Hmm... Looking at the above pic, maybe one could think of the brown brick sides as a bow to the Water Gardens. Sort of an architectural irony - dark, sober masonry ivy from the terra firma below shooting up the side of a whimsical, neon bon mot of a structure jutting skyward, producing stark contrast and visual conflict... Or maybe, when sober, it's just a dang head scratcher!
Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel
#101
Posted 31 July 2008 - 07:59 PM
Hmm... Looking at the above pic, maybe one could think of the brown brick sides as a bow to the Water Gardens. Sort of an architectural irony - dark, sober masonry ivy from the terra firma below shooting up the side of a whimsical, neon bon mot of a structure jutting skyward, producing stark contrast and visual conflict... Or maybe, when sober, it's just a dang head scratcher!
#102
Posted 31 July 2008 - 09:21 PM
Hmm... Looking at the above pic, maybe one could think of the brown brick sides as a bow to the Water Gardens. Sort of an architectural irony - dark, sober masonry ivy from the terra firma below shooting up the side of a whimsical, neon bon mot of a structure jutting skyward, producing stark contrast and visual conflict... Or maybe, when sober, it's just a dang head scratcher!
I still think it needs some sort of "green" relief, especially across the street from the Water GARDENS.
#103
Posted 31 July 2008 - 09:48 PM
#104
Posted 01 August 2008 - 11:57 AM
#105
Posted 26 August 2008 - 08:18 PM
#106
Posted 27 August 2008 - 06:29 AM
#107
Posted 27 August 2008 - 07:33 AM
Sam, you were on to something. You were just a little hasty, as they did more work on this place in the night. When I went back over this morning to tell them about your idea of increasing the size of the sign, I realized that it was not a size issue, just a quantity issue. Look at this morning's shot!
#108
Posted 27 August 2008 - 12:18 PM
I don't think so. There is a very crucial difference between the two: The original base of the Baker/Simpson building, whether or not one has a taste for its particular style, was a work of quality, craftsmanship and beauty. It was replaced by ugly, generic concrete panels. What happened to that building was like taking a crystal goblet and covering it up with special paint for the purpose of making people think that it is a cheapo 3 for $1 cup purchased at Wal-mart.
By contrast, that hotel had neither quality, craftsmanship or beauty. It was utterly bland and unremarkable from day one - and as you mentioned in the part of your posting removed from the above quotes, the very best aesthetic remedy for the thing is a bunch of TNT. So, unlike the Baker/Simpson Building, the remodel is NOT a example of something being botched up because the was nothing there to botch up in the first place.
Observe that one very rarely hears complaints about earlier buildings that were heavily remodeled in the 1930s. Two that come to mind are the Shelton Building in Fort Worth and the Ambassador Hotel in Dallas (built in 1905 as the Park Hotel). There are instances when such remodelings are sad in retrospect in that they resulted in something really neat being destroyed. But the final products of such remodelings usually have aesthetic merit in their own right. That's because good taste still existed in the dominant popular culture of the 1930s - something that had been utterly discarded into the sewer by the late 1960s and the 1970s.
On the other hand, most buildings from the 1960s and 1970s are like that hotel in that the best remedy for them from a purely aesthetic standpoint is a big bundle of TNT. From a purely structural standpoint, however, such buildings very often still have economic value. In many cases, the remodel is being done by someone who has FAR MORE good taste than the original architect and constitutes an improvement. For example, the former BankOne Building now The Tower. Before it was hit by the tornado, that building was in strong competition with Burnett Plaza for being the second most visible eyesore on the downtown skyline after the Southwestern Bell/SBC/AT&T/Whatever They Call Themselves Next Week complex. That building was not just bland, it had subtle aspects that deliberately pushed the thing in to the category of being downright drab. The new skin as The Tower - while certainly not remarkable in its own right - constitutes a VAST improvement and at least removes the building from the eyesore category.
