Construction began on this 6 story hotel in 1926 and was completed in 1927. Prior to its construction two other hotels had stood in its location. Below is an excerpt of the history of the site:

In 1895, James C. Landon purchased the property. Landon collaborated with Oscar Ruffini to build a two-story structure of native sandstone. The building was richly decorated and equipped with all the luxuries of the day.

An electrical fire in 1902 enveloped the Landon. The blaze killed Landon's wife and six guests. Three stables and a half-dozen neighboring stores were burned in the inferno. Great human effort was all that prevented the entire (EDIT: City Name Deleted) business district from being destroyed.

The Landon was rebuilt and opened for business as a three-story hotel. The hotel was lavishly decorated. The main gathering area boasted a white-patterned tile ceiling, Greek-inspired pillars and lamps hanging from 4-foot chains. Elegant, leather-bound wooden chairs with matching tables enhanced the luxurious ambiance of the space.

Unfortunately, fire again destroyed the hotel in 1925.

When it was constructed the hotel was the center of town life and the most lavish building in the city. In the mid-1950's it came under new ownership and the name was changed to Town House.

With the boom and bust cycle of oil in Texas, the town and the hotel began to decline. By the late 1970's the hotel was closed for good and has sat neglected ever since.

Today most of the bottom floors are occupied with small retail shops. Water damage has caused extensive destruction to the upper floors of the building as have asshole kids who have trashed the place. The current owner purchased the building 6 months ago and is just now in the process of refurbishing the building with an anticipated opening late in 2016 (ambitious to say the least...).

As with most hotels, its a lot of the same ole, same ole after a while so most of the shots are of the upper floors where it starts to get a bit more interesting. Hope you enjoy the set!


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Nice tagging in picture 20

Shit man, you're really getting around. I dig #5,18 and 20. Nice job!

Thanks to both of you. Had my eye on this one for a while and got lucky with the POE. There was similar tagging throughout the place (looks like the same guy) but it wasn't as large so I didn't include it in the post.

I've found its pretty easy to get good pics when the subject matter is so interesting. Now that I got rid of my 24-55mm DX lens and have a 24-120mm FX I'm hoping that the image quality on future shoots will be better.

Good job on the 5!

Always loved hotels, pretty good shots!