[CHRON] Houston Could Lose River Oaks Theatre to Barnes & Noble?

Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now, it's nothing but flowers
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But I guess I was wrong

Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
you got it, you got it

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it

This was a discount store,
Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it

Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle

 

And here's the Weingarten Contact Page:

http://www.weingarten.com/contact/default.aspx

 

If they add a Barnes and Noble, that would mean there would be 3 Starbucks within 100ft of each other. Nooooo! All joking aside, I had no idea that this company was so big. They own and manage 300 sites throughout Southern United States. They have a web site that allows you to see all their property.

http://www.weingarten.com/retail/?st_abbr=TX

If you want to know what the River Oaks area will look like in a couple of years just go to Champions Forest on 1960. The majority of their properties look alike. It’s a shame that cities throughout the United States are losing their personality. Having been to most of the major cities in this country, I would have to say that they are all starting to look the same, especially in the suburbs. They are just clones of each other with no originality.

 

Guess I should go see some movies there while I have a chance. This is absurd for no other reason than there are two huge bookstores within 5 minutes of that location.

 

Just trying to ease the pain...

 

I was hoping they would have turned the River Oaks Theatre into an Walgreens or a CVS.

 

who cares? they already tore down the shamrock. now that was sad. I saw Indiana Jones II and Conan II there. I saw a couple of movies at river oaks. no loss.

 

Hahahaha. That reminds me of the Fast Food wars in Demolition Man, where the only franchise left is Taco Bell.

If Subway, CVS, and Starbucks figure a way to combine their forces into one big store, they could take over the world. Where else are you going to get a sandwich, a latte, and a pack of condoms?

 

The worst part about this is cities like Houston and Dallas then turn around and spend millions of dollars trying to "recreate" a soul for their cities, after letting their souls get ripped out without doing a damn thing about it.

 

Exactly. It's just sickening.

 

From the business standpoint, B&N "needs" to compete with the Border's, and the Alabama Theater Bookstop would probably be shuttered in favor of a more standard location on the grave of the River Oaks Theatre.

Two grand former theatres and Houston historical landmarks gone for the price of one :/

 

it's also absurd for the reason of it possibly shutting down the half-priced book stores which are only a few minutes away from the theater. it's like "you've got mail" in real life.

yeah this is going to suck.

 

Don't you know, developing faux soul is much more profitable that maintaining real soul.

 

One thing I have never liked about Houston is that the city has no sense of it's own history and classic architecture. Other cities would never even consider losing a landmark like the River Oaks theater. Sickening.

 

I just threw up in my mouth thinking about the River Oaks Theater being closed.. This is under crap, we are starting to look like a cookie cutter city more and more every year…

 

I really didn't mean to imply that. sorry. I just thought the shamrock was a bigger "landmark"