Former Texas State Hotel now on National Register

The Houston Business Journal reported that the Texas State Hotel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently in the building is Club Quarters Hotel, but they weren't mentioned by name in the brief article even though the company applied for the register listing.

The Texas State is a the corner of Fannin and Rusk and opened in 1929. Joseph Finger was the primary architect, and the cast terracotta detailing he often used is prevalent on this building. It originally was set to open in time for the 1928 Democratic National Convention which was being held in Houston, but financial problems and a change of hands - finally to Jesse H. Jones' leadership - delayed the opening which eventually happened in 1929.

By the early 1980s, the University of Texas owned the property and leased it to a hotel management partnership and much like its late neighbor, the Montagu Hotel, it was home to mostly elderly, disabled, and transient folks. UT was not getting the full amount of the lease from the management company so they decided to close up shop, and a couple hundred tenants had to find new homes. UT then put the property up for auction and Texaco, whose headquarters was next door, was the lone bidder. After letting the hotel sit for about fifteen years collecting graffiti and garbage, a company called Fannin & Rusk, LP took over and began plans for redevelopment.

• Texas State Hotel pictures