JW Marriott At 806 Main St. & Expansion Into Battlestein’s - 812 Main St.

[RedScare]

The original brick, before they ransacked it in the 60's, probably was more durable than a textured faux brick facade over backer board. Unfortunately it was damaged beyond repair.

Hey folks, I'm not attacking the redevelopers, who apparently you are related to or have some other emotional tie. Obviously the old brick was too damaged to look good. Just disappointing that the city's first skyscraper has to end up getting dressed in faux brick.

 

It seem you can only dish your sarcasm in one direction. Remind me to make a note of that. FWIW, the brick is not faux. It is actual brick that is sliced thin. But, you probably knew that already too, didn't you?

 

On standby for further pissy remarks...

[H-Town Man]

It seem you can only dish your sarcasm in one direction. Remind me to make a note of that. FWIW, the brick is not faux. It is actual brick that is sliced thin. But, you probably knew that already too, didn't you?

 

On standby for further pissy remarks...

What sarcasm? I am happy to hear that it will be actual brick sliced thin, although regarding your earlier post, that's still less durable than what it was originally built with.

Can't believe you're calling someone else out for pissy remarks.

[RedScare]

I give and take. Learn to do the same.

[H-Town Man]

I'd rather discuss architecture.

[RedScare]

If you insist.   

[Nate99]

So anyway, some new pics. Pardon my hand in the first, but I was trying to shade the lens from the direct sun. It looks like they have taken out a good chunk of the exterior wall on the upper floors facing Travis. You can see the exposed steel.

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2013 by Nate99

[HoustonBoy]

What are they doing with the thin building to the right of 806 in the first picture?

[Nate99]

What are they doing with the thin building to the right of 806 in the first picture?

 

I don't think anyone here knows for sure, or if they have mentioned it, I missed it. 

 

At one point I noticed that they had mocked up what looked to be "model" hotel rooms in the third or fourth floor of that section, so it is involved somehow, and I presume that it is contiguous internally, but I'm just guessing.

[Howard Huge]

I notice a lot of the older buildings downtown are sort of "fused" together.

Was it commonplace back then to build a wall touching the building next to it?

[H-Town Man]

I notice a lot of the older buildings downtown are sort of "fused" together.

Was it commonplace back then to build a wall touching the building next to it?

Yep, that's why often on older brick buildings the brick facing the street is nicer and the brick on the sides of the building is rough with sloppier mortar. The wall might sooner or later be covered by another building, so there was no point in making it look nice.

[Subdude]

It looks like the damage to the building from the glued-on facade was a lot more than I expected.

 

[flatline]

They are adding structural steel to the top of the thin building sandwiched between 806 Main and 801 Travis.

 

[Howard Huge]

They are adding structural steel to the top of the thin building sandwiched between 806 Main and 801 Travis.

photo (2).JPG photo (3).JPG

Cool pics, Spiderman.

[Nate99]

They are adding structural steel to the top of the thin building sandwiched between 806 Main and 801 Travis.

 

photo (2).JPGphoto (3).JPG

 

Great perspective.

 

Could this be an elevator shaft or fire escape stairwell? 

[H-Town Man]

They are adding structural steel to the top of the thin building sandwiched between 806 Main and 801 Travis.

 

photo (2).JPG photo (3).JPG

I'm guessing this is for extra elevators, probably wheelchair-size, to bring it up to ADA code. Or just an extra service elevator.

[Nate99]

They had the fencing open the other day as I walked past. The ground floor lobby has quite a few of the structural steel support columns running through it, I'm curious how they will work with that as I am used to seeing wide open lobbies in modern hotels.

[flatline]

Marriott has the website up:

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/houdj-jw-marriott-houston-downtown/

 

Not many details yet.  Although nothing is listed, I would be shocked if there wasn't a restaurant/bar in there at start-up.  One interesting bit that I had not seen before:  "JW Marriott Houston Downtown also offers direct access to the tunnel system. . ."

[Subdude]

The building has always had tunnel access.  It just didn't stick out much.

 

 

[Nate99]

The building has always had tunnel access.  It just didn't stick out much.

 

Before the Main Place/BG tower, 806 Main was pretty much the end of the line. Given that there were no retail/restaurants down the narrow path to get to it, and that the two buildings along that route were not terribly busy, not many ever had a reason to walk that way.

 

I don't think their is room to put anything in any closer to the hotel, but someone could get creative I suppose.

[Nate99]

Some mo' -

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2013 by Nate99

[kbates2]

I was disappointed to hear that the original brick was in a state of disrepair. I began to worry about the finished product but this thing already looks much better than before the renovation. Fan.

[Nate99]

I was disappointed to hear that the original brick was in a state of disrepair. I began to worry about the finished product but this thing already looks much better than before the renovation. Fan.

