Cite Fall 1992-Winterl993 21 The Rice

Hotel %

MARGIE C. E L L I O T T A N D

CHARLES D. M A Y N A R D , JR. i • • ia

.bU I I I " f If HE* When Texas was stilt an outpost for American civilization and m Houston was a rowdy geographi- cal gamble, Jesse H. Jones' Rice Hotel came along and showed the ••»*. locals what class was all about. W

DENNIS FITZGERALD, Houston Chronicle, 30 March 1975

Ladies' bridge meeting, Crystal Ballroom. Rice Hotel, shortly after opening

f sentiment were all that was needed CO the hero of San Jacinto, The nonexistent From the beginning the Rice was a Houston Endowment donated the hotel to guarantee its preservation. Houston's town of Houston won out over more than landmark, one of Houston's first steel- Rice University, which had owned the Rice Hotel would be safe. But 1 5 years a dozen other contenders. The first capitol framed highnse buildings. I en thousand land upon which the building stood since without maintenance have left what was built on the site in 1837. After 1839, people turned up to tour the building on the 1900 death of William Marsh Rice. Imay be our most important landmark in when the seat of government was moved opening day. For two years the hotel continued to ruinous condition. Many Housionians, from Houston to Austin, the Allen opt ran profitably. I" 1974. howev er. the sentimentalists and pragmatists alike, brothers retained ownership of the capitol Through the years, numerous modifica- city of Houston adopted a new fire code, wonder whether their city can live up to its building, which continued to be used lor tions were made. In 1921, Houston which by some estimates could have own heritage. public functions. In 1841 it was leased to architect Alfred C. Finn was hired to required up to S I 2 million in modifica- become the Capitol Hotel. Since thai design alterations for Jesse Jones's pent- tions to bring the building into At a time when cities were often judged by time, except for a six-month period in house apartment at the Rice. The 1925—26 compliance. In December 1974, Rice the quality of their hotels, the Rice was the 1842 when President Sam Houston addition of a west wing, also designed by University announced that the hole! best-known hotel in Texas, occupying the temporarily moved the capital back to Finn, increased the number ol guest rooms would be closed and demolished if a buyer site of the Itrst capitol ol the Republic ol Houston, the site has been used exclusively and gave the hotel its distinctive E-shaped could not be found. Texas. When the Rice closed in 1975, for hotels. configuration. A temporary rooftop Smithsonian published it-, colorful history, hunkhousc, added to accommodate Housionians braced themselves for repealing many of rhe legends about wild The Aliens' association with the old capitol expected overflow crowds attending the demolition, but in 1975 the Rittenhouse and woolly Houston: cattlemen shooting ended in 1857 with sale of the property 1928 Democratic National Convention, Capital Corporation of New York stepped up the hotel elevator, female rodeo stars by Augustus Allen's widow, Charlotte M. later became part ol the "Top Deck of the in and purchased the Rice. After a major riding horses into the lobby (and right up Allen. In 1881 the original building was 'Rice,' the em's most popular dance spot, remodeling, the hotel reopened in April the stairs to the mezzanine powder room), demolished to make way lor the new The roof garden was closed in 1942 in 1976 as the Rice-Rittenhouse. Financial Percy Foreman practicing law by telephone ( iapitol I lotel, .i livi ston \ ictorian response to the blackout imposed by JiIlii ulties plagued it, however, and within from a red leather chair in the Old Renaissance structure with a frontage of World War I I , but the hotel was further ,i year the hotel was operating under Capitol Club. 100 feet on Main Street and 1 50 feet on expanded after the war. In 1951, an 18th- Chapter 1 1. Rittenhouse was dropped Texas Avenue. In 1886, William Marsh floor steel, glass, and masonry addirion, from its name, and the hotel again The hotel's mystique is inextricably linked Rice, who had already built a fortune in designed by the Houston architectural operaled as the Rice Hotel for a lew to the land on which it sits. There, on the Houston from lumber and land holdings, firm of Staub & Rather, was made to months. In August 1977, the Rice Hotel northwest corner of the intersection of bought the property tor unpaid taxes; in house the Petroleum ( !lub, which occu- was finally closed. Main Street and Texas Avenue, stood the 1892 he added a five-story annex. Upon pied the space until the hotel closed two decades later. building that was the first capitol of the Rice's death in 1900, the property was A group of Houston investors operating as Republic of Texas. The Rice is only the bequeathed to the William Marsh Rice the Rice Preservation Corporation bought third building to occupy the site. Institute, under whose ownership opera- Upon the death of Jesse |ones in 1956, the hotel in September 1977 at a foreclo- tion of the hotel, by then renamed the ownership of the Rice passed to the sure auction for $542,962. Early in 1978 When the first Congress of the Republic of Rice, continued until 1911, when Jesse H. Houston Endowment, Inc., the philan- the property was again sold, at a reported Texas met in October 183d in Columbia, Jones purchased the building and leased thropic foundation established by Jones price of S3 million, to Portfolio Manage- Houston's founders, John K, and Augustus the land. Jones demolished the hotel in and his wife, Mary Cibbs Jones. 'The hotel ment of "Texas, Inc., which applied for C. Allen, were ready with inducements 1912 and hired the St. louis architectural was again updated in 1958-59 with the listing in the National Register of Historic sufficient to persuade the fledgling govern- firm of Mauran, Russell & Crowell to addition of a five-story concrete and Places and announced plans to convert the ment to choose as the provisional capital design a new 17-story structure, which masonry annex that housed a motor lobby Rice to residential apartments. In ()ctobei the Aliens' new town, shrewdly named lor opened as the new Rice Hotel in May 1913. and a new grand ballroom. In 1971, 1978, then secretary of the U.S. Depart- 22 Cite Fall 1992-Winter 1993

