Articles

  • American Bars Obituary -- State Bar, Houston

    • 05/02/2016
    • ADB
    • 0 Comments

    Houston is thriving in its bar scene, but occasionally a heralded and historic place falls. 

    Houston loses a bit of its history when the State Bar closed. No, we are not discussing legal briefs or courtroom dockets. 

    The State Bar, had been a gathering spot for Houston power brokers past and up to the present.

    One of the charms of the State Bar was its furnishings, most of which are original to the former Capitol Club, a private bar that operated in the same space and whose members included politicians, attorneys, newspaper publishers, and other movers and shakers.

    The site's history extends beyond the people who held court there. Located on the second floor of the circa 1913 Rice Hotel - now the Rice Lofts - the bar and building was built on the site of the old Capitol of the Republic of Texas, where the Texas Congress met from 1837-1839. So, yes there was a very strong legal connection. 

    "Percy Foreman even had his own phone at the old Capitol (Club)," former owner Valerie McElroy said, referring to the famed Houston criminal defense attorney who died in 1988. "It was like his office."

    When the Rice Hotel closed in 1977, most of its contents were sold at auction, but a lost key kept the contents of the Capitol Club off the auction block, Max McElroy said. His wife, a self-described history buff, said that the couple asked to look around the old hotel in the early '90s. The McElroys discovered and purchased the old furnishings years before developer Randall Davis partnered with Post Properties to turn the hotel into loft apartments.

    The tufted burgundy sofas and chairs returned home when the State Bar opened in 1998. (A few pieces from the Capitol Club made their way to the couple's Montrose pub, McElroy's. Sadly, a lectern that President John F. Kennedy used in his final speech on Nov. 21, 1963, was lost to a fire at that pub.)

    The second-floor lounge with its dark woods, long U-shaped bar and wide patio looking down on Texas Avenue was one of the first bars that opened ahead of the double-aught downtown boom. Those were the heady days building up to Super Bowl XXXVIII, when downtown saw the opening of velvet-rope joints such as Boaka Bar and Mercury Room.

    The State Bar offered a more sophisticated atmosphere for after-hours power meetings, office parties and birthday celebrations.

    The Rice Lofts was recently sold to Dallas based Crow Holdings Capital Partners, and new management company Greystar recently informed residents that remodeled interiors would bring their units to the level of a "5-star luxury hotel," according to the  Houston Chronicle. Greystar did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the State Bar's closure relates to these changes.

Comments
 

Recent

American Bars Obituary -- State Bar, Houston

Houston is thriving in its bar scene, but occasionally a heralded and historic place falls. 

Houston loses a bit of its history when the State Bar closed. No, we are not discussing legal briefs or courtroom dockets. 

The State Bar, had been a gathering spot for Houston power brokers past and up to the present.

One of the charms of the State Bar was its furnishings, most of which are original to the former Capitol Club, a private bar that operated in the same space and whose members included politicians, attorneys, newspaper publishers, and other movers and shakers.

The site's history extends beyond the people who held court there. Located on the second floor of the circa 1913 Rice Hotel - now the Rice Lofts - the bar and building was built on the site of the old Capitol of the Republic of Texas, where the Texas Congress met from 1837-1839. So, yes there was a very strong legal connection. 

"Percy Foreman even had his own phone at the old Capitol (Club)," former owner Valerie McElroy said, referring to the famed Houston criminal defense attorney who died in 1988. "It was like his office."

When the Rice Hotel closed in 1977, most of its contents were sold at auction, but a lost key kept the contents of the Capitol Club off the auction block, Max McElroy said. His wife, a self-described history buff, said that the couple asked to look around the old hotel in the early '90s. The McElroys discovered and purchased the old furnishings years before developer Randall Davis partnered with Post Properties to turn the hotel into loft apartments.

The tufted burgundy sofas and chairs returned home when the State Bar opened in 1998. (A few pieces from the Capitol Club made their way to the couple's Montrose pub, McElroy's. Sadly, a lectern that President John F. Kennedy used in his final speech on Nov. 21, 1963, was lost to a fire at that pub.)

The second-floor lounge with its dark woods, long U-shaped bar and wide patio looking down on Texas Avenue was one of the first bars that opened ahead of the double-aught downtown boom. Those were the heady days building up to Super Bowl XXXVIII, when downtown saw the opening of velvet-rope joints such as Boaka Bar and Mercury Room.

The State Bar offered a more sophisticated atmosphere for after-hours power meetings, office parties and birthday celebrations.

The Rice Lofts was recently sold to Dallas based Crow Holdings Capital Partners, and new management company Greystar recently informed residents that remodeled interiors would bring their units to the level of a "5-star luxury hotel," according to the  Houston Chronicle. Greystar did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the State Bar's closure relates to these changes.

0