Thanks to some fun-loving neighbors in the Isabella Court apartments just across the street, we have this brief video documenting the wild final moments of the former Simpson Galleries building at the corner of Main and Isabella in Midtown. The building burned Friday night; the Spanish Colonial storefront structure facing onto the light-rail line has been vacant since the Simpson Galleries moved to a new location near Fountainview and Westpark in 2007. Demolition crews knocked down the remaining structure the next morning.
- Video of Teardown of Simpson Galleries After Fire Friday Night, Fire Ravages Simpson Galleries, and
Fire Strikes Third Antique Store This Year [Hair Balls] - Fire destroys vacant building in Midtown [abc13]
Video: Eleanor Williams/Jeff Balke
They shot that video from my old apartment window. Much more entertaining than the usual street scene, which includes homeless crooners and drunken club kids.
Simpson Galleries has been located at 6116 Skyline Drive Houston Texas 77057 since June of 2007. The building that burned this weekend did not belong to Simpson’s. At the time of the fire the building was not occupied. The Houston Fire Department did a wonderful job containing the blaze and should be commended for their good job early Saturday morning. Certainly this fire could have caused considerable damage to the neighborhood had the HFD not responded with the level of professionalism that they did.