Texaco Building (now The Star) At 1111 Rusk Street

[dbigtex56]

noticed that the metal plates on the columns were tied - any ideas?

Theft deterrent?

I imagine a big slab of bronze would probably be worth quite a lot.

[sevfiv]

Interesting. Didn't those metal plates have the Texaco logo?

they still have the outline of the emblem on the sides facing the street, but some of the "Texacos" have been removed now, if i remember correctly

in this image (taken several years ago) you can see where something has been taken away above the "Ts":

Theft deterrent?

I imagine a big slab of bronze would probably be worth quite a lot.

yeah, i was thinking that, too, but geez...after all these years?!

_____________

also noticed that Ron4Tx's photos taken above have the bands around the columns, too

Edited April 5, 2007 by sevfiv

[Vertigo58]

Wish someone had snapped photos of what appeared to be imbedded flower beds or for shrubs? There are several right beneath or next to those columns. I caught my park-n-ride across the street for years and we often had that view to gaze at while waiting. So the mind wonders "what was". The beds are irregular in shape if memory serves well. They are almost like a triangle but elongated and rounded at edges. This pertains to the building so please don't scream "Hi-jack" moderator. Homeless people love to sleep under all along here too. Perfect shelter.

[northbeaumont]

My Dad worked for Texaco for 37 years. He was transfered from the Canal Street office in New Orleans to the Rusk Building in Houston when I was 4 years old. That was 1964. He worked in that building until he retired in '87, with only a brief stint at the Bellaire Texaco Building.

I also worked in the Rusk Texaco Building in the summers of '78 through '81 while I was at A&M. One year I worked in the file storage department with a bunch of other guys my age. That was the best summer I ever had.

My Dad watched out his window as Cassius Clay was taken into the Post Office building across the street to be inducted into the service. I remember there used to be a Roy Roger's sandwich shop across the street that my Dad used to take us to eat at whenever we'd go downtown to visit him on Christmas or summer break.

I now work for a company in Dallas that fabricates and installs lightweight precast concrete panels. Somewhere around 8 or 9 years ago, I was pricing some facade renovations to the Fannin Building. It's the one behind the Texaco Building. However, both buildings are connected . Anyway, it was an Architect in Baton Rouge and they were going to update the Fannin Building with Cornices and ornate columns to match the Texaco Building. The whole project was going to be a Ritz Carlton Hotel, but it fizzled out after a few years.

My neighbor's brother worked for Texaco Credit in Houston. His name was Richard Earl Jaetzold. He and some of his co-workers were killed in a plane crash in Mexico back in 1969 on a business trip. I assume that it was the division that handled Texaco credit cards.

[musicman]

Theft deterrent?

I imagine a big slab of bronze would probably be worth quite a lot.

yeah i know the fountains in the market square area have had the metal stolen several times as well as those by the rice garage.

[northbeaumont]

Interesting. Didn't those metal plates have the Texaco logo?

Now I remember the oil company acronyms:

TEXACO--Texas Company

CONOCO--Continental Oil Company

ARCO--Atlantic Richfield Company (formerly SINCLAIR)

ENCO--ENgery COmpany

Maybe someone out there knows some more of them. I also remember a station that had just a sign of a finger pointing down that had the word GAS in it, no brand name. I guess that today's generic equivalent would be RACEWAY/SPEEDWAY.

[Nate99]

I walked by there yesterday and noticed that there were some welders constructing what looked to be steel catwalks (not sure what you would call them) along one side of the big hole in the ground next to the old abandoned Texaco building at Fannin/Capitol. Anyone know what is going on there? It is the first activity that I have seen there in years. A construction company had its banner sign on one of the chain link fences, but I don't remember the name.

[Nate99]

Posted in Downtown forum also, but thought I'd put it here as well...

I walked by there yesterday and noticed that there were some welders constructing what looked to be steel catwalks (not sure what you would call them) along one side of the big hole in the ground next to the old abandoned Texaco building at Fannin/Capitol. Anyone know what is going on there? It is the first activity that I have seen there in years. A construction company had its banner sign on one of the chain link fences, but I don't remember the name.

[editor]

Merged topics.

[Nate99]

I went back and looked again, and if I had to guess, I would say it looked like they were putting in a permanent walkway where the hole in the ground encroached on whatever right of way is required for the sidewalks downtown. I know that there had previously been a wooden structure there that is now gone, replaced by the steel structure that is now being built.

The construction company is GT Leach. Based on their website, it doesn't look like they would just be doing remediation of an abandoned site to keep it from being a code violation, but who knows. The structure looks like it would be permanent, something along the lines of what you would see supporting a steel stadium bleacher.

[Nate99]

Took this pic today. Doesn't look like anyone is working on anything else at the site. I guess they were just building a workable sidewalk.

[Jax]

What's up with that big hole? I've always wondered...

[sevfiv]

Was parking back in the day..

[kylejack]

There has been significant streetwork going on right in the middle of Rusk right here as well. They dug a giant hole right in the middle of the street. I peeked in a window of the Texaco building about a week ago and there was a desk set up against a wall with a lamp on, but I didn't see anybody.

[ttuchris]

Didn't this building go up for sale this summer? I have been searching for articles on it, but I can't find anything. What a great building. It really needs to be saved.

