland skyline and buildings that I have experienced. All of the tallest buildings on Public Square were visible. It looked like a big city from that view and very impressive. I wish I had taken some pictures.

What is not clear to me, is when they tear down the existing Main Avenue bridge and lower the Shoreway, are they going to construct a new bridge over the Cuyahoga river? And if they do, it has to be high enough to let freighters go under it on their way up the Cuyahoga river. Otherwise, the plans look good to me.

Great set of pictures. Amazing amount of changes over the last ten years or so.

Note that our convention center was ranked #19! Wonder if it would be even higher with the improvements to the former Global Health center.

This is such a great picture. It gives you a sense of how tall the tower really is and fills a gap as many have discussed in previous posts. And the tower looks much better with most of the protective panels taken down from the windows. I hope that window shades once they are installed do not create the same look as before.

And the stacking plan from an earlier KJP article has apartments on the 39th and 40th floors which is above the Top of the Town in the mechanical floors mentioned above. How is this going to happen?

Not to nitpick, but the 55 building is not in the top picture and it was completed in 1959, so the picture must be from the 50's. But, the comparison does show how much change has happened over time. The last picture looks like a modern city.

I am glad that Public Auditorium will be renovated. I have many fond memories of it from my childhood in the 60's. My dad used to take us to the Sport and Boat Shows every year. And we took my daughter to the circus there around 1990. But, this is an odd venue for basketball. The seating is about 10 to 15 feet above the court level. I wonder if seating is going to be added on the floor level. Should be interesting to see when the first game is played.

As tight lipped as SW was about the design details of the first tower, did SW change their PR toward their HQ developments based on the criticism they got over being overly secretive? Also, I noticed they are removing the stuff (for lack of a better word) behind the windows on the lower floors. And it looks much better without it. I can't wait to see the finished product with the crown completed and without the window coverings.

I don't know about that neighborhood, but that is the problem with Houston. It has no zoning, so developers can pretty much build what they want wherever they want. I lived there for a few years when I was in my 20's. I lived in an apartment and there was a wooden fence separating the apartment parking lot from half a million dollar houses with pools. That was 45 years ago, so that was a lot of money for a house back then.

The building to the left of the Texas Tower in the first Houston picture with the sloping crown was designed by Pickard Chilton. It is the 609 Main St tower.

SHW2 is going to be a twin tower of SHW1?

If the massing in KJP's article is accurate, then it will be taller than the 55 building. So, your hopes would come true. It looks like from the massing that it would be somewhere between 325 and 350 feet. And I agree with your assessment of the skyline tapering down as it goes West. Based on the employment data that KJP provided, it would support a building of this size.

So, the highest inhabitable floor (36th) is roughly the height of the Erieview tower. It would be like sitting on top of the Erieview and this will have some gorgeous views. I assume that this will be the executive floor with offices for the CEO, vice presidents, etc.

I think the 14th floor is a conference center floor. And it also has balconies on the Northwest and Southeast corners. I don't know about the "Shack" skylights. @ASPhotoman: To me it makes more sense to have the floor designation in the middle of the floor. When I am counting floors in a completed building, I look at the windows and not the top or bottom of the floor. But, that is just my thoughts.