h°""°>i > « ^ ; Anyone who has tried to save a historic building from demolition or . " " " " ^ ^ T S E ™ ^ establish a historic district in Houston knows about uphill battles, lost causes, and burnout. Houston preservationists have learned the hard way: lacking local preservation ordinances, they have had to rely on state and local preservation tools that are not very effective when owners of historic properties start thinking about aluminum siding or demolition.

Local historical preservation should receive a big boost with the adoption of I. ef C ti zoning. Houston's ordinance will include provisions for the establishment of historic landmark and historic district designations. Applications for these ZS designations may be initiated by one of several city agencies or by property owners. Upon the recommendation of the Houston Archeological and Historical

"""' ««M»1UTI|||, K , , „ Commission (HAHC) and following reviews and public hearings at three levels, city council will decide whether or not to officially grant the designation. Once the designation has been granted, proposed alterations and demolitions of historic property must be reviewed by HAHC, which may approve the proposal, approve it with conditions, or disapprove.

The zoning mechanism for protecting a building or district is the establishment of "overlay districts," which include both landmark and historic districts. Either

A an "H" (historic district) or an "L" (landmark) designation may be combined with any base zoning district. Once adopted by city council, the more restrictive of the two combined zoning designations will apply.

The stated purpose of the historic overlay provisions in the zoning ordinance includes the promotion of preservation and protection of landmarks and historic districts and buildings of architectural or historical significance. Although they Top: Mauran, Russell & Crowell, will not guarantee an end to the demolition of landmarks, they will allow architects. Rice Hotel, 1913. West wing addition by Alfred C. Finn, 1925-26. consideration of issues of public versus private interests. The ordinance is Bottom: The original Rice Hotel building, expected to deter demolition, misuse, or neglect of these visible reminders of formerly the Capitol Hotel (George the city's heritage and to encourage the development of new projects that are Dickey, 1881), occupied the site of the first capital of the Republic of Texas. tailored to the character of significant districts and neighborhoods. • (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library)

