Why she likes it: Lord fell in love with Houston in the mid-'80s after what was supposed to be a short-term visit. "I came from San Francisco to visit a relative for a month, in July. No one comes to Houston in July, but I did, and I stayed. My life started over," says Lord. Previously, she owned her own freelance editing and transcribing company, but she's always been an explorer and a storyteller.
At first, Lord called her walking groups "Adventure Tours," as she would go without a clear plan or destination and let the group's whims lead her. "I always thought it was right to color between the lines, but I've never lived my life between the lines," she said. "Every tour is different. I don't give canned tours. It's a lot like theater, except the audience is part of the stage too. The whole thing is the stage."
What inspires her: Lord looks at things with a futurist's point of view, whether it's investing in an expensive, early-model word processor for the previous business she owned, or seeing a potential for tourism in Houston. "When I moved to Houston, I'll never forget driving down Allen Parkway, with downtown in front of me. I said to myself. 'My god, this is so beautiful. They really ought to build townhomes on the Bayou.'" She also has a thing for Houston history. In 1987, Lord didn't know much about downtown. So she started researching, and in the course of her research got in touch with a grad student in another state who sent her some info on Houston's tunnel system. "I realized that we had something really unique," she said. And thus the moniker "Tunnel Lady" was born.
What's next: The night before we talked to her, Lord had been bar-hopping, working on research for her next tour series, the historic Downtown pub crawl (which is currently running every day of the week). "My favorite tour is either the one I'm giving or the one I'm designing at the moment," she says.
More Creatives (In order of most recently published; click here for the full page).
Scarlett St. Vitus, model Wayne Stevens, actor Bill Davenport, sculpture and found art Julie Zarate, painter Margo Toombs, actor and writer Shelby Hohl, graphic designer Timothy Dorsey, writer and illustrator Lucas Gorham, musician Tracy Manford Carlson, photographer Lauren Rottet, architect and designer John Robertson, visual artist John Adelman, visual artist Chandos Dodson, interior designer Cliff Franks, painter Kim Hartz, photographer Katy Heinlein, visual artist Robert Shimko, dramaturg Galina Kurlat, photographer Wayne Slaten, filmmaker Jane Weiner, dancer and choreographer El Franco Lee II, visual artist Chris McKay, photographer Jason Ransom, visual artist Mr. SINched, fashion desiger "Uncle" Charlie Hardwick, poster designer Avital Stolar, playwright and educator Katherine Houston, visual artist Christopher Olivier, visual artist Dennis Lee Harper, sculptor David A. Brown, photographer Rachel Harmeyer, visual artist Kia Neill, installation artist Stacy Davidson, filmmaker Jennifer Wood, choreographer GONZO247 Kevin DeVil, filmmaker Kerry Beyer, photographer and filmmaker Robert Ellis, musician Davie Graves, musician and visual artist Robert Hodge, multimedia Mary Magsamen, photo and video artist John Harvey, theater Bret Harmeyer, visual artist Joel Orr, puppet master Rodney Waters, photographer and pianist Jeremy Choate, lighting designer Chuck Ivy, visual artist Tra'Slaughter, visual artist Jen Chen - visual art, designer Howard Sherman - Painter Nancy Hendrick - Founder of Dance Salad Misha Penton - Opera Singer and Theater Artist Ben Tecumseh DeSoto - Photojournalist Tracy Robertson aka Batty - Goth Fashion Designer Tierney Malone - Creative Type Dolan Smith - Painter Jenny Schlief - Mixed-Media Artist David Eagleman - Writer Anna Sprage - Painter Philip Lehl - Actor Andy Noble - Choreographer David McGee - Painter
