Sig Byrd

Sig Byrd's Columns Making Their Way On To The Net

Now just a couple of clicks away​There are many Houstonians who mourn the fact that the columns Sig Byrd did for the old Houston Press are not easily available.That's changing, though.Byrd wrote for the old daily (and briefly for the Chronicle), describing a city that seems unreal now -- seedy dow ... More >>

An Historic Night in Houston

Annise Parker wins the runoff to become Houston's next mayor.

La Carafe's Planned Beer Garden Stymied By City Hall Snags

Photo by photine​About three months ago, we reported exciting news for downtown drinkers who also liked to light up. La Carafe was planning to expand into the vacant lot next door. The addition was to be in the form of a beer (and wine) garden.Back in 2008's Best of Houston issue, we awarded the ... More >>

No Turkeys Allowed

Our annual holiday shopping guide to recent local releases

Houston 101: Sig Byrd, Houston's King of True-Life Noir

​Of all the columnists in the history of Houston journalism, Sigman Byrd was easily the darkest and the most literary. From the late 1940s to the early '60s, Byrd wrote a column called The Stroller for the old daily Houston Press and later, briefly for the Chronicle. He always much favored the ci ... More >>

Coming To La Carafe: More Room To Smoke and Drink

Photo by photine​In our Best of Houston issue last year, we selected the scant few tables in front of La Carafe as the Best Place to Smoke and Drink in town. We loved the place for its "prime view of the skyline" and the fact that outside speakers allowed patrons to "bathe in the sweet sound ... More >>

The Nickel: A Musical History of the Fifth Ward, Part 3

[Note: Part 1 of The Nickel is here, and Part 2 is here.] Almost as forgotten as Hersal Thomas, Goree Carter was a Fifth Ward guitarist who was credited by late New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer with being the creator of the very first rock and roll record. This was his obscure 1949 singl ... More >>

The Nickel: A Musical History of the Fifth Ward, Part 1

Back in its heyday, the corner of Jensen Drive and Lyons Avenue was known as "Pearl Harbor, the Times Square of the Bloody Fifth." You wouldn't know it today - the entire area is a vast wasteland of tired and abandoned lots and boarded-up shacks, but for much of the 20th Century this area was th ... More >>

Ten Things I Love About the Houston Music Scene

Sole of Houston: Deep Harrisburg: Lomax and Beebe Take on the East Side Again

Johnny Bush

Honky-tonk hero explores his hardscrabble Houston roots with an autobiography and a CD

Best Local CD Cover

Best Book About Houston

Best Out-of-Print Book by a Dead Local Columnist

Sig Byrd's Houston, Sigman Byrd, The Viking Press, 1955

Best Out-of-Print Book by a Living Local Columnist

Houston: Land of the Big Rich, The Story of a Fabulous City, by George Fuermann

Letters

Letters

The Lost Houston of Sig Byrd

Forty years ago, one writer captured our city better than any before or since. Now he's forgotten. And the Houston he saw? All but gone.