WyattEarp

It has been suggested to me that others who have followed this topic over the past two years might be interested in hearing my thoughts on the ultimate demise of the Montagu Hotel (formerly the Hotel Cotton) since I was involved in the abortive attempt to renovate, improve and save the building from 2005-2007.

I don't know if there is much I can add, really, that has not already been expressed better by others, but I had mixed feelings as I watched the old building being imploded this past month. In December of 2011 the hotel would have reached the 100th anniversary of the groundbreaking for its construction and it soon after would have marked the 100th anniversary of its grand opening in March of 2013. Isn't it depressing how very few of Houston's historical structures make it to their 100th birthday?

The problem for this building is that it was eclipsed by larger and more luxurious hotels like the present-day Rice Hotel almost from the beginning of its history. The golden era for this building was from 1913 to about the mid-1940's, during which time it was a nice and respected facility and was popular with businessman and tourists. By the 1950's, though, the old girl had become a very dated facility which is probably why the building changed hands in the early '50's and was renamed the Montagu by the second owner. The building subsequently struggled through the 1950's and '60's as downtown declined and the exodus of businesses to the suburbs began to accelerate. During that time, the building catered to merchant seamen and long-haul truckers and other blue-collar clientele who needed affordable lodgings downtown. By the early 1970's, however, the Montagu Hotel was in terrible shape and was just about done for and the building probably would have been demolished by 1975 had my family not acquired it in 1974.

Although my family did perform a fairly large renovation of the building in 1974 and enjoyed some initial success with it in the late '70's, the continuing decline of downtown compounded by the real estate collapse of the 1980's in Houston really made it impossible for the Montagu to succeed as a nice hotel again. Over the longer term nothing really worked other than running it as a cut-rate, flop-house for street people, which is pretty much all that came through the doors by the mid-1980's. This was truly unfortunate, but the building was just too old, too outdated, and too much in need of a multi-million dollar renovation to attract any other types of paying customers.

Over time, this situation virtually guaranteed the demise of the building. When a hotel becomes a home for drunkards, derelicts, drug-addicts, petty street criminals, etc., it usually means that the building will come to a bad end. This type of clientele, (if you can call it that), tend to do enormous destruction to the premises over time, making it very expensive to maintain the building and still remain profitable. Furthermore, such people give a building and the business an evil reputation which makes it impossible to attract better customers and to charge higher room rates. This seedy reputation, once acquired, makes it difficult, if not impossible, to bring a a place like the Montagu back into the mainstream of hotel commerce.

Nevertheless, as many of you know, in the summer of 2005 I began an 18-month oddysey as general manager of the Montagu Hotel and was charged with the mission of renovating the building with a limited budget while simultaneously trying to change the image of the hotel in order to attract better customers. My hope was that if we could get rid of the destructive street people and attract budget-minded travelers wishing to stay in the heart of downtown, then more revenue could be raised to maintain the viability of the business and provide a source of funding for the further improvements needed to save this historic structure.

Considerable efforts were made, but in the end the project failed due to grossly inadequate funding and a lack of vision and interest in historical preservation on the part of the building's owners. In their defense, my uncles bore all of the expenses of owning and running the property and it was damned hard to make enough money there anymore to cover those expenses. I think they were simply exhausted by 33 years of struggling to keep the business profitable and they were also both past 70 and ready to retire. This is why the hotel was on the market for sale for so many years and was promptly sold when a serious buyer appeared.

The renovation effort only had my uncle's support so long as the prospects of a sale seemed remote. So long as there was no buyer, it was necessary to try to find ways to improve the place and keep it profitable. I personally, did not think in 2005 that the building would be sold anytime soon and had hopes that the slow-motion renovation might succeed over time. However, the minute serious buyers started coming around again, I knew that renovation would end and that the building would quickly be sold. I also felt confident that if the building were sold, it was a near-certainty it would be demolished because the real-estate it sat on was far more valuable and useful to a developer than the building itself, which was in very bad shape and would have required probably 20 million dollars to properly renovate into a nice facility again.

