MONTROSE HOSTEL OPENING SOON 
The former Lovett Inn at 501 Lovett St. in the heart of Montrose will officially reopen as Hostelling International USA’s Morty Rich Hostel on September 25. The 50-bed facility, which will have both shared and private rooms for travelers, is named after the late son of Houston entrepreneurs, developers, and Rice U benefactors Hershel and Hilda Rich. [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Bart Vis [license]
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OK, I quickly tried to find a connection between the Richs’ son and this house. Couldn’t find it on the county clerk’s site. Course, I may have had one too many beers with my pizza but that’s no excuse.
Any ideas out there? Outright knowledge accepted too.
Morton Lawrence Rich was born Nov. 8, 1951 in Houston, Texas to Hershel and Hilda Atlas Rich. He died in an airplane crash near Rowe, New Mexico on September 3, 1993. He left a bequest in his will to help fund the HI-Houston hostel.
In 1965 Morty achieved the Eagle Scout rank as a Boy Scout in Troop 55. He used money given at the time of his bar mitzvah to take flight lessons. He graduated from Rice University in 1973, where he was a resident of Hanszen College. He covered the 1972 Miami Beach Democratic Presidential Convention at which Sen. George McGovern was nominated as a student reporter for the Rice Thresher, camping out with the protesters in the park. He also established Rainbow Tours and Travel, a travel agency which organized student ski trips.
He lived in Montrose, and owned Rich Aviation, and practiced as a C.P.A. for many years before his untimely death.
Morty led Hostelling International group bicycle trips, and became a passionate advocate for Hostelling. He was a graduate of the hostelling Leadership Training Course, and he led trips on Cape Cod, to Europe, and in one instance to Cancun, Mexico where the group was caught up in a tropical storm. For a time he managed the Las Vegas hostel. He was a volunteer at the national office, and a board member and Treasurer of the local council. He was Secretary/Treasurer for the Southern Region of Hostelling International, and served on the national board of HI at the time of his death.
The student health service at Rice University is named in his memory, as are several Leadership Rice scholarships and programs.
Rich’s nightclub on San Jacinto acquires its name from the family (which formerly owned the building), by the way.
It is a 50 bed, rather than a 50 room Hostel. It is owned and operated by Hostelling International USA. A gift was provided by the Rich family to fund a portion of the project. It is named in the son’s honor.
@Mt: Fixed, thanks!
In terms of location, it’s convenient that it’s right by Alliance Francaise.