A Midtown Building You Probably Never Noticed Before Is Coming Apart Today

Demolition of 2107 Milam St., Midtown, Houston

The vacant 2-story building at 2107 Milam St. in Midtown, which long ago was home to a President Health Club — but is likely better remembered as a blank-faced, boarded-up building with a for-sale sign on its corner — is being smashed to bits this morning. A reader sends in this view of the scene at Milam and West Gray St. taken from the Metro HQ building at 1900 Main St. The 14,975-sq.-ft. soon-to-be empty lot is next door to Central Square Plaza (at left in the photo), which is currently undergoing renovations. County records show a company called Hobby Place LLC purchased the smaller property in April.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

2107 Milam

10 Comment

  • They should take that excavator over to the Greyhound station and take care of that decrepit pile of stink as well..

  • A building we never noticed? That decrepit shell of a building was a mammoth eyesore that was hard to miss. Thank goodness it is going away.

  • I never saw a demo permit for it. Will it be imploded?

  • I believe that they are only demo-ing the small 2 story building, not the much larger building.

  • The large building on the left is not being demoed, it is being renovated. This article refers to the smaller building on the right.

  • This building was the first location of Richard Minns business known as “Presidents and First Lady Health Spa”which into the 1970’s was a growing empire. Minns sexcapades and crimes were later
    documented in the Suzanne Finstad book “Sleeping With the Devil” which was made into a CBS
    television movie. Minns is on the run, living in Canada and wanted for questioning by Houston Police
    Dept for the hits he put out on his ex-girlfriend Barbra Pietrowski and her divorce attorney. Pietrowski
    who was paralyzed in her shooting won a $28,000,000 judgement against Minns. His son is an
    attorney in Houston.
    The “torch” protruding from the corner of the building above the intersection of Gray and Milam used to
    have a gas flame burning and the rooftop had a jogging track, indoors hot tubs and swimming pools.

  • Jaybird: Interesting info. I’ll have to look that story up.

  • So unlike most other ‘historic’ buildings, this ugly POS actually has some interesting history associated with it. Where was the faux outrage? Did I blink and miss it?

  • Totally agree ahkelly! That part of Midtown will never grow and transform like other parts have until that bus station is GONE!

  • I hope the old Texas Art Supply bldg across Grey St. is next for demo; THAT place is a true “decrepit pile of stink” b/c the parapet has been breached and every hard rain it floods the sidewalk for days afterwards. “Funk Nastification” personified.