post open

Downtown's hottest new entertainment destination opens to massive crowds

The old adage of “chamber of commerce weather” was in full effect as downtown’s hottest new entertainment/mixed-use destination, Post Houston, opened its palatial doors on Saturday, November 13 to a VIP ceremony crowd and a mass of thousands of hip influencers, curious visitors, and rooftop yoga enthusiasts.

“For those not from Houston, this is what the weather is like all the time,” joked Frank Liu, the pioneering developer behind Lovett Commercial, the company that spearheaded the six-year renovation of the former Barbara Jordan Post Office.

Flanked by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, downtown icon Bob Eury, his son, Kirby, and others, Liu opened the 16-acre, 550,000-square-foot square facility in a speech that drew chuckles and cheers.

First-floor feast
Post Houston boasts a widely diverse food hall. As CultureMap has reported previously, the dining includes:

Golfstrømmen Seafood Market: The first American concept from chef Christopher Haatuft of Bergen Norway’s Lysverket, Golfstrømmen (Norwegian for Gulf Stream) will bring the chef's minimal techniques to fresh Gulf seafood. The restaurant will also sell raw seafood to-go.
Salt & Time
: The Austin-based butcher shop and restaurant offers grilled-to-order steaks, burgers, housemade charcuterie, and more.
Hawker Street Food Bar: Chef Laila Bazahm's first U.S. project will be a version of the restaurant she operates in Barcelona that serves dishes inspired by Latin American and Southeast Asian street food.
East Side King: Chef Paul Qui's popular Japanese street food concept will finally expand from Austin to Houston.
Soy Pinoy: Qui's second restaurant in the market will serve Filipino fare, including Kinilawin, Vegan Kare Kare, Fried Chicken Adobo, Chicken Inasal, Lechon and Lumpia.
Thai Kun: The Austin favorite from chef Thai Chanthong (and co-founded by Qui) serves Thai-style street food such as pad thai, black noodles, crab rice, som tum, and khao man gai.

Music, coworking, and rooftop living
Just as big of a draw are the lush and sprawling rooftop garden (called Skylawn) with scenic skyline vistas, the 713 Music Hall (look for names such as Rüfüs Du Sol opening the venue on November 18, Willie Nelson, and Megan Thee Stallion soon), an entertainment pavilion and atrium, a coworking space, and more.

Designed as a bustling city gathering place by architects OMA, the mixed-use building — large enough to fit four Boeing 747 aircrafts, a press release notes — features a massive, glistening chrome/steel interior, marked with neon-fronted food booths in the food court and three atriums.

A focal point (and Instagram favorite) are three bottom-to-top stairwells that unite the design. On the second floor, visitors will find the co-working space. The roof opens to scenic views of the downtown skyline, with lush greens offering spots to lounge, the arts atrium, fountains, a covered pavilion, and the verdant, 210,000-square-foot rooftop park and urban farm.

“Post-Houston” now
The “post” theme is central here — in homage to the old function of the building, but also “post-Houston,” noted Kirby Liu of Lovett Commercial. Frank’s son pointed out that the building is designed for a young crowd that envisions a future-forward downtown.

Mayor Turner agreed, telling CultureMap, “I’ve been here many times dropping off my last-minute income tax payments. Now it’s an urban center … and it’s reinvented as opposed to cookie-cutter. It’s taking risks. Twenty-five years ago, this wouldn’t have been thought of. You need this development that matches where the city is going.”

Turner also referenced his daughter, who told him when he was running for mayor, “build the city for people my age and younger, and to me this development is consistent with her advice.”

Reminiscent of L.A. Live in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and the High Line in New York City, Post Houston is targeted at urban dwellers and visitors, many of whom strolled the parking lot outdoor market, sipped coffee on the rooftop, took photos by the reflection pools, and even joined a Black Swan Yoga session.

Expect more developments in the near future, including a completed atrium/arts center, the opening of 713 Music Hall, and a statue honoring Barbara Jordan, as here, the past meets the future.

Orange squares dot the courtyard.

Photo by J. Thomas Ford

Orange squares dot the courtyard.

music news-you-can-eat openings downtown

pet protection

What Texas pet owners need to know about the dangerous New World screwworm

Photo by Helena Jankovičová Kováčová/Pexels

Make sure these guys are up on their flea and tick meds.

Two New World screwworm cases in dogs are among more than 30 confirmed instances in Texas and New Mexico, prompting warnings Wednesday, July 8 from veterinarians and humane societies that pet owners need to remain vigilant to protect their animals.

The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do.

Here is what to know about the parasite, the threat it poses to pets and how to protect them:

Screwworm fly larvae can infest any mammal
The fly's migration north from Panama starting in 2024, and through Mexico in 2025, has agriculture officials warning that it poses a threat to the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry, but the larvae can hatch and breed in any mammal, including wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally humans.

The problem develops when a female fly lays its eggs in open wounds and mucus. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed for about a week before maturing, dropping to the ground and continuing to develop into an adult fly.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says newborn animals and animals with open wounds or who have undergone surgery or other medical procedures recently are especially vulnerable. Even a tick bite can host an infestation, Aaron Grady, executive director of the Houston Humane Society shelter, said during a webinar on the screwworm.

Screwworm fly The goal is to stop these flies from successfully breeding.Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture

Infestation signs include restlessness and bad smell
Animal health experts say pet owners in areas where the screwworm is present — southern and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico so far — should watch their animals closely and examine them for wounds, cuts and bites regularly.

Pet owners should look for any maggots or movement in a wound. Other signs include a foul smell and restlessness or anxiety in an animal, or an animal “hyper-fixating on looking or chewing in a certain area of the body," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian at the shelter Austin Pets Alive!

Any one of those is reason enough to go to a veterinarian. The affected animal is likely in a great deal of pain, and that can cause death from shock. The larvae also can cause death if they move into vital organs or by causing infections that turn deadly.

Flea, tick medications can stop an infestation
Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. They recommend that pet owners do the same.

“It will kill the larvae as they ingest the blood and tissue,” Stansell said. “The chemical compositions of those products are what kill the actual larval stages of these flies.”

Veterinarians also can treat infestations and animals can recover if pet owners contact them quickly. Stansell said the treatment could include antibiotics.

“It is only fatal if left untreated,” she said.

An effort to eradicate the fly again is underway
The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species and decades ago would disappear each year when colder weather arrived with the fall or winter.

But state and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials aren't waiting for the weather to turn. They've returned to an eradication method that worked decades ago, breeding sterile male flies and releasing them into the wild. The female New World screwworm fly mates once in her monthslong life, and if her partner is sterile, her eggs won't hatch — causing the population in an area to drop and then disappear.

For years, the only factory breeding sterile flies in the Western Hemisphere was in Panama, but the USDA invested $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to recently start breeding screwworm flies. The agency also plans to spend $750 million on a new fly factory in Texas, set to open next year.

screwworm fly pets

post open

Downtown's hottest new entertainment destination opens to massive crowds

Orange squares dot the courtyard.

pet protection

What Texas pet owners need to know about the dangerous New World screwworm

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