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Montagu Hotel At 804 Fannin St.


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Fannin is such an interesting street, with the old hotels across from Houston Center. I walked by your place on my way to lunch today. It is definitely looking better. The signs could afford to go, as you said. It would help to hose down the sidewalks occasionally, as some of the former residents seem to think the sidewalk is their personal urinal.

Other than that, good job...and good luck on the rest of it.

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Thanks. Glad you enjoyed our website. I will be continuously updating it as more historical facts, photos and artifacts are unearthed regarding the Hotel Cotton's past.

I agree with you that the recent renovations of the TSH (Club Quarters) and the Stowers Building have created a more favorable environment for our building. The only problem we have is that it is very difficult, financially, to turn around an old building without a big influx of cash and the support of the city and one's business neighbors. All of these things are pretty much lacking right now - which makes the attempt to renovate and clean-up a slow and tedious process.

My intention is to be a good neighbor to the other businesses in the area and to do my part to clean up the neighborhood and turn this facility back into an asset, rather than a liability, to the downtown area. I could accomplish this much more quickly if I can find a way to access grant money for renovation work. I've been told that there is a such thing as grant money for restoring historic old buildings and I'd like to know where one goes to apply for such grants.

That was odd, wasn't it? When I read in the Houston Chronicle that the deciding factor in the William Penn's demise was that the ceilings were too low, I was skeptical.

I don't claim to know how high the ceilings were in that building, but I do know that in the South in those days when air conditioning was pretty much unknown, most buildings were constructed with high ceilings to allow hot air to rise above the average person's head. I would be surprised to hear that the ceilings in the William Penn were 8 or 9 feet in height, for example. My expectation is that 10 or 11 foot ceilings or higher would have been the norm for a building of that era - so the excuse sounds phony.

I think the real reason the building was torn down is that there simply is no market in Houston right now for more luxury hotels downtown. There is a glut of such rooms in the downtown market and about 2,000 rooms need to go off the market for the rest of the hotel industry downtown to become profitable again.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed our website. I will be continuously updating it as more historical facts, photos and artifacts are unearthed regarding the Hotel Cotton's past.

I agree with you that the recent renovations of the TSH (Club Quarters) and the Stowers Building have created a more favorable environment for our building. The only problem we have is that it is very difficult, financially, to turn around an old building without a big influx of cash and the support of the city and one's business neighbors. All of these things are pretty much lacking right now - which makes the attempt to renovate and clean-up a slow and tedious process.

My intention is to be a good neighbor to the other businesses in the area and to do my part to clean up the neighborhood and turn this facility back into an asset, rather than a liability, to the downtown area. I could accomplish this much more quickly if I can find a way to access grant money for renovation work. I've been told that there is a such thing as grant money for restoring historic old buildings and I'd like to know where one goes to apply for such grants.

That was odd, wasn't it? When I read in the Houston Chronicle that the deciding factor in the William Penn's demise was that the ceilings were too low, I was skeptical.

I don't claim to know how high the ceilings were in that building, but I do know that in the South in those days when air conditioning was pretty much unknown, most buildings were constructed with high ceilings to allow hot air to rise above the average person's head. I would be surprised to hear that the ceilings in the William Penn were 8 or 9 feet in height, for example. My expectation is that 10 or 11 foot ceilings or higher would have been the norm for a building of that era - so the excuse sounds phony.

I think the real reason the building was torn down is that there simply is no market in Houston right now for more luxury hotels downtown. There is a glut of such rooms in the downtown market and about 2,000 rooms need to go off the market for the rest of the hotel industry downtown to become profitable again.

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My own personal preference is to be historically authentic and to have a reproduction of the original "Hotel Cotton" sign mounted back on the corner of the building at Fannin and Rusk.

It might clash with the architecture and it might suggest something a little too "elegant" for what you all are intending but I would like to see something in Art Deco neon, maybe. Not enough Art Deco downtown, IMO, even when it comes to the signage.

