Envy Apartment

In the 1930s , every day except Sunday, you could find four dozen or more of Houston’s most cutting- edge artists exhibiting their works. They were part of the Houston Artists Gallery , or HAG, as they referred to themselves. Most were well-off Houston women who assembled, organized and sold their works from two renovated basement apartments , even in the darkest moments of the Great Depression. The gallery found legitimate commercial success from the basement of that still- standing Beaconsfield Apartment Building on Main Street, and artists pushed boundaries , establishing one of the first places in Houston you could sketch and paint from a nude model. Oh, and every artist was white. This was, after all, taking place in Texas, at the time the heart of the segregated South. The combination of Jim Crow and de facto racism meant black Houstonians were barred from HAG, instead relegated to display their work in the “ Colored Carnegie Library ,” a segregated branch of the m...

Employees at We-no-nah Canoe are used to working on boats. They don’t usually have to use them to get to work. The morning of Aug. 19, 2007, We-no- nah Canoe workers had to paddle to the Bundy Boulevard facility . The canoe finishing area and warehouse were underwater. So was much of Winona County . The floods claimed seven lives in Winona and Houston counties and damaged thousands of homes in the region. Dozens of roads and bridges were impassable as a result of high water, downed trees and mudslides. Starting late Saturday night , Winona County authorities began evacuating residents from Stockton, Elba, and campgrounds near Whitewater State Park . Areas of St. Charles, Goodview and Minnesota City were evacuated as rainwater rushed out of the bluffs and hills, turning creeks into torrents that washed away whatever was in their paths. Winona County Assessor Steve Hacken ’s office reported to the state in October 2007 that Winona County ’s flood-related property losses totaled $28.4...

Of all the gleaming high- rise residences anchoring the Streeterville neighborhood, perhaps the new Optima Signature is one of the most artistic. You can't help but notice the striking red glass panels that wrap the lower seven floors of the modern apartment tower or the bright yellow free -form sculpture that stands in the plaza in front of the building. The color bursts are a signature of renowned architect and developer David Hovey of Glencoe. The 57- story Optima Signature at 220 E. Illinois St. is a joint venture between Hovey's firm, Optima Inc., and DeBartolo Development. The two also partnered in 2013 on the sister building next door, Optima Chicago Center . The base of that apartment tower is similarly clad in black glass. "Our focus is on architecture and contributing to the built environment but doing it in a way that resonates with the broader community and our residents," Optima Senior Vice President Mark Segal said. "We didn't design in ...

Eventually the Civic Arena, which many came to see as a harbinger of the community’s destruction, was torn down and replaced with the modern PPG Paints Arena . Half a block away, the Freedom Corner was dedicated in 2001, commemorating the civil rights leaders of the 1950s and 1960s who sought to maintain the Hill District. It is also a symbolic gateway to the neighborhood. In 2006, a proposal to build a casino in the lower Hill District was overwhelmingly rejected by residents. To this day, the sphere of influence from downtown generally stops at Crawford Street, which for me was a jarring reminder of how ghosts from the past don’t easily dissipate. Though much of Wilson’s Pittsburgh is gone, you could use his words to tour the district. I did so, led by Kimberly C. Ellis, a digital consultant and founder of the preservation- minded Historic Hill Institute , who is also the playwright’s niece. “The neighborhood has changed a lot,” she said, adding that “there is a renewed level of p...

THREE OAKS – No injuries were reported in an early morning fire that caused the evacuation of a 16-unit, two- story apartment building in Three Oaks on Saturday, Aug. 19. Fire Chief David Flick said the alarm of a structure fired came in at 5:40 a.m. and the middle section of the roof was engulfed in flames when crews arrived at the Hidden Harbor Villas (formerly Oak Tree Apartments ) at 305 W. Locust St. The fire took about three hours to bring under control and wasn’t totally cleared until approximately 2 p.m. Peter Trigg said he came home from work at about 5:40 a.m. and immediately smelled burning plastic and heard popping sounds , went around to the back of the building and noticed that a second-floor unit’s deck was on fire. “I ran in, pulled the fire alarm as quick as I could, ran up the stairs and got my family out,” he said. Trigg noted that his his wife and 1-year-old baby along with most of the unit’s other residents were asleep at the...

