By tomorrow afternoon (well, actually, 12:35 p.m. Central tomorrow), if all goes according to plan (not my plan, mind you, but the property owner’s plan), the Ben Milam Hotel in downtown Houston will be reduced to a big pile of rubble. (Think dynamite + implosion.) The 10-story brick hotel opened in the 1920s to house travelers who visited Houston via Union Station (which sits across the street and now is a part of Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros’ home field). When the building goes down tomorrow, so will two of Houston’s few remaining ghost signs. I’m posting this photo as kind of a memorial to a piece of Houston history, I suppose. RIP, Ben Milam. (posted via Instagram at Inn at the Ballpark)
Abandoned, in Mexia, Texas. (Taken with Instagram)
Ghost signs – Texas edition.
(Taken with and posted from Instagram)
Same building: different side *and* different ghost sign. The previous photo shows the back of the building, which most people probably don’t see. If you missed it, check it out – it’s pretty awesome. (Taken with instagram in Corsicana, Texas)
I like it here. (Taken with Instagram at Smith General Store in downtown Corsicana, Texas)
Two ghost signs on the same building. Bonus! (Taken with Instagram at Bishop Arts District in Dallas, Texas)
This vacant industrial building has not only a #ghostsign on it, but a yellow coat hanging from one of its windows. #awesome (Taken with instagram)
Subsequent note: In recent years, at least one club has operated out of the building (which could help explain the presence of the coat!). The warehouse is located at 2001 Commerce Street – within shouting distance of Minute Maid Park – east of downtown Houston.
Thanks to a Google search, I now know that Graybar Electric Company was formerly housed in the building. The company’s old logos jibe with the ghost sign’s faded paint. See history.graybar.com/1942-1964.php and history.graybar.com.