After nearly 7 years of our move to downtown, I would like to reflect on the experience.   It has clearly been a rollercoaster of highlights and challenges.   

I can best break this down into the beginning, the highlights, the challenges and the now.

The Beginning

“In the beginning” we went all in. Where we lived before, every outing required a car.  I remember one day after moving downtown where we went to the MFAH (Museum of Fine Arts Houston) the car show at NRG and an Astros game in one day and never rode in a car.

Full steam ahead until we realized we needed to pace ourselves.  Which we did and settled into a nice cadence where we could enjoy downtown and not exhaust ourselves or the budget.

The Highlights

This was the sweet spot.  Since we have been here, Houston has had Four World Series (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022), hosted a Super Bowl, hosted two Final fours and the Apollo 11 50th anniversary celebration – my favorite event.  These are clearly the highlights.  There were also the annual marathon, countless festivals, outdoor concerts, the 4th of July celebrations and so on and so on.     The really fun part was that all of these things happened in our “backyard”.   The Apollo 11 celebration was really something special which I have written about separately.

The Challenges

Two clearly stand out.   One of the worst hurricanes in Houston history.  Don’t want to dwell on this.  If you were here, you know.  Deserted streets, lack of power, flooding, etc.   Don’t need to relive this.   The good news – the community remained strong and people helped each other where they could.    We got through it.   Learned some lessons.  I recall going to the GRB (convention center) early on and waiting in a line of over 100 people to VOLUNTEER.  Yes, waiting in a line to volunteer. A great example of what an amazing city this is.

The “just two more weeks” pandemic.   Favorite bars and restaurants closing, downtown workers disappearing over night.  Deserted office buildings and tunnels.  At the end of the workday, there was no “rush” hour on northbound Travis. 

The Now

Webster defines resilience as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”

Pretty much sums it up.  Most places have reopened.  Some new places have opened.  The downtown office workers have returned in full force as evidenced by buzz in the tunnels at lunchtime during the workweek. Just visit the  “The Understory” one day at lunch (800 Capitol Street).  Great to see.

Two great additions to the downtown parks including Trebly Park (1515 Fannin) and Lynn Wyatt Square (600 Louisiana), an excellent addition to the theatre district.

In some respects, its has come back stronger that it was.  The events at Market Square are at least as well attended as before with new activities added like the Saturday market series this last fall.  Same with Discovery Green.  Buzzing with activity pretty much every weekend.

The success of the Astros continues to be a big contributor to downtown activities and foot traffic (i.e., commerce for local business).

The Future

……looks bright.  World Cup anyone?

There’s a vibe, excitement, at least as strong as before the set back events noted above.

There’s a downtown district project to make Main Street more pedestrian friendly and promote outdoor activities along the street (in anticipation of the World Cup 2026).

The high attendance and energy seen in the Market Square fall series “Saturday morning market” was metaphoric of how I see “The Future” of downtown.