When I look at the building design, though, I'm not sure if it would be a good match.

Are there any old photos of the "Hotel Cotton" signage?

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Please excuse me because I dont know how navigate this site but I wanted to suggest that Randy Pace who is the city Preservation Officer might have some links to possible revenue sources for renovation. His number is 713 837 7796

I wonder if the Texas Historic Commission could help.

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Hey - that's great. :D The postcard might have first been printed in a prior year, but at least your card confirms that this design dates back at least as far as 1918. I'd love to see a scan of the back of the card if you could post it here.

i have it at home...will do.

btw, what's the site where you got the info and picture of the postcard? i'd like to check it out

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Fannin is such an interesting street, with the old hotels across from Houston Center. I walked by your place on my way to lunch today. It is definitely looking better. The signs could afford to go, as you said. It would help to hose down the sidewalks occasionally, as some of the former residents seem to think the sidewalk is their personal urinal.

Other than that, good job...and good luck on the rest of it.

Thanks. You are right about the sidewalks. The vagrants have made a mess of them over the past few decades. Every morning I have one of our housekeepers sweep the sidewalks clean of the trash and debris left by the usual suspects overnight. I'm also trying to get my hands on a pressure washer we have in storage at an off-site location so we can blast the sidewalks and the lower facade of the building to remove some grime and hopefully some of that funky smell that is so unpleasant at the street level.

I'd just like to improve the whole ground level experience in general as people walk by our building. To this end, we've been doing our best to discourage people from loitering around our building. I've also tasked my maintenance guys with cleaning up the windows on the ground level because the previous managers had never bothered to clean them over the past couple of years and they were really nasty looking. We got a nice start on that earlier this morning and will continue this effort until all of the windows are sparkling clean. One problem, however, is that some of the plate glass windows have been defaced and damaged by vandals and will eventually have to be replaced. Can't do it right now as we have other maintenance and renovation work that is higher priority, but want to do it eventually as business improves.

While we are on the subject of sidewalks and improving the street-level atmosphere, I should mention that a few months ago I fielded a phone call from the G.M. of the Club Quarters and he advised that the City of Houston was planning to tear up the old sidewalks on Rusk Avenue between Main and Fannin and to replace them with newer and more stylish sidewalks. This was suppossedly going to transpire in September or October of last year, but nothing ever happened. I'm hoping that the project is still in the works and that the city will do this because the sidewalks on Rusk positively *reek* with the odor of urine from all the winos who've used that area as their personal lavatory over the years. :angry2:

Please excuse me because I dont know how navigate this site but I wanted to suggest that Randy Pace who is the city Preservation Officer might have some links to possible revenue sources for renovation. His number is 713 837 7796

I wonder if the Texas Historic Commission could help.

Good leads. Thanks. I'm going to check these out. :)

It might clash with the architecture and it might suggest something a little too "elegant" for what you all are intending but I would like to see something in Art Deco neon, maybe. Not enough Art Deco downtown, IMO, even when it comes to the signage.

When I look at the building design, though, I'm not sure if it would be a good match.

Are there any old photos of the "Hotel Cotton" signage?

All I have at present are the photos and illustrations on our website - none of which present a very clear image of the vertical sign formerly present on the Fannin & Rusk corner of the building. I've got to cruise down to the Houston Public Library and start perusing every decent Houston history book I can find that has photos of old downtown. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a good shot, because the Internet has yielded nothing.

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Wyatt,

Is the Hard Hat Deli still open? I always see that sign on the side of the hotel when I drive by your hotel and wonder A) What in the world it is B) is it even still there?

By the way, I find it very, very encouraging the efforts you are taking to upgrade the hotel. In looking around, there definitely is a market for a clean, economical hotel, especially if Houston ever hopes to have some casual visitotrs/ tourists stay in the area. Between the Hilton, Icon, Magnolia, Alden, etc. there isn't a lack of high end. Thanks for keeping us informed on your progress.

