Architecture in Downtown

This past Friday we visited Downtown Houston to look at some "art deco" I believe. It was an interesting field trip.
We took the light Rail into Downtown where we visited the J.P. Morgan Chase Building. The building was completed in 1929. At the time that building was considered the coolest thing in Downtown. During the time not many people lived in Houston. It was only the 3rd biggest city in Texas. The building itself was very expensive to make. It had a ton of nickel used in in the interior. The entrance area had paintings that depicted important events in Texas history such as winning our independence from Mexico in the 1800s. I liked the building because of the fact that some of the tables were made from a popular silversmith. We got a tour from an employee who worked there name Greg. He seemed to know alot about the building and gave us some cool facts about it.
From the buildings we went down to the tunnel system underground. We traveled underground to the Chase Tower where they have an observation deck at around the 60th floor. This is the highest place in Downtown that's open to the public.
Looking down from the top was scary because the windows are floor to ceiling across the wall. I'm not that afraid of heights but I sure do feel bad for the window cleaners!

Ghost Tour

This Friday we visited 4 places. All were supposedly haunted by ghosts and stuff. The places we went to were a haunted abandoned hospital now a apartment complex. The hospital was called Jefferson Davis hospital and was built over a cemetery. People who were buried in the cemetery most likely died from the Yellow Fever epidemic that came over in the 1800s. We talked to a lady who lived there. She said that she didn't believe the place was haunted but that they don't dig around the grounds in the apartment complex because there is most likely bodies that are still underground. Although we couldn't go inside the complex it was still cool to see the buildings and learn about there history.

The second place we went to was an old tree located somewhere in downtown Houston I think. This tree is called "Hanging Tree". Some people were hung from the tree but that's not what it's known for. Back in the day when they had the jailhouse next to it families who had relatives on death row stood under the tree to wait for the news that there loved one had been executed.

The third place we went to was the Spaghetti Warehouse. It was located near the University of Houston Downtown campus. This building was originally a warehouse back in the day. But then they turned it into a restaurant. Back in the day the manager of the restaurant accidentally fell down the open elevator shaft at the back of the building and broke his neck. His wife died 6 months later from all of her grief. The building it's self is really cool looking and I would love to live in it if it wasn't for the ghosts. The whole area had a creepy feel to it. We ate on the second floor and that is the most haunted part of it.

The last place we went to was optional. It was an old abandoned crypt that belonged to the Donnellan family. It's located under a bridge and was hard to access so that's why it was optional. This place was really cool and the history behind it was interesting as well.

The Mullet

The Mullet is a place near the Almeda Mall behind it I think. The man who owned it has a son who is autistic and all the money he makes from renting out the place to concerts and stuff is donated to autism research. The place itself is really big. It's surrounded by smaller buildings that are also converted in graffiti.
When you first walk in there you get a feeling of a party. Or at least I did. I felt like that place would be the coolest place to have a party at. Anyways the buildings that are surrounding or around the main building are done by local graffiti artists as well as some international ones. The ones who are international are among the best in the world.
We saw pieces where it had a Alice in Wonderland theme but with a twist. It was cool to see because you knew that it was all for a good cause.
We also met one of the owners of The Mullet and we got to talk to him and he gave us a mini tour of the place. He explained that people are welcome to come and paint here without having to worry about heat. He also has plans to get a grant from the city for about 5 million bucks to turn The Mullet into a tourist attraction.
I thought that this place was really cool and that I might come and visit when it's an attraction.