So, I guess this end really was almost inevitable. The downtown hotel market is perpetually poor because Houston is no one's vacation destination. This is why we get so little convention business. There are also too many hotel rooms downtown for the business that does arrive each year - which keeps room rates permanently in the doldroms. Since almost every other hotel downtown was much newer and nicer than the Montagu, it had no real chance at all unless it got the kind of renovation that the Lancaster Hotel got in the early 1980's, which meant closing the place and injecting millions into it on a hope and prayer that such a full-scale renovation could recoup its costs. That simply was never in the cards.

In closing, I should mention that I will soon be collaborating with a gentleman who is writing a book on historic architectural structures of Houston that are no longer in existence. He wanted info on the Hotel Cotton/Montagu and so I'll be providing him with access to my archives of photos, letters, artifacts, etc. When the book is published, at least the history of the building will not be lost - as is so often the case if efforts are not made to document it before those associated with it all move away and/or die.

I wish I could have saved the building, and not just its history, but I had was just the guy with the grand ideas - not the deep pockets needed to make such a thing really happen.

I want to thank everyone here who took an interest in the building and the modest effort I made to improve and save it. If it could not be saved properly, then it is probably best for downtown that it is now gone because it had become such an eyesore in its deteriorated condition and a magnet for some really vile people who were a public nuisance to those who occupied nearby buildings.

It was sort of like a mercy-killing, if you think about it, and at least the old girl went out with a bang instead of a whimper. The implosion was sad to watch, but not as depressing as watching a crane with a wrecking ball whacking at it for days and days, nor as depressing as watching it continue to struggle on from one year to the next as a pathetic fleabag hotel for derelicts. The building deserved better than that. May it rest in peace.

I went in the Montagu back in May when I was in the area. I had read about its "comeback" and wanted to see it first hand. For any seasoned traveler, it would be quite a shock. It wasn't horrible by any stretch, but it certainly wasn't like any hotel my middle-class self had ever stayed in. I was hoping for its continued improvement, but perhaps it's not in the cards.

You are right on the mark about the disappointing outcome of the renovation. The comeback effort failed because the owners lacked the commitment to see it through to a successful conclusion. The abortive renovation attempt began in July of 2005 and it had pretty much fizzled out by the Fall of 2006.

The primary problem was that the owners of the building lacked the financial resources to perform a first-class renovation. A secondary problem is that they had no real interest in historical preservation. The only reason renovation was attempted was because the Montagu had been in a declining revenue mode for many years and was rapidly approaching the point of no longer being viable as a business. It was a last-gasp effort to keep the hotel in business by trying to clean it up and improve the clientele. The only person in our family who was really interested in the Montagu's history was yours' truly here. I'm sort of the oddball in the family, it would seem.

Anyway, when I first initiated the renovation effort, I did indeed evict as many of the evil characters that populated the place as I could - knowing that the hotel could never be repaired and made profitable again unless the crackheads and winos and other unsavory sorts were run off. Sadly, I was eventually overruled about barring seedy people from renting there and was accused of costing the hotel money by "running off all of the customers." I'm embarassed to say that my relatives were more comfortable running a flophouse and seemed intimidated by the prospect of actually trying to become bona fide hoteliers catering to middle class clientele. That's a damn shame and we're going to lose another historic building because of that pig-headed attitude.

I finally grew weary of fighting to persuade my relatives to do the right thing and quit in disgust in January of 2007. Old management soon returned to the Montagu and six months later the building was sold and it now awaits the wrecking ball.

I'm sorry, y'all. I did what I could to try to do something decent with the place, but I was frustrated in the effort at every turn. It ain't no fun being run out of Tombstone by the bad guys, but sometimes that's how the story ends.

-Wyatt Earp

Yes, I do, and the hotel is about the same age as my house. Do you remember seeing pedestals sinks? I thought there were wall hung sinks in there. I'll have to talk to Wyatt Earp.

Howdy,

Yes, the original sinks in the Montagu were wall-hung, porceline covered, cast iron models - all installed in 1912. Some of the rooms there still have them, though many were removed and replaced with new sinks during the abortive renovation effort in 2005-2006. Most of the original sinks were in very poor condition and would have required expert and expensive restoration work, though it would certainly be worthwhile for someone who only needed one or two of these sinks.