I will admit that some remodels I have seen change a building from the eyesore category to the absurd category. In some cases, what they will do is keep most of the original 1970s ugliness intact and arbitrarily slap on a few classically inspired details with cheapo materials that make absolutely no sense and result in a bizarre contradiction. In those cases, I would submit that the ugly original is better on grounds that honest ugliness is superior to pretentious ugliness.
As for the hotel, the only real problem I have with the remodel is the orange. What on earth are they thinking? And why paint the orange on in an upside down "U" arrangement? I guess the orange draws attention to the building - but why? Drawing attention to itself is the LAST thing that a building that bland and unremarkable should want to do. The best it can strive for is to blend in and be as unobjectionable as possible. The orange gives it a sort of "third word" quality. I suppose it could have been worse and instead of orange they picked purple or hot pink. But the fact it could be worse still does not say anything in favor of the loudness of the orange. People who factor in cool looking buildings as a criteria for selecting a hotel are NOT going to stay there in the first place. They need to cash in on the brand name, or attractive pricing, good service, nice amenities in rooms or something else. It is not like they are on the Interstate and needing to use the building to stand out and lure in drive-by travelers without reservations looking for a last minute place to spend the night. If they would just tone down the colors a bit, it would achieve the status of something unobjectionable that fits into its surroundings in an okay manner.
The only circumstances under which I can see people in the future regretting the remodel is if we ever get to the point that very few examples of 1970s architecture remain standing and they need some examples as novelties and reminders of how bad things were. It would be great if we could be so lucky.
My guess is that, unless the economy goes way down and stays way down, in 30 years that hotel will have either undergone another exterior remodel or they will bring out the TNT. What they have done with it will not age well. Certainly all of the soot from the nearby highways will not be kind to the new panels and it will need a repaint or water blasting. Meanwhile, the exteriors of the Blackstone, Hotel Texas and probably even the new Omni that they are building will still be as attractive as they are today and not cry out for being covered up.
Yes, trends come and go and sometimes things fall out of fashion. But anybody who bases his tastes entirely on whatever happens to be fashionable at any given moment - well, such a person is a mere sheep and does not have any authentic taste of his own. Changing fashions aside, the bottom line is that age cannot give an ugly building beauty any more than a trendy architecture critic can give an unremarkable building authentic significance by merely asserting that it is somehow significant. The only merits that age can give a building are history and novelty. Most 1970s buildings were butt ugly and unremarkable when they were new. They were built in such large numbers, especially in this part of the country, that it will be a very long time before they have any significant novelty value. Some might develop history based on events that take place in them. And here and there one might even find a few that do have some authentic aesthetic merit. But the vast majority of buildings what were butt ugly and unremarkable new buildings will become butt ugly and unremarkable old buildings.
#109
Posted 27 August 2008 - 08:22 PM
Sam, you were on to something. You were just a little hasty, as they did more work on this place in the night. When I went back over this morning to tell them about your idea of increasing the size of the sign, I realized that it was not a size issue, just a quantity issue. Look at this morning's shot!
#110
Posted 11 December 2008 - 07:27 PM
Clearly the bucks were allocated to the rooms. The seemingly half finished outside led to a nice, but spartan lobby and common areas (nice furniture, but I think they needed more wall art); which led to really nice, individual rooms. In fact, the beds were great! Big, appropriately firm, quality, and covered with nice linens (although I've never figured out why hotels put so many pillows on beds - most of mine usually end up on the floor.) And the flat screen TVs were actually hooked up to HD stations (I also find that most hotel flat screens have the crummy analog pictures.) The staff were especially professional, friendly, and knowledgeable.
My one dig was that the gift shop only sold USA Today and the "D" Morning News. When I commented to the shop keeper "are you kidding they don't sell the Star-Telegram?" - she looked knowingly and noted she warns her manager every day that this is not good for community relations. I've forwarded an email to Starwood....
But best of all, the participants were shuttled to Sundance Square to eat, drink, and shop on two nights. And I overheard many positive comments about downtown, the Bass Hall, the Christmas lights, how they'd "always heard Fort Worth was a nice place, but had no idea how really beautiful it was" (actual unedited and unprompted quote). By the way, despite the cold, the streets, stores, and restaurants were full on these Tuesday and Wednesday nights...
