This striped confection is what developers are planning to put in place of the Courtyard on St. James Place, an ivy-bedecked wedding venue beloved — or at least remembered — by hundreds of Houston spouses and divorcees and tucked into the southwest corner of the office-building complex near the corner of San Felipe and Yorktown, northwest of the Galleria. Though the rendering doesn’t reveal much about the surfaces planned for the new structure, a comment from Jones Lang Lasalle’s Chris Decker, in charge of marketing the 13-story office building, says that “upper-level floors will feature exterior balconies and decorative masonry that will complement the sophisticated look of the limestone aggregate block window wall.†A colleague refers to it as a “niche-type jewel.” The 135,000-sq.-ft collection of offices — with what appears to be an attached 2-story segment modeled after a smaller groom’s cake — will sit on top of a parking-garage-podium base.
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The 25-year-old 23,000-sq.-ft. events center, covered with ivy and memorialized in hundreds of thousands of mostly context–free closeups in thousands of treasured or shelved wedding albums, has already shut down. Nelson Murphree Legacy Partners bought the property in September, and is developing the project with help from Jackson & Ryan Architects and Tellepsen Builders. Marketing materials refer to the development at 1885 St. James Pl. — which will be called 1885 St. James Place — as part of San Felipe Green.
- Jones Lang LaSalle Awarded Leasing Assignment of New Class-A Office Development in Galleria Submarket [Jones Lang LaSalle]
- Thank You Houston for Twenty-Five Wonderful Years [Courtyard on St. James]
- Tearing down Houston history: Iconic wedding venue to be demolished for new office building [Culturemap]
- Office building to replace Galleria-area wedding venue [Prime Property]
Rendering: Jackson & Ryan Architects. Photos: Farrah A. and Rusty B.
I fondly remember this place when it was Elan then later The Ocean Club … fun days from the 80s.!
I remember reading somewhere this joint was in a scene in Urban Cowboy when fancy Pam takes Bud uptown for dinner and dancing.
Apparently it was … http://www.fast-rewind.com/locations_urbancowboy.htm
If there was a Swampy award for best post headline, this would be the winner!
Ingress and egress to the upper deck of the parking garage was always an effort undertaken at one’s own peril.
Where is the groundfloor retail on this building. This is about as sterile as a parking lot in terms of street life. Cant we do better??
I seem to remember Elan having the best Eurotrash crowds.
80s Houston was some fun.
Yes, this was in the Urban Cowboy, it’s a shame it will be tore asunder, it’s so 80’s Houston, it along with the Post Oak Ranch are now but a faded memory
what! the venue where Tim & Blake wore white lab coats while spinning is coming down!
The Ocean Club deserves landmark recognition!