Houston: Lively and Downright
Stylish By Andrew
Collins
A cosmopolitan city that blends Western and Southern heritage and style,
Houston has been one of America's great boomtowns of the past decade.
Its once staid, business-oriented downtown has become a trendy district
of restaurants, clubs, shops, condos, and hip hotels, along with an
architecturally stunning baseball stadium. Other central Houston
neighborhoods, including gay-popular Montrose and up-and-coming Midtown,
have also seen big changes for the better, helping to turn the nation's
fourth-largest city into a lively and downright stylish getaway.
Houston acts as a cultural capital bridging the South and Southwest,
with some of the best museums in the country. Cultural highlights
include the Menil Collection, with works by Warhol, Leger, and Picasso
in a space designed in 1987 by Renzo Piano. Within walking distance are
the Menil Collection's Cy Twombly Gallery, plus two independent
facilities: the Rothko Chapel, which contains 14 large-scale Mark Rothko
paintings commissioned for the chapel and a peaceful reflecting pool and
plaza; and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, which showcases two 13th-century
frescoes rescued from war-torn Cyprus.
Many of the city's engaging attractions lie in the Museum District,
south of downtown, anchored by lush Hermann Park. Don't miss the Museum
of Fine Arts, with its concentration of Impressionist, as well as
Italian and Spanish Renaissance, pieces. The Contemporary Arts Museum
hosts reputable temporary exhibitions. And the city's Holocaust Museum
has changing exhibits (which sometimes touch on the persecution of gays
and lesbians) as well as a permanent display that includes artifacts and
personal effects recovered from a Polish concentration camp. At the
northern tip of Hermann Park lies the Houston Museum of Natural Science,
one of the nation's most-visited museums. Check out the Burke Baker
Planetarium, which has a 25,000-square-foot tropical rain forest
complete with butterflies. (No joke: Spray Calvin Klein's Obsession on
your shoulder and the butterflies won't leave you alone!)
Houston's gay scene is centered in Montrose, an attractive neighborhood
a couple of miles southwest of downtown, with a mix of early
20th-century homes and cottages and several newer pockets of condos and
apartments. At the epicenter, where Westheimer Road crosses Montrose
Boulevard, you're within walking distance of countless gay bars and
gay-friendly restaurants. As you head farther west along Westheimer,
you'll pass a number of antiques shops and funky boutiques. Consider
taking a break from shopping with a meal at the homey Empire Cafe, which
is set inside a converted vintage service station and offers splendid
pizzas, hearty frittatas, and such breakfast treats as hot polenta with
honey-cream and toasted almonds. Another excellent nearby option is
Diedrich Coffeehouse, a spacious cafe with sunny seating areas and a
shaded patio. Continue to page
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The Hunk