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Great images! Any objection if I use them on the website's history page?

thanks - no problem, just a small credit would be nice

i should have more up about the hotel soon wheni re-launch my site

i can put a link to the hotel's website on that page as well (not a whole lot of exposure, but it's something :) )

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Wyatt,

Is the Hard Hat Deli still open? I always see that sign on the side of the hotel when I drive by your hotel and wonder A) What in the world it is B) is it even still there?

By the way, I find it very, very encouraging the efforts you are taking to upgrade the hotel. In looking around, there definitely is a market for a clean, economical hotel, especially if Houston ever hopes to have some casual visitotrs/ tourists stay in the area. Between the Hilton, Icon, Magnolia, Alden, etc. there isn't a lack of high end. Thanks for keeping us informed on your progress.

Thank you for your interes in our renovation project. In answer to your question, the Hard Hat Deli operated only for a short time - primarily drawing business from the construction workers who performed the complete overhaul of the old Texas State Hotel (Guest Quarters) about 3 years ago. I was not here at that time, but I've been told that the gentleman who leased our restaurant space to operate the deli was not a very diligent businessman and he soon went out of business after the renovation work at the Texas State Hotel (Club Quarters) ended, so the restaurant has been closed for about 2 years now, I think.

I've been trying to persuade my uncle to go ahead and remove the Hard Hat Deli signage because I think those signs looks very cheap, cheesy and low-class, but he has been reluctant to do so. He seems to think that it'll cost him money to get another sign permit if he removes the old sign and he hates to incur unnecessary expenses. At one time, the G.M. over at Club Quarters offered to send a crew over to remove the signs - which I would have gladly accepted in a New York minute - but my uncle vetoed the idea for the aformentioned reason. :(

In any event, we've been showing the restaurant facility to mulitiple prospective tenants who've been considering opening a new restaurant in that space, but no takers yet. I'm hoping someone will come in and put in either a short-order cafe or a chain franchise like Starbucks or something along those lines. Heck, even a burger place like Jack in the Box would be an improvement - although I'm not wild about fast food chain signage. Still, a new restaurant would be an added convenience for guests in the hotel since we presently lack in-house dining and it would draw more pedestrian traffic from neighboring office buildings and would provide the hotel with another revenue stream to aid us in our renovation efforts.

thanks - no problem, just a small credit would be nice

i should have more up about the hotel soon wheni re-launch my site

i can put a link to the hotel's website on that page as well (not a whole lot of exposure, but it's something :) )

No problem. How would you like for the credit for the images read?

Also, thanks for the link! :)

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Thank you for your interes in our renovation project. In answer to your question, the Hard Hat Deli operated only for a short time - primarily drawing business from the construction workers who performed the complete overhaul of the old Texas State Hotel (Guest Quarters) about 3 years ago. I was not here at that time, but I've been told that the gentleman who leased our restaurant space to operate the deli was not a very diligent businessman and he soon went out of business after the renovation work at the Texas State Hotel (Club Quarters) ended, so the restaurant has been closed for about 2 years now, I think.

I've been trying to persuade my uncle to go ahead and remove the Hard Hat Deli signage because I think those signs looks very cheap, cheesy and low-class, but he has been reluctant to do so. He seems to think that it'll cost him money to get another sign permit if he removes the old sign and he hates to incur unnecessary expenses. At one time, the G.M. over at Club Quarters offered to send a crew over to remove the signs - which I would have gladly accepted in a New York minute - but my uncle vetoed the idea for the aformentioned reason. :(

In any event, we've been showing the restaurant facility to mulitiple prospective tenants who've been considering opening a new restaurant in that space, but no takers yet. I'm hoping someone will come in and put in either a short-order cafe or a chain franchise like Starbucks or something along those lines. Heck, even a burger place like Jack in the Box would be an improvement - although I'm not wild about fast food chain signage. Still, a new restaurant would be an added convenience for guests in the hotel since we presently lack in-house dining and it would draw more pedestrian traffic from neighboring office buildings and would provide the hotel with another revenue stream to aid us in our renovation efforts.