-Wyatt Earp

I was fortunate enough to acquire an original of one of these postcards on eBay. It was mailed by a guest in February of 1914, just 11 months after the hotel opened for business and is, no doubt, the very first post card design issued by the hotel to promote business. It is my personal favorite in the small collection of Hotel Cotton and Montagu Hotel post cards that I've purchased over the past year or so.

-George Kalas

Here is a thumbnail (click on it to get a full size image) of another early view of Hotel Cotton.

Taken from the essential book, "Houston's Heritage Using Antique Postcards" by Joy Lent (1983).

I'd love to get an original of this postcard. Anybody know where I can acquire one?

-George Kalas

another postcard, advertising the "cock n bull grill"

Thanks for the many kind words. I very much enjoy participating in this forum and have all of you to thank for helping me network with the right folks downtown who have supported our efforts to save this neat old building.

It goes without saying that my family was delighted with the very fair and mainly favorable and supportive article that was published in the Houston Chronicle this past Sunday. Thanks to this article we've already seen a modest boost in our guest traffic and the increased revenues were immediately put to good use to move forward our renovation work. Three days after the article appeared, my Uncle Albert threw out the old couches and chairs in the lobby. In their place is a 3-piece matched deluxe leather chair, couch and love seat in the waiting area. They are very comfortable and attractive and are another step forward in our efforts to improve the lobby area of the hotel.

Tonight, I purchased another 11 new microwave ovens to finish out the premium rooms on the 11th floor that still lacked them. This weekend I'll be purchasing another 10 mini-refrigerators which will also be headed to the rooms on the 11th floor. At present, the 11th floor is at what I call "Stage Two Renovation" and these latest purchases means that every room on that floor will now have a brand new microwave and refrigerator. With this finished, I can now turn my attention to trying to repairing minor room defects and to making further improvements to the bathroom areas. My idea here is to continuously improve the 11th floor (our best one at present), so that it can serve as the model for future renovations in the rest of the hotel.

In the meantime, the remaining rooms in the hotel have been undergoing "Stage One Renovation" which involves patching, priming and repainting all the walls and trim and replacing all the flooring with ceramic tile throughout each room. It has taken a bit longer than I anticipated last February, but we have now finished Stage One work on the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th & 12th floors. We have also begun doing rooms on the 4th and 5th floors and will continue to work on these through the rest of this Summer. This Fall we should be able to complete the 8th and 10th floors and then it will be time to move to Stage Two renovation work on those floors.

I should also mention that the article in the Chronicle has generated many phone calls and visits from downtown office workers in nearby buildings and from people who either stayed in, or worked at the hotel many years ago. I was especially tickled this evening to receive an email from the lady whose father, Mr. Morin Montagu Scott, was the previous owner of the hotel from 1952 - 1974. She and her husband plan to visit with me soon and I'm hopeful that she may be able to provide more history and possibly some more historical photos of the building from the mid-20th century - which would be fun to add to the "history" page on our website.

Here's another news flash: As the article mentioned, a Subway Sandwich shop may soon take over the space formerly occupied by the Hard Hat Deli. It's not a done deal yet, but if Subway and my family can agree on the terms of the lease then we will remove all of the old restaurant equipment and furniture - gutting the space down to the walls and floors. Subway will then come in and completely remodel that area to their standards. If they lease from us, it'll probably go for 15 years - which is a nice long-term commitment. They will add new restrooms to this area of the building and we will most likely close off the doorways connecting Subway to our lobby. This will allow them to better control access to their restaurant space and it will give us an opportunity to renovate the largest wall in our lobby and reclaim space for the display of historic photos, maps, and artifacts from the hotel's past.

Naturally, this means some of the outdoor signage would change on the corner at Rusk and Fannin, which can only help improve the appearance of the building at the ground level. I also think that having Subway as a tenant on the corner will aid our efforts to keep the sidewalks clear of vagrants since Subway will have a vested interest in helping us keep the area safe and free of scary-looking characters.

