Subdude Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 Rooftop pool This has always been one of my favorite buildings downtown. When it opened in 1962 it was the first downtown hotel since 1929, so it was a big enough deal that the Chronicle ran a special supplement about it. Famous guests included Jack Ruby and the Beatles during their only visit to Houston in 1965. Beatles press conference from the Sheraton-Lincoln: Fans spying: The hotel closed in 1986 but the office section of the building remained open for a while after that. The Hyatt Regency bought the building for expansion in 1998 and planned to connect it to the Hyatt with a skybridge. They got as far as gutting the Sheraton interior to remove asbestos, but the expansion fell through because of the weak economy. It has been a vacant shell ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 Very cool. The one thing I can always count on HAIF for is great Houston history. What's the address, and what does it look like today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 26, 2005 Author Share Posted November 26, 2005 It's at 717 Polk. It looks pretty much the same now, except the ground floor windows are boarded up, the interior is nothing but the steel frame and concrete slab floors, and some of the upper floor windows are broken. Also the sidewalk in front is a popular hangout for the homeless. Someone's business card I found in there once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 awesome! the "cheshire cheese old english beefe house" and "transistorized console" are my favorites i'll dig up the holiday inn brochure and post it soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 awesome! the "cheshire cheese old english beefe house" and "transistorized console" are my favorites i'll dig up the holiday inn brochure and post it soon... I'll bet for years the waiters at the Cheshire Cheese Old English Beefe House have been dreading the day when a photograph of them in those uniforms would show up on the internet. Here's a better picture of the Sheraton that shows what was around it back then. Memorial Hospital in the background. There's a brochure for the Rice Hotel I'll scan later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 i went by there last night, and it was interesting - homeless sleeping on two sides, valet for the hyatt and contract parking in the garage, HPD across one way and the hyatt across the other...have there been any recent plans for the building? i saw the inside of the lobby from the "drive-in motor entrance" and the lobby looked trashed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Back when I was in high school back in the 1970s, I remember reading in the Guiness Book of World Records what was then the most expensive hotel room. A suite in the AstroWorld Hotel which rented for $2500 a night. I don't know if the AstroWorld Hotel is still there anymore.But, as all of you know, today there are many hotels which far exceed $2500 a night. On TV there was a show about that televangelist named Benny Hinn. It showed hotels that he stayed at which cost $10,000 a night. But of course, God told him to stay there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 you can't be referring to this, can you? 2500? sheesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 i went by there last night, and it was interesting - homeless sleeping on two sides, valet for the hyatt and contract parking in the garage, HPD across one way and the hyatt across the other...have there been any recent plans for the building? i saw the inside of the lobby from the "drive-in motor entrance" and the lobby looked trashed...A while back there was a proposal to convert it into a world trade center like the one that used to be on Texas, but nothing came of it. Since the Hyatt went into foreclosure the lender owns the building now, and they are probably looking for some opportunity to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 you can't be referring to this, can you? 2500? sheesh Yes, that's it. All I remember is that's what the Guiness Book of World Records said. I read that when I was a junior in high school, which was back in 1974-75. If you could locate an edition of that book from one of those years, then you'd be able to verify what I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelimon Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I'll bet for years the waiters at the Cheshire Cheese Old English Beefe House have been dreading the day when a photograph of them in those uniforms would show up on the internet. Here's a better picture of the Sheraton that shows what was around it back then. Memorial Hospital in the background. There's a brochure for the Rice Hotel I'll scan later. Sheraton the way it looks like today 1001 main this building looks like the above two buildings Sheraton building empty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Sheraton building empty?the "drive-in motor entrance"/garage is open and in use (for contract parking and hyatt valet parking), but that's about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Yes, that's it. All I remember is that's what the Guiness Book of World Records said. I read that when I was a junior in high school, which was back in 1974-75. If you could locate an edition of that book from one of those years, then you'd be able to verify what I remember. I checked my "Library" and found a 1977 copy of Guiness... Good memory, Ashi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 good find! the celestial suite - a little gaudy, but i like it it's just hard to imagine that bathroom in that hotel...heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I checked my "Library" and found a 1977 copy of Guiness... Good memory, Ashi! Thank you for researching and verifying what I was almost certain that I remembered correctly. Now I know that my mind isn't starting to "slip" at age 47. Like I said, I was in the 11th Grade when I first read that. You've restored my confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I checked my "Library" and found a 1977 copy of Guiness... Good memory, Ashi! I think the "good memory" award goes to you Tbird, how could anyone remember that they actually have a copy of the 1977 version of The Guiness book in their library, is beyond me ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 It's people like you that make this the second-best resource for Houston history and current events on the web. Keep up the great posts, and we could soon be first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 29, 2005 Author Share Posted November 29, 2005 OK, so who is the first-best resource? