Sakowitz Department Store At 1111 Main St.

[HtownWxBoy]

Any word on this??? Their website still says summer 2007, though I think it's obvious that's not going to happen. Anyone know anything?

[SirTonk]

I was just over at the old Saks location at 1800 Post Oak and they appear to be remodeling the entire structure. Is this the same business?

And the theatre is still there, just hasn't been operated since Landmark vacated ten years ago.

[Subdude]

I was just over at the old Saks location at 1800 Post Oak and they appear to be remodeling the entire structure. Is this the same business?

And the theatre is still there, just hasn't been operated since Landmark vacated ten years ago.

Wow, I had forgotten all about that theater. The theaters were actually in the basement level, right?

[SirTonk]

Wow, I had forgotten all about that theater. The theaters were actually in the basement level, right?

Yeah. The box and an office were the only things on street level. Big escalators took you down the the concession area.

[Breeze]

I love that this thread has been resurrected. As most know I tend to be nostalgic.

I am surprised by the number of people on this site that shopped at Sakowitz. Maybe we were poorer than I thought. We did shop at Joskey's and Kaplins, but Sakowitz was way out of our league.

I remember when the store closed on Westheimer, they were selling bricks for $100 each. Needless to say I did not get one 

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to take me to lunch at Sakowitz' "tea room." They had a big fake tree in the middle of the restaurant and twinkly lights in the ceiling. Those were the days when we got "dressed up" to go downtown shopping. And all the department stores had real toy departments. Great memories.

[northbeaumont]

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to take me to lunch at Sakowitz' "tea room." They had a big fake tree in the middle of the restaurant and twinkly lights in the ceiling. Those were the days when we got "dressed up" to go downtown shopping. And all the department stores had real toy departments. Great memories.

Yes, about the most "dangerous" toy you could get was a cowboy six-shooter that you loaded a roll of popping caps into it. How could you harm yourself with Silly Putty?

[HtownWxBoy]

Still no word on this?

[Daniepwils]

I haven't seen any activity in this building (except cars coming and going, as it is still a garage). The building right next to it seems to be going through a renovation.

[Houstonian in Iraq]

I haven't seen any activity in this building (except cars coming and going, as it is still a garage). The building right next to it seems to be going through a renovation.

Yeah the place that use to be a jewlers. Next to the run down corner store. They gutted out the inside and put up windows.

[spikey2]

Several people I spoke too concerning prison time for Oscar Wyatt was glad to see him go. They were mad because he didn't write a check to save the Sakowitz Stores despite the fact his wife Lynn Sakowitz Wyatt spends millions on fashion and jewelry. Was the feud between her and baby brother Robert true? Is this the reason the stores went under?

[silverartfox]

Several people I spoke too concerning prison time for Oscar Wyatt was glad to see him go. They were mad because he didn't write a check to save the Sakowitz Stores despite the fact his wife Lynn Sakowitz Wyatt spends millions on fashion and jewelry. Was the feud between her and baby brother Robert true? Is this the reason the stores went under?

I don't know about an alleged feud, but there were many reasons that caused the Sakowitz stores to close. There was a great deal of time, effort and money spent in trying to compete with perceived rival Neiman-Marcus. Unfortunately, the company did not possess Stanley Marcus' sense of style, taste or originality. The stores expanded too rapidly into other areas of the country. They also misread their customer base and didn't adjust their merchandise offerings to meet the needs of the clientele they hoped to attract. I worked in their advertising department - saw and heard a lot!

[gto250us]

Does anyone know what the status of this redo is. American Apparel had stuff in the windows but it does not look like anything will change anytime soon.

[Jax]

Les Givrals is thinking of opening a restaurant in one of these buildings.

Somebody should email american apparel and find out what their plans are.

[HtownWxBoy]

I am surprised nothing has happened yet. I figured they were waiting to make sure Houston Pavilions was a "go" before going forward w/ the store... but so far nothing. I really like their store... I stop by the Montrose one from time to time... it seems like a great location to open a clothing store w/ HP going up right across the street. I guess we will see.

[gto250us]

I am surprised nothing has happened yet. I figured they were waiting to make sure Houston Pavilions was a "go" before going forward w/ the store... but so far nothing. I really like their store... I stop by the Montrose one from time to time... it seems like a great location to open a clothing store w/ HP going up right across the street. I guess we will see.

I am not so much interested in American Apparel as I am in the building itself. It is too fine a building to have been gutted and turned into a garage.

[Houston19514]

I am not so much interested in American Apparel as I am in the building itself. It is too fine a building to have been gutted and turned into a garage.

Agreed. I'm hoping (dreaming) that one day in the not-too-distant future, the Main Street retail market will have improved to the point that they take out the parking garage and make the whole building retail again.

[gto250us]

Agreed. I'm hoping (dreaming) that one day in the not-too-distant future, the Main Street retail market will have improved to the point that they take out the parking garage and make the whole building retail again.

