Richmond Strip

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The Richmond Avenue Entertainment District, commonly known as the Richmond Strip, is an entertainment district along Richmond Avenue in western/southwestern Houston, Texas. It was especially popular in the 1990s, but it later declined as a partygoing destination in favor of other areas of town, such as Washington Avenue. Erin Mulvaney of the Houston Chronicle stated that at its peak, it was "seen as the Houston's answer to Sixth Street, Beale Street and Bourbon Street." [1]

An entertainment district is a type of arts district with a high concentration of movie theaters, theatres or other entertainment venues. Such areas may be officially designated by local governments with functional zoning regulations, as well as public and private investment in distinctive urban design.

Houston City in Texas, United States

Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States, with a census-estimated population of 2.312 million in 2017. It is the most populous city in the Southern United States and on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth most populous metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States and the second most populous in Texas after the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA. With a total area of 627 square miles (1,620 km2), Houston is the eighth most expansive city in the United States. Though primarily in Harris county, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend & Montgomery counties.

Texas State of the United States of America

Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

Contents

History

Marty Racine of the Houston Chronicle said "At the dawn of the '90s, geographically dysfunctional Houston lacked anything resembling an "entertainment district." [2] Originally the Richmond Strip housed a few pickup joints and pool halls. After large chain establishments such as Billy Blues, Dave & Buster's, and Fat Tuesday moved into the area, bars began to appear there. [3] Chuy's, Joe's Crab Shack, and Taco Cabana opened their first Houston locations in the Richmond Strip. [1]

<i>Houston Chronicle</i> newspaper in Houston, Texas, USA

The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. As of April 2016, it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. With its 1995 buy-out of long-time rival the Houston Post, the Chronicle became Houston's newspaper of record.

Dave & Busters Restaurant and entertainment business

Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of February 2019, the company has 122 locations in the United States and Canada, with more announced to open in the near future.

Chuys

Chuy's is a Tex-Mex restaurant chain established in 1982, by Mike Young and John Zapp. The company currently has 102 locations with the most recent opening occurring in Overland Park, KS on October 9, 2018. Chuy's currently has restaurants in 19 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and Ohio.

In 1993 Brad Tyer of the Houston Press said "The Richmond Strip has developed over the course of the past decade into a true entertainment district, a place to be and be seen, Houston's urban-sprawl equivalent of Sixth Street in Austin or Beale Street in Memphis or New Orleans' Latin Quarter — part local destination and part tourist trap, offering sensory overload in exchange for dollars." [4] In 1995 Racine said "Elsewhere, Kirby Drive and especially Richmond Avenue are examples of strips where a bandwagon effect has spurred the proliferation of restaurants and clubs." [2] In 1994 Greg Hassell of the Houston Chronicle said that the Richmond Strip was "the city's party strip." [5] By 1997, the Richmond Strip became well known as a party destination in smaller communities outside of the Houston area. Jene Harper, the president of the Larchmont Civic Association, said "But I'll go out of town and people say, 'oh, the Richmond Strip. I know where that is. It's where all the bars are.' In the small towns, El Campo, Sealy and all that, it's, 'Oh, you're from Houston. You ever go to City Streets? Yeah.' They drive in all the way to go to City Streets." [6]

<i>Houston Press</i> newspaper in Houston founded in 1989

The Houston Press is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.

Austin, Texas State capital city in Texas, United States

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. It is the 11th-most populous city in the United States and the 4th-most populous city in Texas. It is also the fastest growing large city in the United States, the second most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona, and the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States. As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2017 estimate, Austin had a population of 950,715 up from 790,491 at the 2010 census. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,115,827 as of July 1, 2017. Located in Central Texas within the greater Texas Hill Country, it is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways, including Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis on the Colorado River, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, and Lake Walter E. Long.

Beale Street historic district in the United States

Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km). It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are major tourist attractions in Memphis. Festivals and outdoor concerts periodically bring large crowds to the street and its surrounding areas.