Since you mentioned the old underground lounge I must hasten to add that I was contacted by a producer of theatre productions this week who wanted to see if we had a space that might serve as a venue for a downtown theatre group to perform for upwards to 100 customers at a time. We have to see what he has in mind, but the underground area is probably big enough to support a entertainment venture of this type. I think it could be a classy thing as the guy specializes in one-act plays and such. That would be quite different from some of the more seedier ventures that have operated out of the basement level in the past, to say the least!

Lastly, the Kalas family members are still discussing re-doing the sign on the hotel to rename it back to "Hotel Cotton." Right now the family is debating the best way to do this in a classy, yet economical manner. We're batting a lot of ideas around and still trying to find something that fits within our budget. Everyone still agrees that a name change must happen. But changing a sign is a big deal and it's an expensive proposition and we want do the best we can with the resources we have. I would very much like to see the name change happen by the end of the summer, but can't guarantee the timing yet.

That's all for now. Hope everyone enjoys the update. It's always nice to be able to share my enthusiasm for our project with others who get a kick out of seeing historic old buildings being brought back from the brink. :-)

-George Kalas

Threads like this one are the reason I keep coming back and back to this great site.

Mr. Kalas, thank you so much for your updates. I had not read any of this post until today and I was amazed at the time and effort you have exhausted to keep us "strangers" updated on your project.

I too have fond recollections of your hotel, or at least the bar located in the basement of your hotel. We all called it the 804 Underground (whethere or not this was the real name, I am not sure). We used to enter through the side entrance into a upper bar that I assume was Charlie's. There was a bouncer named Spider. He was nice as could be and I was always amazed that he would remember me each time I entered the place. He even tried to get me a "date" one night with a lady seated at the bar. I declined, but found the experience to be a lot of fun. The downstairs area was really dark and had a lounge feel to it, but also had a dance floor and played loud clubby type music. I am not sure when I first hit this place but it had to be in the late 90's. We would go about once a year for 4 or so years. I have not been back since probably 2002 (maybe earlier - my memory for dates is not so strong).

At any rate, I appluad your efforts with this hotel. I think you are correct in your analysis that downtown needs more a middle of the line hotel. I stayed at the Courtyard downtown when the Stones were in town and I was able to get a room for $120. It was a very plain room (as Courtyard's tend to be), but served its purpose (letting me and wife drink at concert and not drive home). I am not sure there we any other options for us that my wife would have felt safe in. Hopefully your transition will fill the gap for lower priced, safe, and clean hotel rooms.

The article in the chronicle was very flattering If you ask me. I think the quote from the gentleman who stated you needed to spend $100,000 per room to update was way off. The fact that Bob Eury and other downtown groups are behind you says a lot. I also commend you on the chiller move and installation. Those projects are never easy and extremely costly. I think that move shows just how serious with your committment to update this hotel.

Please keep us updated with any additional changes that occur. I know there are quite a few of us on this board who are extremely interested in your endeavor. GREATEST of luck to your and Uncles and the futre of the Montagu / Cotton Hotel.

I just took a walk past the building, and if you wouldn't mind some constructive criticsim...a good window cleaning would make a big difference on the outer appearance. Also, (a bit more expensive) but changing out those curtains, and opening those in unoccupied rooms, would make it appear much nicer.

Yes. I quite agree. I've been trying to get this done for months, but have not been able to get a bid from a cleaning company that was within our renovation budget.

The curtains are also long overdue for replacement. These are very heavy-weight curtains that come with a rubberized, insulating lining, (the white part that faces outward towards the window), and the problem with these is that in the summertime the heat coming through the windows is so intense that it literally melts the white rubber lining causing it to stick together at the folds. Then, when a guest pulls the curtains shut the lining tears off the fabric as the folds are pulled out. This leaves a big black spot where the lining used to be and it makes the curtains look like hell.

Eventually we'd like to replace the curtains, but again, the expense is great and we have more pressing repairs to perform to the building's infrastructure. For example, a tremendous amount of cash was expended over the past six weeks purchasing, lifting, and installing the new 75-ton A/C chiller on the rooftop. The unit will finally be operational by early May but that project alone has consumed so much cash from the renovation budget that all other work has, for the most part, come to a halt.