#111
Posted 30 March 2012 - 08:26 AM
http://www.star-tele...otel-files.html
I wonder if the Omni is taking away from their Convention Center traffic.
#112
Posted 15 May 2012 - 08:04 AM
#113
Posted 15 May 2012 - 10:06 AM
#114
Posted 15 May 2012 - 10:31 AM
Which direction should we go, here?
#115
Posted 15 May 2012 - 10:57 AM
So...... appartments? Office space? Tear down for more parking?
Which direction should we go, here?
My guess is someone buys the thing at a very good price out of bankruptcy and operates it as a somewhat lower priced hotel.
#116
Posted 15 May 2012 - 11:29 AM
So...... appartments? Office space? Tear down for more parking?
Which direction should we go, here?
I believe JBB was referring to the Shula's restaurant, which has closed. The hotel is still open, and from the sounds of things, is going to be booked solid during the state Republican convention.
#117
Posted 15 May 2012 - 11:55 AM
So...... appartments? Office space? Tear down for more parking?
Which direction should we go, here?
I believe JBB was referring to the Shula's restaurant, which has closed. The hotel is still open, and from the sounds of things, is going to be booked solid during the state Republican convention.
Oh. Must have read that wrong...
#118
Posted 17 October 2012 - 09:01 AM
http://www.star-tele...nce-to-buy.html
Dallas-based Prism Hotels and Resorts will be bidding against the former owners of the Fort Worth Sheraton in bankruptcy court. The judge says he wants the case disposed of quickly, by the end of the year. Prism wants to keep the Sheraton franchise, I think that would be a good thing; Fort Worth needs the Sheraton brand downtown. It is recognized, if conventional, but changing the name again would cause confusion in the market, and result in extra costs. Presidio, the company that acquired and remodeled the long-time semi-abandoned property across from the southern end of the Convention Center but then defaulted on loans will bid as well. It is a shame that they were forced to relinquish the property after doing what appears to be a fine job of rehabbing and bringing back to life a facility that was thought by some as best scrapped. The city needs to get busy and book more meetings and events into the Convention Center so it can pay for the extensive remodeling done over the past few years and the hotels have located here and that depend on those meetings can stay in business.
#119
Posted 17 October 2012 - 11:03 AM
#120
Posted 17 October 2012 - 02:01 PM
Hear my original music (and other stuff) at RPQx2 Music
#121
Posted 19 October 2012 - 06:31 AM
#122
Posted 19 July 2013 - 07:35 AM
The Presidio folks are back. New renovations are coming according to the S-T story.
http://www.star-tele...adlines-default
#123
Posted 19 July 2013 - 12:05 PM
Good news about a reno. The hotel has a lot of potential, but has not been up to par as a Sheraton on my last visits there. Maybe they can also do something to tie together all the different architectural and design elements of the building. Holy cow, there's just lot going on with hotel's exterior. And not really in a good way.
- renamerusk likes this
#124
Posted 19 July 2013 - 12:12 PM
I hope they modernize the design some. I mean I think it would be a good way to compete with the other hotels.
#125
Posted 19 July 2013 - 12:31 PM
I think they could just change the color on the yellow part to something that belnds better with the brown brick. The beige color is probably ok. The yellow is garish.
#127
Posted 18 March 2017 - 01:14 PM
They are finally painting the South facing of the Sheraton !!
...they weren't finished?
#128
Posted 18 March 2017 - 02:23 PM
They were not. They stopped painting the building quite some time ago. The south side of the building was only partially repainted.
#129
Posted 12 April 2022 - 08:06 AM
This is a major renovation project!
https://www.tdlr.tex.../TABS2022016378
#130
Posted 09 May 2022 - 10:47 AM
https://accela.fortw...ShowInspection=
#131
Posted 28 September 2022 - 10:15 AM
The story of the hotel renovations has been posted in the Fort Worth Report.
https://fortworthrep...nd-of-downtown/
#132
Posted 28 September 2022 - 01:01 PM
Thanks for finding that article. I just assumed this project fell on deaf ears when I posted it back in May. Nice to see someone picked it up.
