IronTiger Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 So recently I've picked up an interest in the late Shamrock Hotel, but this especially caught my eye: Glenn McCarthy. Quote ...this was on the fringes of countryside and was meant to be the first phase of a much larger indoor shopping and entertainment complex called McCarthy Center, anchored alongside the planned Texas Medical Center. I'm curious as to whether there are any renderings of this--an indoor shopping complex seems very forward thinking and probably would be the first true indoor regional mall if built. Anyone have more details on this? Wyatt C. Hedrick (often misspelled as Wyatt C. Hendrick) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 One need but ask. Apologies for the poor scan quality. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 That looks like a movie theater facing Holcombe, with retail around the Main/Holcombe intersection. I vaguely recall that the structure in the center was envisioned as an ice skating rink, but I can't swear to it. Can anyone confirm that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose Patriot Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The proposed McCarthy Center served as an influence 4 Gerald Hines - this became the genesis of The Galleria... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 I thought McCarthy Center was supposed to be indoors. Ah well. I have some awrsome renderings of how the Houston Center was supposed to look, I'll put up those soon. It was basically a city-within-a-city with decks underneath so traffic could flow and retail operate as normal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 So while doing some digging, I found that Shamrock had a Sakowitz for years...it must have been a boutique-sized store and not one of their even suburban locations (like Gulfgate). It stayed right up until the Shamrock's demise (1985). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) Glenn McCarthy knew that putting high-end shopping outlets inside the hotel would be a big extra for the high-end customers he was trying to attract, and the Sakowitz Men's Shop was one of the first to take him up on that bet. It opened in 1953 and, as noted above, it closed when the hotel closed in 1985. Edited June 26, 2014 by FilioScotia 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 I have no idea how many merchants were in the Shamrock at any given time. The same article mentions a jeweler that stayed from 1949 to 1985 (the entire span of the hotel save for the months leading up to closure in 1986) and the "Irish Shop" which stayed very briefly (late 1985). It's a bit of a bummer since the location was always never great but McCarthy moved forward anyway, leading to a state where only about half of the hotel rooms would be filled even by the early 1960s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 11/20/2013 at 4:42 PM, IronTiger said: I'm curious as to whether there are any renderings of this--an indoor shopping complex seems very forward thinking and probably would be the first true indoor regional mall if built. Anyone have more details on this? wow!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 More information from the newspaper Southwestern Times dated January 24, 1946. There was a naming contest held on February 15, 1946. Awesome concept rendering! Facts About This Center: Hotel: This 1004-room hotel, completely air conditioned, includes 431 hotel rooms, and 573 rooms in apartments ranging from one-room efficiencies to two three, and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses. Many private dining rooms, coffee shop, snack bar, ballroom, large dining room, beauty shop, barber shop, liquor store, drug store, art gallery, and available spaces for other shops. Unique clerk desk in basement for driving, registering and going direct to room. Medical Building: An individual building properly designed for the medical profession with the latest designed sanitary features for any size clinic. Proximity to the Texas Medical Center, Cancer Research, and Baylor Medical School give added important to the location for every doctor. Market: The largest marked in the world, with 51, 000 square feet, choice imported and domestic foods, liquors, cooked food, restaurant, meat market, frozen food lockers for the public and all the other good things which go to make this the finest. A Complete Shopping Center To Include Such Shops As: Ready-to-ear, Men's fine Tailoring Shops, Beauty Parlors, Jewelry, Appliances, Drug Store, Baby Shop, Stationary, Photography Studio, Florists, Variety Store, and other types of business to make a Complete Shopping Center. Write or telephone applications for rental space of stores, shops, medical offices, or apartments furnished or unfurnished, to 6902 Main Street, telephone Keystone 3-5507. James A. Clark, Operational Manager 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 12, 2023 Share Posted August 12, 2023 Found this very rare matchbook cover on Ebay. The Shamrock McCarthy Center Houston, Texas / World's Finest-South's Largest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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