No problem. How would you like for the credit for the images read?

Also, thanks for the link! :)

that would be great if you could get a new restaurant tenant.

also, what would it take to get in-house food going? (besides a lot of $) - maybe those stoves in the basement still work! :)

also, I PM'd you about the credit information

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that would be great if you could get a new restaurant tenant.

also, what would it take to get in-house food going? (besides a lot of $) - maybe those stoves in the basement still work! :)

also, I PM'd you about the credit information

Like everything else in a renovation - money drives the whole shootin' match. The more dough you have - the faster and nicer you can go with the renovation. Same is true with the restaurant for in-house dining. It will be costly, but perhaps not too costly if we can lease the space for the restaurant - then all we have to do is prep the rented space for the new occupant.

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Guest danax
:o i just had the tour a couple weeks ago!!! geez

As did I. Hmmm.

One can just wonder why. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that the owner was being disingenous with all of the talk of restoration but I did wonder earlier why he hadn't registered it as a Historic Landmark per the city's new ordinance. The work he'd done so far could've been to attract buyers but he seemed sincere.

Ah well, it will make a fine parking lot, but at 6.5 million? I'm getting a little too preservationally jaded these days. Maybe not.

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As did I. Hmmm.

One can just wonder why. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that the owner was being disingenous with all of the talk of restoration but I did wonder earlier why he hadn't registered it as a Historic Landmark per the city's new ordinance. The work he'd done so far could've been to attract buyers but he seemed sincere.

Ah well, it will make a fine parking lot, but at 6.5 million? I'm getting a little too preservationally jaded these days. Maybe not.

Hello to All,

Folks - you'd be in error to leap to hasty conclusions, so let me put this rumor mill stuff to rest. This building has been on the market for many years and is continously listed for sale - this is nothing new. This never really changes because the owners are of retirement age and are not averse to selling the building if the right buyer should come along. It should also be noted that every buyer that has ever come here to look at the place has done so with the idea of renovating the place - not knocking it down to make another downtown parking lot.

Nevertheless, when I came on as general manager our focus shifted away from trying to sell and towards renovation. There have been many "tire-kickers" come through here to look at the place, but none of them ever make serious offers that are in line with the kind of money the owners would have to have to sell. This being the case, it was decided to renovate, because it is believed that the chances of a sale happening at any time in the near future at the listed price is highly unlikely and the owners are not inclined to give the place away by dramatically slashing the price.

So, back to the renovation. If anyone doubts that the renovation process is serious, you should come down to the hotel and see the work being performed. We are currently patching walls, repainting and replacing all carpet with ceramic tile flooring in every room of the hotel. This process has been ongoing for several weeks and will take about four more months to complete. We have also kept a plumber and a carpenter busy here for the past two weeks making other much needed repairs to the building. Most importantly, we have also purchased a new 80-ton air conditioning chiller that will be lifted up on the roof with a crane very soon - possibly within the next two weeks - (we're waiting for the permits) - and this represents a very serious investment of funds.

Also, last week I met with representatives from the Main Street & Market Square Redevelopment corporation to discuss the renovation work and how we might apply for grants to restore the exterior of the building and the sidewalks on Fannin Street. I would not have wasted my time or theirs if our renovation project were not a serious one.

FYI - We have also filed an "assumed name" at the courthouse so that the hotel may operate once more at the "Hotel Cotton." The name change is coming soon and I'm taking bids from sign vendors to change the signage on the outside of the building.

I hope this information sets everyone's mind at ease.

Cordially,

-George Kalas

General Manager

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As did I. Hmmm.