By 1995 residents of some surrounding residential communities, such as Glenhaven Estates, Lamar Terrace, and Larchmont, began asking for improved noise ordinances; the noise ordinances had been revamped two years before. The clubs opposed the proposed noise ordinances. [3] In 1997 Hobart Rowland of the Houston Press said that the Richmond Strip was "the city's most successful and flashy entertainment drag." [7] At that time, the company Dennis Lange Promotions had an overwhelming majority of the live music setup business in the Richmond Strip. The company had exclusive arrangements with 45 Richmond Strip clubs, and the company gave occasional business to an additional 50 to 100 businesses. [7] By November 1997, residents of surrounding neighborhoods continued protesting the strip. Some of the major businesses of the strip had gone out of business. The Richmond Area Management District had been created during the final Texas Legislature session before November 16, 1997. The Richmond Avenue Merchants Association (RAMA) had promoted the creation of the management district. [6] Harper argued that the existence of the Richmond Strip was necessary. She said "As far as bringing conventions and other things, there needs to be an entertainment district and, right now, Richmond is the district. There's not one downtown like Dallas. You don't have a West End. There's no Deep Ellum." [6]

Larchmont is a neighborhood of single family residences located in Houston. It is located between Richmond Avenue and Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59.

Texas Legislature

The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm of the Texas government not only because of its power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government and the strong constitutional connections between it and the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, but also due to Texas's plural executive.

Downtown Houston Neighborhood of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States

Downtown is the largest business district in Houston, Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The 1.84-square-mile (4.8 km2) district, enclosed by the aforementioned highways, contains the original townsite of Houston at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou, a point known as Allen's Landing. Downtown has been the city's preeminent commercial district since its founding in 1836.

Decline and change

Mike McGuff of KIAH-TV said "But things cooled off by the late 1990s. You probably also heard reports of shootings and other crime in the area that didn't help matters." [8] By 2003, crime had been increasing in the Richmond Strip. [9]

By 2008, the party scene had declined, with the new areas of the Greater Houston club scene being Downtown Houston, Midtown Houston, and Washington Avenue. As of 2008, 1990s music plays in many area clubs, and many establishments use "z" in place of "s", such as "Dreamz" instead of "Dreams." John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said "It’s a life of, as Wash Allen from KCOH would put it, 'dealing with' strippers, or dealing with the kind of guys who are attracted to dealing with that sort of thing. As a philosophy. It’s full of apartment poolside parties, bad cocaine, the occasional dose of clap, tanning bedz[ sic ], jello shotz[ sic ], big ass beerz[ sic ], and cold Jager machinez[ sic ]." [10] Lomax concluded "And it seems that Houston no longer really wants the Richmond Strip. Sure, a few holdovers from the glory days remain, such as the Sam’s Boat empire, Centerfolds, La Bare (where “Cannon” from New Orleans is scheduled to appear), Dave and Buster’s and so on, but you think that all of these place would leap at any favorable lease they could get inside the loop." [10] In 2010 Craig Hlavaty, Shea Serrano, and Mike Giglio of the Houston Press said that the Richmond Strip was "Houston's last real nightclub row" before the emergence of Washington Avenue. [11]

Greater Houston Metropolitan area in Texas, United States

Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Coast in southeastern Texas. With a population of 6,490,180 people as of the 2010 United States Census, the MSA is the second-most populous in Texas after the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Colloquially referred to as Greater Houston, the 10,000-square-mile (26,000 km2) region centers on Harris County, the third-most populous county in the nation, which contains the city of Houston—the largest economic and cultural center of the South—with a population of 2.3 million. Greater Houston is part of the Texas Triangle megaregion along with the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Greater Austin, and Greater San Antonio.

Washington Avenue (Houston, Texas) road in Harris County, Houston, Texas, United States

Washington Avenue is a road in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named for Washington County, as it is part of the original route from Houston to Brenham, the seat of Washington County.

KSHJ is a Catholic religious radio station, relayed by an FM translator, airing the programming of Guadalupe Radio Network, and owned by La Promesa Foundation. Its studio is located in Southeast Houston, Houston.