 

It looks like when they are done, it will be as near as anyone can tell to a full brick facade. The levels above the 3rd floor have a brick type pattern/overlay that someone mentioned as being thinly sliced brick applied to the coating you see in the pictures. In any case, I can't tell the difference from standing across the street.

 

I'm betting that they will re-brick the lower sections where you see the exposed steel. It should look very well done, and when you consider that it was replacing what had become a rather neglected looking building, this is will be a nice add for the area visually.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Nate99

[aarosurf]

Has anyone seen renderings of the lobby/interior? Would be interested to know if they will re-create a historic interior or go with something more modern looking.

[Nate99]

Has anyone seen renderings of the lobby/interior? Would be interested to know if they will re-create a historic interior or go with something more modern looking.

 

Haven't seen any. Given that it was always an office building with some retail at the street level, I'm not sure how much they have to work with. You can see from the street that the structural steel columns are fairly close together, so unless they do something expensive structurally, the lobby will look much different than the wide open hotel lobbies that I am used to seeing. It did not have the bank architecture to work with like the Icon.

 

Should be a very interesting building.

[Jax]

[j_cuevas713]

Such a beautiful old building!

[aarosurf]

Some history I found here ( http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/02/08/story12.html?page=all ) gives some insight into what the lobby used to be like, I hope they take a historical approach with the renovated lobby and common areas:

 

Pearl overhaul next phase for historic ‘Carter’s Folly’

The history of 806 Main is as interesting as the structure’s possible future.
The building was developed by Samuel Fain Carter, the nephew of legendary Houston businessman Jesse Jones.
At 16 stories high, Carter’s development was planned as the tallest building in the state of Texas. 
Houstonians considered a building that tall unsafe and referred to it as “Carter’s Folly.” At the same time, it was perceived to be located outside of the Central Business District.
Jones tried to talk Carter out of the project, saying Houston’s skyline would be more harmonious if no building were higher than 10 stories tall.
Two years after Carter’s building was completed and was deemed safe, Jones began erecting the new Rice Hotel, which would be one story taller than Carter’s facility.
Not to be outdone by his uncle, Carter added six more floors to his edifice in the 1920s.
The 806 Main building was originally faced with polished Texas granite, Bedford stone columns, terra cotta and brick — all hidden by a slipcover of marble and glass added 30 years ago.
Occupied by Second National Bank for many years, Carter’s building had Italian and Norwegian marble in the lobby and on all 15 original office floors.
Every office had electric fans, electric lights and a wash basin. An artesian well in the basement provided icy cold water for the city’s first office building with drinking fountains.
Betty Brown, current manager of 806 Main, says the building was a true original in more ways than one.
“It was the first building with indoor plumbing,” she says. “This was the first high-rise in Houston.”� �

[aarosurf]

Did some more digging (courtesy of the HPL at http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/search/searchterm/%22second%20national%20bank%22/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/display/200/order/nosort/ad/asc ). There are some interesting pictures from when they added the additional stories, and some pictures of bankers offices. Found this of the elevator lobby:

[Nate99]

Back up da truck...

 

[Subdude]

 

Some history I found here ( http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/02/08/story12.html?page=all ) gives some insight into what the lobby used to be like, I hope they take a historical approach with the renovated lobby and common areas:

 

Pearl overhaul next phase for historic ‘Carter’s Folly’

The history of 806 Main is as interesting as the structure’s possible future.

The building was developed by Samuel Fain Carter, the nephew of legendary Houston businessman Jesse Jones.

At 16 stories high, Carter’s development was planned as the tallest building in the state of Texas. 

Houstonians considered a building that tall unsafe and referred to it as “Carter’s Folly.” At the same time, it was perceived to be located outside of the Central Business District.

Jones tried to talk Carter out of the project, saying Houston’s skyline would be more harmonious if no building were higher than 10 stories tall.

Two years after Carter’s building was completed and was deemed safe, Jones began erecting the new Rice Hotel, which would be one story taller than Carter’s facility.

Not to be outdone by his uncle, Carter added six more floors to his edifice in the 1920s.

The 806 Main building was originally faced with polished Texas granite, Bedford stone columns, terra cotta and brick — all hidden by a slipcover of marble and glass added 30 years ago.

Occupied by Second National Bank for many years, Carter’s building had Italian and Norwegian marble in the lobby and on all 15 original office floors.

Every office had electric fans, electric lights and a wash basin. An artesian well in the basement provided icy cold water for the city’s first office building with drinking fountains.

Betty Brown, current manager of 806 Main, says the building was a true original in more ways than one.

“It was the first building with indoor plumbing,” she says. “This was the first high-rise in Houston.”� �

 

 

Some additional pictures of the original banking lobby interior.  Sorry for the poor quality of the scans.  Structures of the period had a fairly heavy supporting frame so the large open lobby one might expect today is unlikely.