As I've mentioned previously, the building's owners are doing these repairs and renovations out of their own pockets and are not working with grants and bank loans, so work progresses as finances will allow.

Regards,

-George Kalas

agreed, although i think the lower windows are double-paned, and the grime is in between

i could be mistaken, though - my memory doesn't serve so well at times

Your'e almost right. Actually, the windows are single-paned, plate glass on the ground level. However, mounted behind them are the old, historic windows from 1912 that are original to the building. We recently installed hinges on the historic windows in the lobby so that we can swing them inward to clean between them and the plate glass. All of the plate glass windows were cleaned about two months ago and it made a dramatic difference as they were very grimy. We still have to do the windows in Charlie's Bar and haven't made it to them yet. All of these also need to be remounted on hinges to allow for easier cleaning.

-George

I'm working on a website on the history of Houston radio. Actually, I haven't made any progress on it since I discovered the Central Library is closing and I've been trying to cram in as much research as possible. I'm going to try to make the site attractive to anyone interested in Houston history, not just radio buffs. I'd be grateful for a mention on your website when I get it up. And I'll probably link back to yours.

I took a quick look at the Post-Dispatch for 11/28, the month the Richmond station was sold to some Houston businessmen, but found nothing. The Houston papers didn't cover such far-flung places as Richmond very well back then .

I know I have a photocopy of a KIKK newspaper ad mentioning the studio at the Montagu. I'll see what else I have and let you know.

I'll bet Patsy Cline stayed there because she was scheduled to be a guest on the radio station, perhaps was even sponsored by them. That's fascinating. There may have been other country stars who stayed there for the same reason.

Good luck with that website. I'd be happy to link to it when you get it going. BTW - I'd love to get a scanned copy of that KIKK newspaper ad if you can lay your hands on it again.

I have no doubt that other prominent/famous folks probably stayed here many decades ago when the building was a much nicer facility. It is truly unfortunate that so little historical information and/or artifacts were passed down by the previous owners. Now it represents an enormous scavenger hunt to try to dig up this old information.

-George

I also read that the Hotel Cotton was a favorite hotel for cattlemen visiting from out of town.

Do you happen to recall the source publication where you read this?

wow the history of this place is amazing, i kno this is off subject, buton the homepage it says foleys is now macys, "a downtown mini-mall - and just 4 blocks from Macy's (formerly Foleys), department store." Has the name changed already?

You know, probably one of the most gratifying aspects of my job right now is the historical research. I'm getting to write a history that has not previously been written.

BTW - good catch regarding Foley's/Macys. I wrote that text based on a news article a few months ago that indicated that the name would change right after Christmas. Since then I've read that the name change is still several months off. Gotta update the site again to correct that....

-George

More interesting history about the Montagu / Cotton hotel. I've finally been able to confirm that country music legend Patsy Cline stayed at the Montagu Hotel in early May of 1961. She was in town to perform at the Esquire Ballroom on Hempstead Highway - which was the only time she ever performed in Houston, Texas. I've updated the history page on the website with relevant info on this. Enjoy!

http://www.montaguhotel.net/hotelcottonhistory.htm

-George Kalas

You can also view these photos on the website at:

http://www.hotelcotton.com/new-ac.htm

I haven't linked this page to others in the website yet, so you'll have to click on the above link to get to it.

-George

Does this hotel have a cool brass canopy?

Or is that Club Quarters?

I noticed a small one today at Hotel Icon. I love thoes things.

They look so much better than the cheap things you see today.

I'm not sure if it the canopy in front of the main entrance is brass or some other material. It is covered up by plastic signage added many years later. Old postcards of the building show a metal canopy of some sort.

I've posted photos from the new A/C crane lift and installation last night.

It is confirmed. The crane will come tonight (Thursday, Mar. 23) after 8PM to lift the new A/C to the roof of the Montagu.

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

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

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

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.

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 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!

here's the back of the postcard:

picture

here's a close-up of the sign:

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

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.

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.

So is the Montagu getting a new marquee? A bit flashier with better lighting? People like lights!