In 2010 some club owners in the area said that the Richmond Strip is rising as an entertainment destination; they cited the opening of Scott Gertner's Sports Bar Live. [8] David Gertner, the father of Scott Gertner, owner of Sports Bar Live, said that geography was favorable. [8] McGuff also said that many Houstonians had a nostalgia for the Richmond Strip. [8]

There was a 2015 community meeting to discuss how to redevelop the Richmond Strip that was attended by urban planners, landscape architects, and real estate figures. [1]

Cityscape

The Richmond Strip is in western [3] /southwestern Houston. [12] Residential areas are not located directly on the strip. [13]

Brad Tyer of the Houston Press said in 1993 that the Richmond Strip is bordered by Hillcroft Avenue to the west and Chimney Rock Road to the east. [4] John Nova Lomax said in 2003 that it extends "from Sage or Chimney Rock to Hillcroft, or Fondren, or Gessner, or wherever it finally peters out into a ramshackle succession of car repair shops and tire barns out by Beltway 8." [9] In 2015 Mulvaney stated that it was bounded by Chimney Rock, Westheimer Road, Hillcroft Street, and Westpark Drive. [1]

The district has very large bars and clubs; some have over 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of space. Lomax said that Richmond Strip establishments were "spread out and huge," while most entertainment districts were "cozy and pedestrian," therefore "The Richmond Strip is a very Houstonian take on the concept of an entertainment district." [9] The Richmond Strip was not designed as a walkable environment; bars and clubs may be separated by long distances ranging from hundreds and thousand feet, to even 1 mile (1.6 km). Patrons were expected to drive to the area and drive to all area accommodations. Lomax said "The strip is designed so that you park and get out at one bar, or get the valet to do it for you, and do so again and again as the night wears on." [9] In 1994 Greg Hassell of the Houston Chronicle said that there were few old buildings in the Richmond Strip area. [5]

John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press, as paraphrased by Mike McGuff of KIAH-TV, said that "a major problem with the area was the fact clubs were scattered down a long stretch of road and mixed in with non-entertainment businesses. That made it hard for folks to walk, especially after a few cold ones. It's also clear that having fun and traffic don't mix." [8] David Gertner, the father of Scott Gertner, owner of Scott Gertner's Sports Bar Live, expressed a belief that the geography of the Richmond Strip was favorable for the area coming back; he said "Don't forget it is very convenient for all parts of the city and it's right off the freeway which makes it very good." [8]

Demographics of business patrons

As of 2001 the majority of clubgoers in the Richmond Strip were white. [13]

Culture

As of 1997 each year the St. Patrick's Day parade and the "Hou-Dah" parade occurred at the Richmond Strip and RAMA sponsored them. [6] The Hou-Dah parade moved its street celebration to the Richmond Strip in 1995. [14] Previously the Hou-Dah parade was held during the Mardi Gras parade in Galveston. [15]

Crime

In the 1990s, on Spring Break about 40 to 50 police officers patrolled the Richmond Strip as part of the Joint Richmond Club District Spring Break Initiative. [16] The police also organized the Richmond Avenue traffic initiative, a patrol which occurred on Saturday nights. [17]

Lt. Doug Perry of the Houston Police Department (HPD) said that after 1996, crime on the Richmond Strip had decreased 90% after he installed a program to increase the presence of police officers and divert traffic. [18] Sgt. Michael P. Kelly of the HPD Westside Division said in 2000 that every Saturday night on the Richmond strip, one shooting, stabbing, or killing occurred. [17] In 2001 Lt. S.K. Boyce of the Houston Police Department said that there were more arrests occurring along the Richmond Strip than along Martin Luther King Boulevard in South Park, where a 10-block cruising scene occurred habitually on Sunday evenings. Boyce said that of those arrested on the Richmond Strip, most were white. [13]

