Almost every city has a well-developed infrastructure, including skyscrapers, architectural landmarks, enterprises, shops and shopping centers. If much of this appeared only through time, then hotels were almost pioneers in the field of infrastructure. The topic of “Where to spend a few days or a night in another city?” has been on people’s minds ever since humanity first began to travel. Read more at houston-future.
Perhaps the most famous hotel in the United States is the Plaza in New York, which first welcomed visitors in 1907. It is worth noting that the hotel earned worldwide recognition in large part thanks to the film Home Alone 2 and many other well-known pictures.
Early 20th century
The Sam Houston Hotel resides at the intersection of Prairie and San Jacinto Streets in the heart of Houston. It firmly planted its concrete roots in Texas exactly a century ago.
The hotel opened its doors to guests and residents of historic Houston back in 1924. It is unknown how long it took to construct a ten-story building, but by early twentieth-century standards, it was a skyscraper.
The hotel welcomed guests from the middle class. Judging from the exterior, it’s clear that no one gave the design much care. By the way, it was designed by the local titans in the world of architects, representatives of the company Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick & Gottlieb. The astounding amount (by the standards of those times) of roughly 100 rooms impressed a lot of people at the time. Looking forward to the present, we can also mention that the management of the Sam Houston Hotel was able to multiply all of the achievements established at the time.
The hotel was owned by brothers, Vonnie and William Brooks, for the first 46 years, until the 1970s, after which the fate and ownership of the hotel underwent some adjustments.
The 21st century and today
The hotel changed hands in the new millennium, specifically in 2002. The two brothers took over as the owners again. The new proprietors were Randall Smith, his wife Barbara Smith, a native of Houston, and his brother Jeffrey Smith. Among other important changes, this trio contributed to the hotel’s first name change in its history. Following a minor renovation in 2005, the hotel’s name was changed to Alden Houston. Consequently, this short story ended in a disaster. The new administration had ambitious plans to expand its hotel operations beyond Houston, but they ran into difficulties in 2010.
The hotel was then taken over by Northwood Investors Corporation. Two years later it was sold again, to Gentry Mills Capital and American Liberty Hospitality, who had a fondness for historical values and wanted to return the first name. A year later, in 2013, the new management decided to carry out a reconstruction. From their perspective, it was essential to keep up with the times and meet modern requirements. It is worth emphasizing that the job was completed flawlessly. Although the exterior has not changed significantly, interior design fully matches the requirements of the 21st century.
Today, guests of the Sam Houston Hotel can choose from a wide range of hotel services, including 100 guest rooms, 3 conference rooms, a room for festive events with a space of more than 300 square meters and many other amenities. All of this and much more of the hotel premises are designed with cutting-edge technology.
On April 17, 2002, the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States, which unquestionably elevates this location to the level of a popular tourist destination. Therefore, we hope that the star of our article, the Sam Houston Hotel, will continue to attract Houstonians and visitors from all over the world.
