This Year in Culture

One thing I learned in 2010: Not even the BP oil spill could rub out Louisiana'ssoul

I miss the people of Louisiana. They are fresh.
Photo by Katie Oxford
I miss the colors of Louisiana. Variations, it seems, of a thousand greens.Growing from the ground up, covering tin roofs, rounding corners…creepy crawlythings that are able to find the smallest crease and thrive.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Red trawler boats, worn and peeling, yet still bright in color, like the smilingface of a bearded old man.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Not the oil, or the bigger crime, the poison used to disperse it, not evenpolitics could destroy what makes Louisiana so special.
Photo by Katie Oxford
The people of Louisiana are as connected to place as the marsh is to the Gulf.
Photo by Katie Oxford
They are funny in both humorous and odd ways.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Their culture is not one of hurry.
Photo by Katie Oxford
It’s a culture of present time and unforgotten courtesy.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Giving a greeting or yielding to someone comes naturally to these folks.
Photo by Katie Oxford
“Let’s hope,” our answer this time next year is indeed…“a good one.”
Photo by Katie Oxford

When our editor popped the question, "What things struck you in 2010?” I don’t know which part of me went to Louisiana first — my head or my heart.

The Gulf Oil disaster indeed struck many, and much. The environmental effects will continue to play out for who knows how long, or how deep. The life span of the legal mess . . . I barely have the stomach to bring up.

But there’s one thing the tragedy confirmed. Not the oil, or the bigger crime — the poison used to disperse it, not even politics could destroy what makes Louisiana so special. Something large companies (clearly not BP) don’t seem to have: Soul.

Soul was born in Louisiana. It grew up after Hurricane Katrina, matured even more after the oil spill, maybe.

Even oil-stained, soul is alive and well. It lives in the little people. And I can’t wait to see some of them when I return in January.

I spoke with a few on Thanksgiving Day and we visited as though I’d just left their house and some belonging behind. I did.

One thing seems unchanged and constant. The people of Louisiana are as connected to place as the marsh is to the Gulf. They are a living testimony of the power of place. As someone who shares in this sense, I find this, not the oil, most memorable.

I miss the colors of Louisiana. Variations, it seems, of a thousand greens. Growing from the ground up, covering tin roofs, rounding corners . . . creepy crawly things that are able to find the smallest crease and thrive. How beautiful a nature is this?

Red trawler boats, worn and peeling, yet still bright in color, like the smiling face of a bearded old man. The boats, like “face,” as a friend once wrote, “is all about character.”

I miss the vast sky with marsh that invites you to walk forth forever. Roll in it like a dog in cow manure. Sing.

I miss the people, too. They're fresh. They're funny in both humorous and odd ways, funny "haha" and funny peculiar. Their culture is not one of hurry. It’s a culture of present time and unforgotten courtesy. Giving a greeting or yielding to someone whether friend or stranger, in the grocery store or along the banks of the bayou, comes naturally to these folks.

I once pointed out to a cab driver in New Orleans, “You know, you ask someone for directions here and they’re happy as clams to help you.” The cab driver, sitting with a bible in the seat next to him, laughed instantly. “Oh yea!” he said, “we help people!” Indeed they do.

Perhaps now they, along with the rest of us, will just as willingly help their place — that one-of-a-kind environment that connects to our precious Gulf of Mexico and therefore, to us and millions of others.

John Lennon pops a great question, too, in his song, “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” and it speaks to me every year.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun

Let’s hope, as he did, that our answer this time next year is indeed “a good one.”

Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of articles CultureMap will be running this last week of 2010 on The Year in Culture. The stories in this series will focus on a key point or two, something that struck our reporting team about the year rather than rote Top 10 lists or bests of.

fins and all

Towering downtown skyscraper and former headquarters for oil giant set for new high-rise apartment conversion

Photo by Getty Images

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An empty downtown skyscraper harking to Houston's energy capital brand may soon reignite the high-rise living trend in downtown.

The tower formerly known as the Humble Oil headquarters and now the Exxon building (800 Bell St.) has been sold to an out-of-state developer with plans to convert the structure to residential units. Ralph Bivins, a former CultureMap scribe, was first to break the news on Realty News Report.

Bivins reports that the 1.2 million-square-foot building was sold to a New York investment group affiliated with CMI Developers. Notably, the group boasts experience in historic redevelopment and apartment conversions. Bivins adds that the age of the Exxon building (it was completed in 1962) and its high local profile might yield available historic preservation tax credits for the developers.

As downtowners may recall, the former Exxon HQ at 800 Bell for around eight years when the company relocated to its modern new campus.

Culturally, the building has been significant as a towering symbol of Houston's energy powerhouse status. At the time of its opening, Bivins notes, the building was considered the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Its famed Petroleum Club atop the building was the site of myriad power deals, and later, special events.

Looking forward, the building presents numerous opportunities for adaptive reuse. The first floors of the building, once open to neighbors who utilized the Exxon cafeteria, can be an ideal mixed-use locale for restaurants and even retail. One hopes the building's signature "fins," crafted to block the hot Houston sun, remain a design feature.

The large scale of the Exxon tower raises the opportunity for placing a significant amount of retail or restaurants in the lower levels of the building, located between Milam and Travis. The old Exxon parking garage, located nearby, comes with the deal, Bivins point out — always a boon for parking-scarce downtown areas.

Given the green-light status of the hotly contested I-45 expansion project and plans to redevelop Midtown and areas near the Pierce Elevated, the high-rise residential could be an epicenter of new downtown growth.