Main Street retail still has alot of problems. It is light years better than it was 10 years ago but several blocks between McKinney and Capitol still smell bad from the bums.

I still think that the developers did a great disservice to the public by placing most of the downtown retail underground, cut off from most of the public. I guess at that time no body lived in downtown, thus the only people who needed retail were the office workers. To some extent that is still true. It may be a chicken and egg type of thing. Do downtown residents bring in the retail or does retail make living downtown more attractive. Right now it seems to be somewhat of a stalemate. It will be interesting to see if the Pavillions changes anything. The stadiums and convention traffic can only do so much.

[SirTonk]

I was just over at the old Saks location at 1800 Post Oak and they appear to be remodeling the entire structure. Is this the same business?

And the theatre is still there, just hasn't been operated since Landmark vacated ten years ago.

Ok, nevermind. The whole building is being torn down in two years. Some developer is ripping up everything from the Saks to San Felipe and building a huge shopping complex. If you want to see the drawings, drop by the Saks building and their office is in the front section by the department store entrance. I'll see if I can get a pdf of it if anyone is interested. We're going to ask them to let us in the old theatre to take some pictures before they fill it with concrete.

[mkultra25]

We're going to ask them to let us in the old theatre to take some pictures before they fill it with concrete.

Love to see those posted here, assuming you're able to get in.

I really miss the Loews (later Landmark) Saks - I believe it was the last movie theater in Houston that still had a functional curtain covering the screen which retracted at the beginning of the show and closed at the end of the show. Such things are no more than quaint relics to most modern multiplex patrons, but were an integral part of showmanship in the old days, when the thought of leaving a screen uncovered and fully visible before the movie started would have been unthinkable.

[SirTonk]

Love to see those posted here, assuming you're able to get in.

I really miss the Loews (later Landmark) Saks - I believe it was the last movie theater in Houston that still had a functional curtain covering the screen which retracted at the beginning of the show and closed at the end of the show. Such things are no more than quaint relics to most modern multiplex patrons, but were an integral part of showmanship in the old days, when the thought of leaving a screen uncovered and fully visible before the movie started would have been unthinkable.

The retractable curtain is still there at the River Oaks, but it broke during Blair Witch's run. It's rather expensive to fix, so they haven't bothered. But yeah, I can't think of any theatres built after the early 70's that had curtains and it's cool that you remember it.

We got in there while some workers had the doors open and saw the base of the theaters (no lights). It reeks of mold and the fabric is in horrible shape, but the theatre seemed to be in decent enough shape overall. I'd try to reopen it as an independent theatre if they weren't going to demolish the property.

[Jax]

I emailed American Apparel out of curiosity this weekend, and here is what they said.

We are currently expanding as fast as possible. As you know the Downtown Huston location is not going to be ready for business by the end of the summer. We still do not have an exact opening date, however, the store should be open for business by the end of the fall season. Please visit our website for updated new store information. Thank you for your question it is truly appreciated. Thank you

[ToolMan]

Fall of 2009?

[Jax]

I was assuming she meant Fall 2008 but it doesn't look too likely.

EDIT: I mean to say Fall 2007... but this fall doesn't seem likely as the season has already started and there is no sign of renovations.

[GovernorAggie]

Fall 2008 gives them an opening right with HP

[Jax]

Oops I meant to say I assumed she meant the end of this fall when she said "the end of this fall season", ie: 2007.

[RedScare]

I was assuming she meant Fall 2008 but it doesn't look too likely.

Depending on the scope of the project, Fall 2008 could be easily doable. I do not know whether the upper floors are slated to be converted to retail also, but the ground floor could be renovated and open in a matter of months. The fact that we haven't heard anything lately does not mean that work is not going on behind the scenes.

[Houston19514]

Depending on the scope of the project, Fall 2008 could be easily doable. I do not know whether the upper floors are slated to be converted to retail also, but the ground floor could be renovated and open in a matter of months. The fact that we haven't heard anything lately does not mean that work is not going on behind the scenes.

I'm pretty sure only the ground floor will be converted to retail. The upper floors are to remain parking (at least for now...)

[talltexan83]

Slightly off topic......... but I was walking around the Sakotwitz Building this morning, and noticed a lot of activity in the space directly next to the American Apparel location on Main St. I am sure it has already been mentioned somewhere, but does anyone know what this space will be? Is this where the new AT&T store is headed?

[Jax]

I think the AT&T store is already open across the street (look for the AT&T sign next time you walk by). I heard Les Givrals was bidding for this space, but I'm not sure whether it has a tenant yet. I noticed last night that it looked like they were doing a lot of work in there as well. Right next to the food store, right?

[The Great Hizzy!]

The AT&T store has opened in the parcel near the northbound platform of the Main Street Square rail station (where Krispy Kreme used to be located).

It is my understanding that the parcel that's being renovated between the Sakowitz Bldg and the convenience store is being considered/bidded on by Les Givrals restaurant.