One can just wonder why. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that the owner was being disingenous with all of the talk of restoration but I did wonder earlier why he hadn't registered it as a Historic Landmark per the city's new ordinance. The work he'd done so far could've been to attract buyers but he seemed sincere.

Ah well, it will make a fine parking lot, but at 6.5 million? I'm getting a little too preservationally jaded these days. Maybe not.

Hi,

Yes - please do not jump to conclusions. Not listing a building as a protected historic landmark under the city's preservation ordinance is not necessarily an indication that the building owners are chomping at the bit to knock down their building.

The reason the Hotel Cotton building has not been registered as a historic building with the city is due to a concern that too much control over one's private property must be yielded to outside individuals once this is done. My family's entire livelihood is tied up in this building and they are understandably cautious about yielding too much control over their private property to non-owners who do not have to share the financial consequences of building renovation and maintenance decisions.

Historic preservation is much to be desired and I'm strongly in favor of it, but it must be appreciated that this need must be balanced with the legitimate financial concerns of property owners who bear all of the cost of maintenance, operations and taxation for these historic buildings.

It is my own view that the best preservation ordinances are those that provide financial aid and incentives with minimal outside interference in the day-to-day business operations of the properties. A good example of this would be the exterior facade grants from the Main Street & Market Square Redevelopment Corp. From what I've read so far, these appear to provide tremendous financial aid to building owners to facilitate the restoration of the exterior facades of their buildings and the only strings attached concern not making future modifications to the exterior facade without prior consultation with a review board to ensure appropriateness. This is not unreasonable and, most imporatantly, it does not in any way interfere with what one does with the inside of one's building.

At some point in time, I think it would be a good thing for the Hotel Cotton building to become a protected historic landmark since the building is nearly a century old, but that probably will not become a practical option until the restoration of the building is much farther along than it is at present.

-George Kalas

General Manager

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Guest danax

Mr. Kalas, I cringed when I wrote that because I really didn't believe that was your intention. I do understand your legimate concerns with regards to the Landmark status too. When considering whether or not to do the same for my house, my knee-jerk reaction was "of course", but then I realized that I still wanted to add a fairly large back porch, which would not be permitted most likely since there wasn't one originally, so I haven't yet applied.

Thanks for being so open with all of us here.

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Mr. Kalas - thanks for sharing so much information with us on HAIF and for your efforts to restore the Hotel Cotton and for your website. I wish more Houston businesses would maintain a website detailing their history like yours. :)

I was going to bring your attention to the pictures on the UT website from the Bailey studios but I see you already have those. Perhaps I can help with something else, however.

KPRC was never located at the Cotton - I can be very sure of that - but perhaps its sister station KTLC was. KTLC was originally licensed to the Fort Bend County School Board at Richmond as KGHX in 1928, sold to some Houston businessmen in 1929 and moved to Houston. I don't know it's whereabouts at first but later, in the last few months before going silent, it was partially owned by the Post, managed by the manager of KPRC, and operated form the former KPRC studios atop the Post plant at Polk and Dowling (now demolished). KPRC at that time was in the Post Dispatch skyscraper at Texas and Fannin, now the Magnolia Hotel, and in the mid 30s moved to the Mezzanine of the Lamar Hotel.

I'll be looking into that in my research and get back to you if I find an answer.

BTW, KXYZ was in the basement of the Texas State Hotel, your neighbor, for about 5 years in the 30s before moving to the Gulf Building.

Much later, however, 2 radio stations operated from the Montqagu. Ca. 1960, I don't know for how long before or after, KRCT had studios in the Montagu. This station later became KIKK (AM 650). It was licensed to Pasadena. Then probably after that, KTLW had studios in the Montagu. This station was licensed to Texas City (AM 920) but put a very good signal over Houston and did very well here. I can remember driving down Fannin ca. the late 60s-early 70s and seeing a sign for KTLW at the Montagu.

Both stations were daytime only operations and both were Country.

When KENR brought 24 hour Country to Houston, KTLW retreated to Texas City and was never a factor here again; this was at least by 1972.