By 2003, crime had been increasing along the Strip. From January 2003 to May 2003, 107 robberies, 73 aggravated assaults, 10 shootings, five rapes, several attempted vehicular homicides, and several successful vehicular homicides. In almost all of the violent crimes reported on the Richmond Strip, automobiles were a key aspect, while guns were not always a key aspect. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said "In other words, guns don't kill people, but people who keep guns in their cars kill people." [9] William Martin, a sociologist from Rice University, said that he suspected that many of the perpetrators had consumed alcohol. [9] By June 2003 multiple violent crimes had occurred in the Richmond Strip. [19] Around July 2003, shootings occurred in three weekends in a row. This caused the HPD Westside Division to more strictly enforce laws against illegal U-turns at the intersection of Hillcroft Road and the 6300 and 6400 blocks of Richmond. [18] In the year leading up to July 28, 2003, nine people were injured and five people were killed in violent attacks in the Richmond Strip. [20] In 2011 Richard Connelly of the Houston Press said that the Richmond Strip was "not generally known for outright murder." [21]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mulvaney, Erin. "Crowds long gone, Richmond Strip a focus of revitalization efforts." Houston Chronicle . February 24, 2015. Retrieved on March 9, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Racine, Marty. "Woodlands to add entertainment sites." Houston Chronicle . Friday May 19, 1995. Houston Section, Page 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Milling, T.J. "Wants no more sound of music/Making noise over Richmond noise/ Residents say bars still way too loud." Houston Chronicle . Tuesday January 24, 1995. A11. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Tyer, Brad. "On the edge in Edge City." Houston Press . Thursday December 30, 1993. 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Hassell, Greg. "Something's brewing/Bottoms up, Houston: Local makers of beer are tapping into city's market." Houston Chronicle . Tuesday April 26, 1994. A1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rodriguez, Lori. "Sounds and fury / For entertainment quantity in Houston, Richmond Avenue is the place to be. But the economic strength generated by the myriad clubs is offset by the dismay of homeowners who say the neighborhood tranquility has been compromised." Houston Chronicle . Sunday November 16, 1997. A1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Rowland, Hobart. "King of Richmond Strip." Houston Press . Thursday March 27, 1997. 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McGuff, Mike. "Richmond Strip not dead yet." KIAH-TV. October 8, 2010. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lomax, John Nova. "Richmond's Burning." Houston Press . Thursday July 17, 2003. 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Lomax, John Nova. "Sole of Houston: Richmond Avenue, Houston’s Street of Dreamz." Houston Press . Thursday May 1, 2008. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  11. ↑ Hlavaty, Craig, Shea Serrano, and Mike Giglio. "Wild on Washington." Houston Press . February 9, 2010. 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ Villafranca, Armando. "Hou-Dah parade takes to the streets." Houston Chronicle . Sunday February 5, 1995. A38. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 O'Hare, Peggy. "Police try to limit cruising on MLK / Some in area dislike the traffic; others say it fosters community." Houston Chronicle . Monday April 16, 2001. A17. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  14. ↑ Staff. "PRELUDE TO MARDI GRAS/Holy Moses! It's the Hou-Dah Parade." Houston Chronicle . Friday February 2, 1996. Weekend Preview Page 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  15. ↑ Staff. "PRELUDE TO MARDI GRAS/Hou-Dah parade marches into Houston." Houston Chronicle . Friday February 3, 1995. Weekend Preview 1. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ Urban, Jerry. "Richmond clubs get more blue with Spring Break brew." Houston Chronicle . Sunday March 9, 1997. A43. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  17. 1 2 Warren, Mike. "Area police officer honored for patrol on Richmond strip / Business group salutes HPD sergeant." Houston Chronicle . Wednesday September 20, 2000. ThisWeek 3. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  18. 1 2 Crowe, Robert. "Police to increase Richmond patrol / Recent shootings prompt concern." Houston Chronicle . Saturday July 12, 2003. A33. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  19. ↑ Glenn, Mike. "Richmond strip shooting kills 2 / Cousins hit by shots from passing car." Houston Chronicle . Monday June 30, 2003. A14. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  20. ↑ Bardwell, S.K. "Shooting raises Richmond strip fears." Houston Chronicle . Tuesday July 29, 2003. A11. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.
  21. ↑ Connelly, Richard. "Esvin Sabonluis, Killed Near Richmond Strip: Man Arrested, Charged." Houston Press . Thursday November 10, 2011. Retrieved on May 27, 2012.

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