[JJVilla]

I was trying to imagine what this building looked like but realized it was before my time or before I went in that area so I found the following picture:

Texaco Building?

What this it?

Never mind, found it: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2216/Texaco-Building.php

Edited October 21, 2010 by JJVilla

[Nate99]

This "catwalk" (for lack of a better descriptor) seems like an awful lot of work for an empty property. It's hard to imagine a circumstance where an owner would be able to put that kind of money in to something that has no indication of an ability to generate revenue for them at the moment, so that was why I suspected that, perhaps, something might be in the works for the whole site. Maybe the code violation penalties were severe enough that condemnation and seizure of the property was threatened, form my non-real estate background, that would seem to be the only reason an owner would be motivated to do this.

There is an old RV trailer there to the left of the hole in my picture that I think someone lives in to serve as a security guard for the building, but that has been there for a long time.

The hole in the street might have something to do with the new light rail lines, one of the workers was wearing a hard hat with the HRT logo on it.

[sevfiv]

^Yep - this should be a more current, similar view (Kress building lower right):

[kylejack]

St. Germain Lofts is two buildings that were fused together by Randall Davis and made into condos, the original 8 story Kress building that fronts Main Street and Capitol Street and the newer 5 story building with a garage facing Fannin. Does anyone know when this second building was built? I looked at some old photos and it wasn't there into the 70s, but then there's a gap in time that I've not been able to fill, so I don't know what it was before the Randall Davis rehab that began in 1983. Were the buildings always connected, or did this happen during the 1983 renovation? If separate, what was the name of the building before the renovation?

The buildings are connected on floors 1 and 2, and also on 5/5.5 via a patio.

[ricco67]

The hole has been there forever and precedes even the THOUGHT of light rail in the area.

Nate could be correct as far as the penalties goes, you don't do that much work unless there is an incentive to do so, then again, it could be part of the rail line since the lines are going to be running along the south side of capital.

[editor]

What's up with that big hole? I've always wondered...

Isn't this the location that was cleared in anticipation of a new very high-end hotel back around 2002? A Ritz-Carlton, or something?

[Porchman]

Isn't this the location that was cleared in anticipation of a new very high-end hotel back around 2002? A Ritz-Carlton, or something?

Yes. Then some other things were poposed, but nothing materialized

Texaco Building leads CBD hotel surge

From Ritz to rentals: Group could turn Texaco building into apartments

Edited October 21, 2010 by Porchman

[ricco67]

I think 1111 Rusk could turn into some awesome apartments/condos. The area behind it could make a great hotel.

[NenaE]

The old Texaco Building needs to be seen in person, to really be appreciated. It's awesome. I do hope something good awaits it.

[KinkaidAlum]

It's a beautiful old building.

In the early days of downtown rejuvenation, It was going to become a Ritz-Carlton. I cannot even imagine how nice they would have shined her up. A real shame it didn't go through.

A few years later, it was slated to become a Renaissance Hotel. I believe that is when the original work was done to remove the structure that stood on what is now the empty block but I am not certain. I believe their plans called for building a new garage and motor court entryway.

[Houston19514]

It's a beautiful old building.

In the early days of downtown rejuvenation, It was going to become a Ritz-Carlton. I cannot even imagine how nice they would have shined her up. A real shame it didn't go through.

A few years later, it was slated to become a Renaissance Hotel. I believe that is when the original work was done to remove the structure that stood on what is now the empty block but I am not certain. I believe their plans called for building a new garage and motor court entryway.

That is essentially correct. The new construction also was to include ballrooms and other hotel facility space too (I think health club/spa, etc)

[NenaE]

My sister told me she worked in the old Texaco building, once, in a banking branch. She kept talking about the very old elevator she had to take (to get to the basement, I think she said), and how scary it was. I couldn't believe she actually worked there. I just thought wow, how cool! She talked about how old the records (papers) were, everything was old style.

[editor]

Robert Love uploaded a couple of his pictures of the Texaco Building to the web site today. I've added them to this message. You can see them on the original Houston Architecture web page here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2216/Texaco-Building.php

[DMac]

Sum additional data/info. The old hisorical 12 story (no #10 noted from source, mechanical maybe?) Bldg. had a (710-20) San Jacinto address w/no address noted for Rusk. It is sited on the S/E corner of Rusk/San Jac w/a compass oreintation as north to south.

In the lobby of the Bldg. was Eddie Rapp Cigar Store.

The 4 adjacent streets are as follows: Capitol (1100 blk) w/Southwestern Bell Telephone across the str.

San Jacinto (700 blk) w/old Sam Houston Post (now US Customs House) across the str.

Rusk (1100 blk.) w/Alright Auto Park across the str. &

Fannin (700 blk.) w/Houston Post, Tx. State Hotel, & Walgreen's across the str.

Sources: 1940 Donwowner map w/specific details of ALL merchants/Bldg's.

1945-46 City Directory w/specific details a to ALL known tenents w/n each Bldg. etc.

Respectfully

DMac

[asubrt]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7530965.html

Looks like there's a good chance that the Texaco building gets redeveloped into apartments with retail! This would be a great use of a classic building.