ment of Housing and Urban Developnieni roof and the resulting deterioration. The as a 400-suite luxury hotel, the addition of nonhealing. The designer shrugged ofl the Patricia Harris announced that the project bank immediately authorized its broker to six floors to the five-story 1958 annex, limitations of the bay width and developed had been approved lor federal funding contact all parties who had made oilers in construction of a multistory atrium and a scheme incorporating a high proportion for rehabilitation plans and rent subsidy. the past 18 months and inform them of a elevator core between the annex and the of suites and junior suites, all with exterior Twenty percent of the 338 apartments drastic reduction to less than 50 percent of 1928 west wing to create a 275,000- views, and touted the single-access hallways were to be rented to low-income families, the earlier asking price. square-foot integrated office building on as an amenity that permitted all hallways to whose rent payments would be subsidized Travis, and restoration of the exteriors of be lit by natural light. This constraint with federal funds. But Houston was not While reduction in the up-front cost of the the original and 1928 structures. A $15 would be less significant in the context of ready for subsidized housing in a historic building might seem to make rehabilita- million tax credit for certified rehabilita- office space, which allows greater flexibility downtown building. Apparently because tion more feasible, it also increases the tion costs in the year placed in service of layout, open space planning, and cheaper of PMTI's failure to secure the local likelihood that the property could be would have resulted in a net investment of installation costs. Use of the structure for financial support needed to qualify for acquired for the site alone, f ligh vacancy $65 million, yielding a per-square-foot office space would also reduce plumbing federal subsidy, the project never got off rates in central business district commer- cost of approximately $120, including the requirements, a significant expense, and the ground. cial properties and a relative abundance ol cost of installation of all-new building permit broader HVAC zones instead of open building space downtown would systems, from new fire stairs and elevators individual room controls, further, the Rice- In 1981, during Houston's last big real seem to reduce the likelihood of demolish- complying with the code to new heating, is adjacent to several segments of the tunnel estate boom and before the beginning ol ing the Rice for new development, but ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and thus has ready access to the the recession brought on by the decline in that possibility has been mentioned. In systems and sprinklers. network. Overall, costs of the project oil prices, the Rice Hotel was acquired for July, Houston architect Cunther Koetter, should be significantly less than the $80 a reported $7.75 million by Rovi Texas a member of the board of directors of In the wake of Houston's building slump, million anticipated by the 1984 study. Corporation, part of R.VW Fides, a large Metro, suggested tearing down the construction costs have declined as com- Wesi German investment group that was landmark hotel to build a bus and rail petition among builders has increased. I lie It seems unlikely, however, that a successful also involved in the 2,61 5-acrc, master- transit center at the corner of Main and acquisition cost would also be significantly redevelopment scheme can be formulated planned C-rogan's Crossing, north of Texas, Indeed, spokespersons for HFC- lower than the 1984 cost. On the other without involvement from the public Houston. Shortly after the purchase. Rovi Bank AG, declining a request to clean and hand, the 1986 tax reform act reduced and sector. Some have suggested use o f the Rice Texas announced plans to rehabilitate the paint the hotel's street-level canopy as part restricted tax credits for historical preserva- as a city administration building, like the Rice as a luxury hotel with rhe aid o f $9.6 of the city's preparations for the Republi- tion, and the 1984 cost estimate would be Houston Savings Building on Main. million in federal funds, to be applied for can National Convention, admitted that further increased by other factors, includ- Another possible approach, similar to the through the city of Houston. The plan they are trying to sell the property, for ing the recently enacted Americans With model pro\ ided b\ Philadelphia's 1 lotel stalled in city council; in 1986, Rovi Texas demolition if necessary, and do not intend Disabilities Act. Atop the Bellvue, is a mixed-use project. relinquished ownership of the hotel to its to invest further funds in the building. With restaurants or retail space on two or bank. Since then, little has been reported The 1984 study was revealing in several three floors, residential and/or hotel use o n about the Rice except tor periodic confir- Little has been mentioned in the context respects. Although it concluded that the others, perhaps with several other flours mations ol an a->killg price ol > I -i tin limn of this year's price reduction about the width of the building bays would not given over to office use, the numbers might to $17 million and occasional rumors feasibility of redevelopment. A 1984 accommodate space-efficient double-access be made to work. about possible buyers. proposal provided an estimate tor redevel- hallways, it disclosed no structural opment of $80 million, including shortcomings that would preclude interior Comprehensive planning, when we finally In June 1992, an agent of the Frankfurt acquisition and financing costs. The l')84 demolition and reconstruction in accor- gei around to it, may help prompt a vision BKi-Bank AC! inspected the building and proposal included rehabilitation of the dance with current codes. In fact, the to preserve the Rice Hotel. But we're was shocked at the condition of its failing original 1913 wings of the building for use building frame is steel and the walls running out o f time. •