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CraigM

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Hello all,

My name is Craig Malisow, and I'm a reporter with the Houston Press. I'm looking into writing a story about the history and current status of the old Days Inn, Savoy, and Central Bank(?) buildings. So far, this forum has turned out to be a great resource.

Can anyone help with more info about current owners, building conditions, etc? I'd especially like to hear from anyone who's spent time inside the buildings.

Besides contacting me here, you can reach me at craig.malisow@houstonpress.com, or at 713.280.2481. I don't think the local media have done an in-depth exploration of why these buildings have basically been allowed to rot all these years, and I'd like to talk to all the players involved.

Thanks,

Craig

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One common problem with some of the abandoned buildings downtown is asbestos. The cost of asbestos abatement makes redevelopment very expensive, since it can involve gutting down to the frame. The old Texaco and Sheraton buildings have had abatement, but they are still awaiting redevelopment. In the case of the Sheraton, it is hard to redevelop in part because the profile of the building is so narrow (1/4 block deep) that there is little opportunity for flexible floorplans.

I suspect that asbestos is a problem at the Savoy as well. The interior of the new wing is supposed to be in decent shape, but there is already a glut of hotel rooms downtown, and demand is going to be especially thin in that section of downtown. Probably nothing will happen unless there is a sudden increase in residential demand, which I really don't see happening soon. The old Savoy building interior has collapsed, and eventual demolition is the only plausible fate for that.

There have been plans to renovate the old Holiday Inn (later Days Inn) but the apparently came to nothing. Again, it's a problem of limited residential demand.

It is unfortunate that there are so many vacant buildings downtown. In addition to the ones you mentioned, the Melrose building has been vacant for years, as has the Ben Milam and most of the West Buildings. 806 Main I believe is close to vacant, but with that facade it has zero architectural appeal despite the great location. It was originally a beautiful building, and if the facade could be removed there would might be more interest in doing something with it.

As sad as it is to have so many empty structures, I would rather have them remain standing than be torn down for yet more parking lots. Maybe some day demand will pick up, and developers will see some value in these properties.

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i could help - i have quite a few pictures, too - do the houston press lawyers approve this now (about the interior investigative parts)?

besides asbestos, the problem is of course bad stewardship. i have seen the interiors of the buildings mentioned, and man, they're nasty. it's a shame - especially the ben milam, in my opinion. i wish the owner would stop jerking everyone around and just tell us his real plans

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I sent a PM to 'squatterkid' asking if he'd be interested in sharing his experiences and observations with a wider audience.

Craig, you can go to the Members tab and check out some of his posts - you might find them helpful.

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This topic got me thinking about the vacant buildings downtown. It surprised me to realize it, but downtown Houston actually has a passable record of redeveloping, or at least not demolishing, major old structures. This is not a comprehensive list, and it excludes dozens of smaller buildings, and only covers about the last ten years, but it makes the point that the tax break for downtown hotels was probably the biggest spur to redevelopment of vacant buildings.

Redeveloped

Shell Building/Magnolia Hotel

Texas State Hotel/Club Quarters

Sam Houston Hotel

World Trade Center/Inn at the Ballpark

Whitehall Hotel/Crown Plaza

Stowers

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i would especially like to see the actual completion of redevelopment at ben milam (at a standstill - no surprise), texaco (a few bites, but nothing yet), the melrose, and central square.

i would vote for the old savoy, but it looks beyond any reasonable repair (just wiating for the day it falls over)

the stowers redevelopment was nice, but it now sits unfinished on the inside, waiting for tenants...of course, this was a Spire Realty deal, and all of a sudden the company had a huge change of heart (even after receiving a good brick award) - the stowers is empty, the william penn is gone.

______

oh and there's also the redeveloped degeorge at union station

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Didn't the Days Inn have in interesting past associated with some Maharishi Vegan Cult group of some kind? late 80's, early 90's?

yep:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1993_1117505 (registration required)

1993

A downtown Houston hotel has been purchased by a group led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the former spiritual adviser to the Beatles.

The 31-story hotel, 801 Calhoun, is expected to be used as a training center for the organization.

and

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1993_1117700

The downtown Houston hotel purchased by a group led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has been renamed the Heaven of Earth Inn and will include a Transcendental Meditation school.

and then...

1994

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1994_1226611

The Heaven on Earth Inn, a downtown hotel operated by Transcendental Meditation devotees, has closed the hotel and restaurant portion of its operations.

The 31-story hotel at 801 Calhoun now will be called the Maharishi Vedic School.

aaaaand then:

1998

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1998_3085341

Tenant Marquetta Kamoga was seated by the front desk working the switchboard. Another tenant was running the elevators.

And seated alone at a table in the lobby, working intently on paperwork about the 145 fire and health code violations that are forcing the 125 to 130 remaining tenants to be out of the building by 10 a.m. today, Houston Fire Department inspector J.D. Harris was clueless about the management.

