JW Marriott At 806 Main St. & Expansion Into Battlestein’s - 812 Main St.

[UtterlyUrban]

hes referring to the design competition METRO held with 5 different proposals of what the "Central Station" could look like. much different than the METRO canopies. these were very grand and elaborate designs that would of been a focal point for the central station/meeting ground between the cities main rail intersection. they even went so far as to choose a winner. and then decided it was too expensive... ugh. im really pissed about that too tigereye.

http://swamplot.com/how-metro-let-an-international-design-competition-for-houstons-new-central-station-go-down-the-drain/2013-11-22/

Signature Station? Sure.

That ugly thing? No.

I am glad that it wasn't built. Fugly.

Others will legitimately disagree with me. All good.

[cloud713]

Signature Station? Sure.

That ugly thing? No.

I am glad that it wasn't built. Fugly.

Others will legitimately disagree with me. All good.

ill admit i wasnt always feeling that station, but id much rather have that then another bland boring canopy. 

here was my favorite of the proposals..

http://swamplot.com/5-designs-for-houstons-new-main-st-central-station/2012-02-01/

[Sunstar]

Signature Station? Sure.

That ugly thing? No.

I am glad that it wasn't built. Fugly.

Others will legitimately disagree with me. All good.

 

I agree. With the basic design, there is at least some hope that it could be swapped out later for a larger, more impressive design. If they built that "signature station" we'll be stuck with it forever. 

[tigereye]

ill admit i wasnt always feeling that station, but id much rather have that then another bland boring canopy.

here was my favorite of the proposals..

http://swamplot.com/5-designs-for-houstons-new-main-st-central-station/2012-02-01/

Yeah, I was definitely a fan of SHoP's concept too. Such a lost opportunity... Edited August 6, 2014 by tigereye

[Nate99]

Whats the source/history behind this photo? I'd like to add it to historypin.com

 

Great shot...

 

Not sure of the particulars. There is a Facebook feed called "Traces of Texas" that I subscribe to and this one popped up there, though I had seen it here before. Of course, I can not find the specific post this was from any more, because Facebook.

 

A google search turned up this link (with lots of cool old Houston pictures/stories):

 

http://tanasreminisce.com/background.html

 

It was S.O.P. for the circus to march its elephants through town from wherever they stopped the train to the arena to market their performance/announce their arrival. 

Edited August 11, 2014 by Nate99

[bobruss]

Whats the source/history behind this photo? I'd like to add it to historypin.com

 

Great shot...

I went to the site you refer to historypin.com, excited to find a source with a lot of classic early photos of Houston, only to be extremely disappointed in the lack of any historical images. Unless you like fire stations there's not much historical imagery there, unless I went to the wrong site. Please tell me I missed something.

Don't get me wrong I do appreciate the effort, but I just was hoping for more old photos of early Houston.

[Nate99]

They are very nearly done with the stone work on the Main side. I did not look down Rusk to see what was left.

 

I'd guess that the scaffolding will come down soon and we'll get a look at this thing for real.

[BigFootsSocks]

Pics?

[Nate99]

Pics?

[Nate99]

Looks like there will be flood lights going up the corners illuminating the quoins.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Nate99

[BigFootsSocks]

And you're the best damn trained monkey around. Thanks Nate!!

Edited August 19, 2014 by BigFootsSocks

[Nate99]

The tunnel side renovation reaching back under 801 Travis:

 

 

[mollusk]

The good news is that they are at a point of mayhem that indicates they will be finished soon.  There have also been semis full of furniture, mattresses, etc. unloading recently.

[aarosurf]

My sources say this is slated to open Sept. 17

[Grizzly46]

The Hotel was lit up last night. First time I had seen the lights on.

[rechlin]

Scaffolding coming down (click for bigger image):

 

[monarch]

simply gorgeous!  aren't those tall window's a bit of a surprise?  i don't recall viewing those upon the earlier renderings.  talk about a blossoming luxury edifice... 

[Nate99]

The Hotel was lit up last night. First time I had seen the lights on.

 

Looks like they need to work on the aim a bit.

 

This one is nearly finished. A really cool project.

 

I'm totally going to go snoop around the lobby when it opens.

[UtterlyUrban]

I'm having dinner there the first week it opens. The Chef team is supposedly good. We shall see!

[mfastx]

She's a beaut'!  

[rechlin]

I've been holding off on posting this because I've been hoping they'd go back and fix it, but I guess it's hopeless so I might as well post it.  While the lower floors are beautiful indeed, the screwup they made at the top is a real travesty.

 

First a full image of the upper floors -- see if you can spot the flaw (it's pretty obvious).  Click for a bigger view:

 

 

Here's what you should be looking at.  Take a look at the cornice at the roof level.  In the middle, where they previously had the construction elevator mounted, you can see a rust spot where they didn't repaint after filling in the hole where it was bracketed.  That's unfortunate, but not the worst of it.  Now look at the section right above the rust where it has been painted a slightly lighter color than the rest.  Again, unfortunate, but not the worst of it.  Now notice have they have beveling that is more-or-less equally spaced on the cornice.  Now look right above the rust -- there should be a vertical groove there, but there isn't, so now you have one "panel" that is twice the width of the rest.  It really annoys me and I can't believe they screwed this up.

 

[UtterlyUrban]

I've been holding off on posting this because I've been hoping they'd go back and fix it, but I guess it's hopeless so I might as well post it. While the lower floors are beautiful indeed, the screwup they made at the top is a real travesty.

First a full image of the upper floors -- see if you can spot the flaw (it's pretty obvious). Click for a bigger view:

Here's what you should be looking at. Take a look at the cornice at the roof level. In the middle, where they previously had the construction elevator mounted, you can see a rust spot where they didn't repaint after filling in the hole where it was bracketed. That's unfortunate, but not the worst of it. Now look at the section right above the rust where it has been painted a slightly lighter color than the rest. Again, unfortunate, but not the worst of it. Now notice have they have beveling that is more-or-less equally spaced on the cornice. Now look right above the rust -- there should be a vertical groove there, but there isn't, so now you have one "panel" that is twice the width of the rest. It really annoys me and I can't believe they screwed this up.

Interesting catch.

You might wish to send a note off to Marriott. What the heck? they may not have had the angle of view to spot it as you have......

[mollusk]

Two words:  Punch list.

[urbanize713]

So pics from driving by today

[UtterlyUrban]

It will be nice to soon have the sidewalk unobstructed again!

[Nate99]

 

 

[BigFootsSocks]

So fresh and so clean

[Montrose1100]

How does everyone feel about the color scheme? I like the lighter beige, but the darker color really cheapens the look of the whole building. I know I shouldn't complain because a project like this is a one in a million in Houston... I just wish the darker color was maybe a little lighter? I'll have to check it our in person.

[mollusk]

It will be nice to soon have the sidewalk unobstructed again!

 

You've got that right.  Rusk has been a bloomin' obstacle course lately.

 

It will also be nice to be able to reliably use more than one traffic lane of Rusk through there.

[Nate99]

Having Main accessible will be novel too. Looks like the drive up/porte corchere should be going in shortly.

 

There were people inside cleaning furiously. The interior must be entering the home stretch.