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| Photographs
March 16, 2006 |
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Houston-North,
Texas --
3939 North Freeway |
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Built
in the "Mansard"
style, Houston-North opened in the Spring of 1974. 1989 was the
last full year that the 119 guest room Motor Lodge was a Howard
Johnson's--it was the last authentic Houston area Howard Johnson's
Motor Lodge in operation. |
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| USGS
satellite image: © Microsoft Corporation |
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The
years were not kind to this HoJo's, for by 1998 the once pristine
Motor Lodge had become "a motel terrorized with
prostitution and drug dealings" according to comments
recorded at a 1998 Houston city council meeting.
On
March 3, 1998 Houston's City Council passed an ordinance that
allowed for the "City of Houston to enter into contract
with Self Sufficiency Thru Housing and Economic
Development (SHED) to provide an $813,860.00 second
lien loan of Federal "HOME" funds to acquire and
rehabilitate a 120 unit single room occupancy facility restricted
for rental to low and very low income persons."
The
site bills itself as the only permanent housing complex for
the homeless in Texas. SHED
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Direct
TV for the Homeless?
Sprouting from one of the old guest buildings were several satellite
dishes. Why do the "near-homeless" housed in the former
Howard Johnson's need direct TV (something that is certainly not
in my budget)? |
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SHED,
a somewhat secretive quasi-public organization, forbids photographs
of its Houston facility (photographs seen on this page were all
legally obtained from vantage points on the public right-of-way)!
Perhaps they are helping people in dire need--I hope, but suspicions
tell me that tax dollars might have been used more wisely elsewhere.
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| Photograph
2002: Courtesy of Dave DeBlasio |
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| Photographs
March 16, 2006 |
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Note
the "fancy" PT Cruiser and BMW parked in front of the
old Restaurant--I'd sure like a new car. |
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