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 OK, so who is the first-best resource?I was gonna ask the same thing ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Rooftop pool This has always been one of my favorite buildings downtown. When it opened in 1962 it was the first downtown hotel since 1929, so it was a big enough deal that the Chronicle ran a special supplement about it. Famous guests included Jack Ruby and the Beatles during their only visit to Houston in 1965. Beatles press conference from the Sheraton-Lincoln: Fans spying: The hotel closed in 1986 but the office section of the building remained open for a while after that. The Hyatt Regency bought the building for expansion in 1998 and planned to connect it to the Hyatt with a skybridge. They got as far as gutting the Sheraton interior to remove asbestos, but the expansion fell through because of the weak economy. It has been a vacant shell ever since. I was just thinking: How many floors did this building have? That's a big hotel. Were all of them guest rooms, or were some of them rented office space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I was just thinking: How many floors did this building have? That's a big hotel. Were all of them guest rooms, or were some of them rented office space? My oldest sister had her wedding reception there. I think I remember snooping around with my cousin and seeing some office space. I remember wondering what office space was doing in a hotel. In any event, that has always been one of my favorite buildings downtown. It would make fantastic condos/apartments. It has always just reeked of chic, IMUO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I was just thinking: How many floors did this building have? That's a big hotel. Were all of them guest rooms, or were some of them rented office space?it has 28 floors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 The top 15 floors were hotel rooms, and the horizontal slab on the bottom had the restaurants, meeting rooms, and hotel service areas. The 8 floors on the bottom of the tower section were office space. The offices and the hotel sections were served by different elevator banks. You can tell which floors were offices or hotel because the hotel rooms on top have a shorter ceiling height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelimon Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 The top 15 floors were hotel rooms, and the horizontal slab on the bottom had the restaurants, meeting rooms, and hotel service areas. The 8 floors on the bottom of the tower section were office space. The offices and the hotel sections were served by different elevator banks. You can tell which floors were offices or hotel because the hotel rooms on top have a shorter ceiling height.they should renovate this place for lofts or condos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 I checked my "Library" and found a 1977 copy of Guiness... Good memory, Ashi! The photo is not online, but today's Chronicle has a new photograph taken in the Celestial Suite. The hotel is being renovated and renamed the Houston Grand Plaza Hotel Chronicle article on Astrodome Hotel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 The photo is not online, but today's Chronicle has a new photograph taken in the Celestial Suite. The hotel is being renovated and renamed the Houston Grand Plaza HotelI thought Judge Hofheinz might have had something to do with that hotel suite. He had similar accommodations for himself in the Astrodome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 You're right. It says it was designed for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 My oldest sister had her wedding reception there. I think I remember snooping around with my cousin and seeing some office space. I remember wondering what office space was doing in a hotel.In any event, that has always been one of my favorite buildings downtown. It would make fantastic condos/apartments. It has always just reeked of chic, IMUO. There once was a show on TV called "Fantasy Island". A midget named Herve Villechaize played the part of "Tattoo". Naturally, he was a champion for short and small people. He bought a hotel and had all of its rooms remodeled to accomodate midgets (the ceilings were lowered, etc.). When he died in 1993, his will stipulated that midgets would be allowed to live in those converted hotel rooms free of charge. His will also directed that the name of the building would be: "Stay Free Mini-Pads". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 There once was a show on TV called "Fantasy Island". A midget named Herve Villechaize played the part of "Tattoo". Naturally, he was a champion for short and small people. He bought a hotel and had all of its rooms remodeled to accomodate midgets (the ceilings were lowered, etc.).When he died in 1993, his will stipulated that midgets would be allowed to live in those converted hotel rooms free of charge. His will also directed that the name of the building would be: "Stay Free Mini-Pads". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I thought Judge Hofheinz might have had something to do with that hotel suite. He had similar accommodations for himself in the Astrodome.Is Judge Hofheinz still living? It sounds like he was very wealthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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