If you're ever cleaning out some old closet or storage space and find some old radio memorabilia or artifacts, let me know.

And, oh yes, thanks for the idea of having a hotel downtown in my price range!

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There is a possibility that a heavy lift crane will arrive Thursday night (March 23rd) after 8PM to hoist the new A/C chiller and transformer unit unto the roof of the hotel. I won't have positive confirmation until later today. So, if anyone happens to be downtown this evening you might want to check it out. The lift will take place on Rusk Avenue - the side of our building facing the Club Quarters (formerly the Texas State Hotel.) It's been many years, (I think at least 32 years), since anything this big and this heavy has been lifted up to the roof with a crane.

The installation of this new A/C unit is a very welcome and much needed improvement to the hotel's infrastruture. The old A/C system was very prone to breakdowns and was doing a poor job of cooling the building during the hot season. All we did was sweat here all last summer, so the installation of a new, reliable system will be a major step forward in brining up the quality of the hotel.

-George Kalas

General Manager

Well,

Thank you for the information. Your reply would seem to sensibly address particular concerns relating to the building and its future.

No problem. I was not offended and fully comprehend why so many who love downtown's historic architeture are jaded about property owner intentions. Houston has a poor track-record for preservation, but I think more and more people are coming to appreciate how preserving old structures can add value to a community and to the bottom line of a business as well.

Regards,

-George Kalas

Mr. Kalas - thanks for sharing so much information with us on HAIF and for your efforts to restore the Hotel Cotton and for your website. I wish more Houston businesses would maintain a website detailing their history like yours. :)

I was going to bring your attention to the pictures on the UT website from the Bailey studios but I see you already have those. Perhaps I can help with something else, however.

KPRC was never located at the Cotton - I can be very sure of that - but perhaps its sister station KTLC was. KTLC was originally licensed to the Fort Bend County School Board at Richmond as KGHX in 1928, sold to some Houston businessmen in 1929 and moved to Houston. I don't know it's whereabouts at first but later, in the last few months before going silent, it was partially owned by the Post, managed by the manager of KPRC, and operated form the former KPRC studios atop the Post plant at Polk and Dowling (now demolished). KPRC at that time was in the Post Dispatch skyscraper at Texas and Fannin, now the Magnolia Hotel, and in the mid 30s moved to the Mezzanine of the Lamar Hotel.

I'll be looking into that in my research and get back to you if I find an answer.

BTW, KXYZ was in the basement of the Texas State Hotel, your neighbor, for about 5 years in the 30s before moving to the Gulf Building.

Much later, however, 2 radio stations operated from the Montqagu. Ca. 1960, I don't know for how long before or after, KRCT had studios in the Montagu. This station later became KIKK (AM 650). It was licensed to Pasadena. Then probably after that, KTLW had studios in the Montagu. This station was licensed to Texas City (AM 920) but put a very good signal over Houston and did very well here. I can remember driving down Fannin ca. the late 60s-early 70s and seeing a sign for KTLW at the Montagu.

Both stations were daytime only operations and both were Country.

When KENR brought 24 hour Country to Houston, KTLW retreated to Texas City and was never a factor here again; this was at least by 1972.

If you're ever cleaning out some old closet or storage space and find some old radio memorabilia or artifacts, let me know.

And, oh yes, thanks for the idea of having a hotel downtown in my price range!

Wow! What great information! Thanks for sharing this. :-)

It is so much easier working up a solid history of the hotel when knowledgeable people volunteer their memories of the building and donate research effort in this manner. I'm going to update the website appropriately and will be happy to give you credit if so desired.

I'm very pleased that many are enjoying the information and picutres I've posted to the website. I'll be adding more pictures soon and at some point I'll probably have to re-structure the history section into several pages because too many images on a single page tends to present bandwidth problems for people accessing the site via dial-up connections.

Best Regards,

-George

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