An excellent quation. To be honest, no decision has been made yet. We're still working with our CPA to get all of the paperwork needed to make the necessary name changes with all the local, state and governmental taxing authorities. Once the bureaucratic paperwork is completed I'll be talking with my uncles and cousins to see what we should do about changing our signage.

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. The old sign was a vertical one, with all of the letters of the hotel name running from top to bottom. If you go to our website and study the enlarged photo of the 1945 photo relating to the fire at the Aragon Ballroom behind the Hotel Cotton, you'll see a portion of the original sign I'm talking about. You can also barely make out the sign on the 1949 photo and the c. 1918 postcard. The web address is http://www.hotelcotton.com/hotelcottonhistory.htm

I'd very much like to retire the battered and cheesy looking "Montagu Hotel" signs - both on the corner of the building and on the marquee at the front entrance. I also want to get the "Hard Hat Deli" signs taken down. It would also be nice to get the movie posters off the Rusk side of the building as well - but they generate needed revenue, so they'll probably be around for a while. I'm not sure yet if the overhang in front of the entrance had a "Hotel Cotton" marquee at any time in the past. If so, then I'll push for a restoration - provided I can find a photo of it to work from and provided that the budget will allow it.

It should be understood, however, that all of the renovation work we do is performed on a piecemeal basis out of our own pockets, so progress will be in small incremental steps. When business is slow - not much renovation happens. When business picks up, we fix more things around here. We are not inclined to run to a bank and borrow a huge sum of money because too many other hotels downtown did that and many are in the red and cannot service their debt with their bankers. I fully expect several of these "boutique" hotels to go bankrupt within the next few years. We prefer to play it conservative and "pay as we go." Nonetheless, many returning guests tell me that they are pleasantly surprised at what we've been able to accomplish in the lobby and up on the 11th floor over the past six months - so we are making progress with every passing day.

ahh

well, the card i own (the one scanned above) has a postmark of 1918. weird.

Hey - that's great. 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.

mr. kalas, when perusing your old postcards of the hotel cotton, how did you know the date of the middle one? (1918 i beleive).

I can't state with absolute certainty that the 1918 date is correct, but when I found the card in the Internet it was listed as being from "circa 1918." I currently have one of these cards on order from an eBay merchant and am hoping it is a used card with a postmark so I can get a better idea of the accuracy of the date.

I share your skepticism. The rooms in the Montagu Hotel, for example, are probably no larger than what was found in the William Penn and we don't encounter tremendous resistance from customers on account of size - although some do occassionally ask for something larger.

Besides, they could have just knocked down some walls and doubled the size of the rooms. That's what happened, I believe, when the old Auditorium Hotel was renovated 25 years ago and renamed the Lancaster. It is now one of the nicest boutique hotels downtown, although I'll admit I have no idea if they are profitable today. They have, however, stayed in business since they finished renovating in 1982, so I guess that answers the question.

sad but true...i could see ben milam hitting the crane - it is way worse off than william penn (was). william penn was perfectly fine inside - ben milam, on the other hand, has been exposed to the elements for a long time which makes for alot of nastiness...

according to the article in the chronicle yesterday, the reasons given from spire for not seeing through with renovation with penn was because the interior wasn't "profitable" - ceilings were too low and rooms were too small - puh-lease

oh, and they didn't want to pay the insurance for keeping the building there...

Your observation is correct. The occupany is down, although revenue is about the same, because we raised our room rates about six months ago. This has had the happy effect of causing some of the less desireable customers to seek lodgings elsewhere and it gives us an opportunity to get into more rooms to do renovation work.

I THOUGHT I noticed something different about that corner a couple of weeks ago when I walked by. For one, you don't see as many people "hanging around" and there aren't as many lights on at night, as if the building's not as occupied as before.

This would explain a lot. I wish them luck, especially with Stowers and Club Quarters looking all shiny next door to them.

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.

Thanks for the update Mr Kalas and welcome to the forum!

That site has some great info on the Hotel Cotton. It's exciting to see the plans for renaming and upgrading. I hope things work out. It seems like the right time with the renovated Texas State Hotel and Stowers building.

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.

It is nice to see that not all owners of historical hotel buildings feel they need to torn down because the ceilings are too low.