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^ yeah, it was pretty neat looking, imo (and that image is available at the Texas Room)

One thing that I always thought was kind of funny was on top of the old Holiday Inn someone painted the single word "Hotel" at the top.

that's strange - small, and off center, too:

pdt_hotel042.jpg

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^ yeah, it was pretty neat looking, imo (and that image is available at the Texas Room)

that's strange - small, and off center, too:

pdt_hotel042.jpg

This is a guess, but it would make sense for there to have been some previous other sign above that, maybe with a brand name or something that got painted over or otherwise removed.

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This is a guess, but it would make sense for there to have been some previous other sign above that, maybe with a brand name or something that got painted over or otherwise removed.

Look at the lower left hand side of the picture. You can see the semicircular frame of what used to be the Days Inn sign and logo.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that my story on the Savoy, Holiday Inn and Central Square came out today. It's available on the racks and should be online later today at www.houstonpress.com. I'd like to thank everyone for all their time and help -- this site was invaluable. I hope you enjoy the story and am curious about your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Craig

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Actually, Houston is just one of a zillion cities with this problem. No, it won't get fixed overnight. But ... location - location - location will totally fix the problem ... in time. :unsure:

I thought there were plans to change the old Days Inn hotel to a mixed use development or something like that. There's a thread about it somewhere on HAIF . The thread just needs to be uncovered from the dust.

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So why are these eyesores still standing?

In large part because the owners are screwballs. I'd like to see them redeveloped, too, but frankly, they are 1) probably past the point at which repair is economically feasible, and 2) aren't really all that much of a problem. If the City were to even propose to do something to them, I'd be the first of many to say that there are probably many better uses of public funds, even among the projects that I don't support.

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Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that my story on the Savoy, Holiday Inn and Central Square came out today. It's available on the racks and should be online later today at www.houstonpress.com. I'd like to thank everyone for all their time and help -- this site was invaluable. I hope you enjoy the story and am curious about your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Craig

I enjoyed every word of that article. I laughed ... but then thought real hard about the subject and it wasn't as funny then. Thanks for your hard work on this. Reality bites.

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Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that my story on the Savoy, Holiday Inn and Central Square came out today. It's available on the racks and should be online later today at www.houstonpress.com. I'd like to thank everyone for all their time and help -- this site was invaluable. I hope you enjoy the story and am curious about your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Craig

It a great article.

squatter kid is awesome too.

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Actually, Houston is just one of a zillion cities with this problem. No, it won't get fixed overnight. But ... location - location - location will totally fix the problem ... in time. :unsure:

I don't think it's a matter of time though. There are buldings, such as the Savoy and Sheraton, that have been vacant for twenty years. Who's to say they won't stay vacant another twenty?

The article mentions Lee Harvey Oswald, but it missed the odd story that Oswald stayed at the Savoy in October 1963.

I'm glad that sevfiv's pictures got credit! :)

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Hola,

This really has nothing to do with anything, but...

I have read on this forum that Oswald stayed at the Savoy; however, I've found no documentation supporting that. Otherwise, I would have definitely included it! As far as I can tell, Oswald went to Mexico in late Sept., 1963, and returned to Dallas by Oct. 3. That's when Marina and baby June were living with Ruth Paine in Irving. Oswald briefly stayed at a Dallas YMCA before winding up at his boarding house on North Beckley, which is where he fled after the assassination and in the neighborhood where Tippit was killed.

Oswald apparently did stop in Houston on his way to Mexico (via Laredo), where he called the Texas Socialist Labor Party. However, in the accounts I read, it does not explicitly state he stayed in Houston. But if anyone has any more info on this, I'd love to know!

Thanks,

Craig

I don't think it's a matter of time though. There are buldings, such as the Savoy and Sheraton, that have been vacant for twenty years. Who's to say they won't stay vacant another twenty?

The article mentions Lee Harvey Oswald, but it missed the odd story that Oswald stayed at the Savoy in October 1963.

I'm glad that sevfiv's pictures got credit! :)

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Hola,

This really has nothing to do with anything, but...

I have read on this forum that Oswald stayed at the Savoy; however, I've found no documentation supporting that. Otherwise, I would have definitely included it!

On Saturday, October 5, around 7 am, a motorist, Stanley Moczygemba, reportedly picked up Lee Oswald hitchhiking along Loop 281 in southern San Antonio, and drove him 28 miles south to Leming, Texas, where Moczygemba owned a farm. Oswald told him that he'd recently traveled from Laredo to San Antonio, but was now heading back towards Laredo. Moczygemba described Oswald as mid 20s, about 5'8", 150 pounds. Oswald was wearing a hat and a heavy coat that was much too warm for the weather; the coat was closed up all the way to the neck.

Around this same time, Lee Oswald applied for a job at the Continental Oil Company in Houston, and was interviewed by a Mrs. Sheppard. He told her he had just returned from Mexico with a friend, and that they had attempted to proceed from Mexico to Cuba. He mentioned he was staying at the Savoy Apartments two blocks away. George Ryan, manager of the Stop-N-Go drive-in grocery in Houston, told the FBI that, around this time, Oswald tried on three successive days to cash a $65 check at his store.

Chris Courtwright, "Oswald in Aliceland."

John Armstrong, "Harvey and Lee: The Case for Two Oswalds, Part 2," PROBE, Vol. 5, No. 1, November-December 1997.

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