#133
Posted 28 September 2022 - 01:39 PM
You're welcome. I try to keep up with things as much as I can.
#134
Posted 28 September 2022 - 02:41 PM
The story of the hotel renovations has been posted in the Fort Worth Report.
Fort Worth will look like the Denver renovations exactly--see model room in article and actual Denver room below
#135
Posted 22 November 2022 - 01:09 PM
https://www.tdlr.tex.../TABS2023006001
#136
Posted 22 November 2022 - 07:50 PM
#137
Posted 22 November 2022 - 08:49 PM
Project Description
This project includes the renovation of 403 guestrooms at an existing, fully operational hotel. Renovation will take place at two separate hotel guestroom towers (North and South) on levels 03 thru 12 including renovation of the existing Club Lounge in the South Tower. Renovation is expected to be phased. The first tower will be renovated while the second tower remains operational. Once the first tower is complete, the second tower will then be renovated. Hotel operations will continue throughout the renovation. A separate building permit package will be submitted for the public space renovation which is also expected to take place while the hotel remains operational.
- TLA likes this
#138
Posted 22 November 2022 - 11:47 PM
I file these applications for every project that I prepare the construction documents. The estimate is based on the total cost of the project that the contractor is providing. It always includes the labor and the materials, and usually does include OFCI items. Another factor in the cost is that the hotel is remaining open. Phasing these projects and keeping the buildings operational increases the cost.
- TLA likes this
#139
Posted 23 November 2022 - 06:11 PM
Judging by the renovated Denver location. If they added in a Yard House restaurant, thats a great pickup for this side of downtown.
#140
Posted 23 November 2022 - 09:45 PM
A Yard House would make a great addition. However, I have noticed that every branded restaurant in the hotel seems to have failed.
#141
Posted 24 November 2022 - 02:46 PM
I hope these renovations increase the number of patrons at this pleasant and friendly hotel. Last summer the hotel graciously hosted meeting space for a small group of which I am a member, and without charge in exchange for advertising by our group. I found attendance at the restaurants not all that great, but the food and service were okay.
#142
Posted 05 December 2022 - 12:52 PM
It was interesting at the DDRB on Thursday last week after they heard the case for the Sheraton sign project, the board chair expressed his concern / urgency for the hotel to submit their plans to the DDRB for review. I think staff told them they had but after listening to the sign contractor really talk up all the changes to the property that are underway, I think that caught my attention as well as the chairperson's attention too.
Staff Report on new sign: https://www.fortwort...taff-report.pdf
I checked Accela, but haven't seen a DDRB filing as of yet.
I did see that there was a monument sign for the hotel and something called "West + Stone" which makes me think of a spa name, but I didn't see mention of a spa in the hotel, is there one?
#143
Posted 07 December 2022 - 07:26 PM
https://www.star-tel...e269698541.html
Renderings:
#145
Posted 15 January 2023 - 09:56 PM
#146
Posted 16 January 2023 - 07:23 AM
Idle thought: Sheraton ought to build a third tower in that grass lot to the south, on Lancaster.
#147
Posted 16 January 2023 - 12:16 PM
Idle thought: Sheraton ought to build a third tower in that grass lot to the south, on Lancaster.
I don't disagree with that idea, but I've always thought of something else being put there.
#148
Posted 16 January 2023 - 12:28 PM
Are we talking about this area here in aqua? On TAD, it doesn't look like that is not pulling up anything, wondering if that's not right-of-way for US-287?
Funny, this whole area circled here is not showing up as deeded property, maybe City or TXDOT owned?
- Doohickie likes this
#150
Posted 16 January 2023 - 03:19 PM
The hotel also owns the whole block south of 16th (labeled in the screenshot as 42452307)
I bet A&M would love to buy that lot. Interested to see what happens with that lot if 1701 Commerce group does with it.
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