The Latest on efforts to remove Confederate monuments and the nationwide fallout from a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times local): 9:45 p.m. A white nationalist wanted for crimes police say were committed on the campus of the University of Virginia a day before a deadly rally says he will turn himself in to authorities. University of Virginia police say Christopher Cantwell of Keene, New Hampshire, is wanted on three felony charges: two counts of the illegal use of tear gas or other gases and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive or fire. Contacted by The Associated Press, Cantwell acknowledged he had pepper-sprayed a counter demonstrator during a protest but insisted he was defending himself, saying he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth." Cantwell also said Tuesday evening that he had been trying for days to find out about whether he had outstanding warrants. Now th...

The Latest on efforts to remove Confederate monuments and the nationwide fallout from a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times local): A white nationalist wanted for crimes police say were committed on the campus of the University of Virginia a day before a deadly rally says he will turn himself in to authorities. University of Virginia police say Christopher Cantwell of Keene, New Hampshire, is wanted on three felony charges: two counts of the illegal use of tear gas or other gases and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive or fire. Contacted by The Associated Press, Cantwell acknowledged he had pepper-sprayed a counter demonstrator during a protest but insisted he was defending himself, saying he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth." Cantwell also said Tuesday evening that he had been trying for days to find out about whether he had outstanding warrants. Now that the pol...

Photo by Caitlin Doornbos Police suspect foul play in a death investigation at Cedarwood Apartments, Monday, Nov. 10, 2014. Lawrence homicides since July 2013 July 17, 2013 – Brittny Marie Adams, of Topeka, shoots Gary Eden , of Lawrence. Nov. 5, 2013 – Larry Hopkins shoots ailing wife, Margaret Hopkins . Dec. 25, 2013 – Marci Cully stabs boyfriend, Wayne Francisco, on Christmas morning. Jan. 17, 2014 – Sarah Brooke Gonzales McLinn is accused of slaying Harold M. Sasko. March 10, 2014 – Dustin Walker and Archie Robinson are accused of shooting Patrick Roberts in Cedarwood apartments. May 11, 2014 – Mother's Day shooting of Charles T. Brockman at apartment complex. July 26, 2014 – Angelica Kulp suspected in Christine Kaplan’s death at Kaplan’s home in the 1100 block of New York Street. Sept. 12, 2014 – Vance "Van" Moulton is found dead in his Prairie Ridge Place apartment . Ronald Eugene Heskett is arre...

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Two Raleigh residents are on edge after they found snakes inside their apartment. Alycia Williams and her roommates put down towels outside of their bedrooms to block a snake they think is still lingering in their apartment at Vie at Raleigh. Williams said her roommate saw a venomous copperhead and a black snake slither into her bedroom early Saturday morning . "I guess they were both right there and they killed one of them because they were trying to get the broom and sweep them outside, but the other one went up under my door and came in here," said Alycia Williams. Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App Williams and her roommates spread moth balls throughout their apartment trying to repel the black snake they think could still be hiding inside. They also spread "Snake-A-Way" repellant all over. Williams said she believes the snakes could have entered through a wooded area behind the complex. Management told ABC11 ani...

Fred Allen, who owned the Drinkery for many years, died on Aug. 7. (Photo by Steve Charing) Frederick “Fred” Allen, the former owner of The Drinkery, a longstanding gay bar in the Mount Vernon neighborhood , died from natural causes on Aug. 7 at the age of 86, according to his granddaughter Amy Miller . Allen, who owned The Drinkery since 1972 and maintained an apartment above the bar for more than 40 years, transferred the Class “BD7” Beer, Wine & Liquor License to Miller this past Jan. 19. The Drinkery, situated on the corner of Park Avenue and Read Streets, made news when the Baltimore City Board of Liquor License Commissioners voted 2 -1 on May 19, 2016 not to extend the bar’s liquor license based on a petition from neighboring businesses and residents alleging rowdiness , excessive noise, drug activity and violence in and around the establishment. Allen, frail and wheelchair-bound, was among those who testified on behalf of the bar at the liquor board hearing . Two weeks l...