We've talked about shrouding the Statler, but what about the insides of the embattled hotel on Commerce Street, across from the under-construction Main Street Gardens? So happens that council member Angela Hunt took a tour of Conrad Hilton's baby last week, accompanied by the city's director of Economic Development Karl Zavitkovsky, and has just posted to her newly revamped Web site a short essay accompanying a pretty remarkable slide show worth a peek.
So, what says Hunt about the hotel, given her admitted dislike of midcentury modern architecture?
I've heard again and again from developers that the eight foot ceilings are the killers -- they're just too low for today's marketplace. But the configuration of the rooms, combined with the wall of windows, make the ceilings seem higher than eight feet, and the rooms don't feel small or cramped at all.
Imagine Main Street Garden is done, the UNT Law School has moved into the municipal courts building, and the modern streetcar is up and running on Commerce (with its mate on Elm). The Statler could be one of the coolest addresses in Downtown.
