Note: Story updated below.
News comes from a reader that Scott Gertner’s Skybar, on the top floor of 3400 Montrose, will be closing for good this Saturday — “due to the building closing its doors.” We don’t have further information about why the entire 10-story office building across Hawthorne from the Montrose Kroger might be shutting down, but a Twitter-fed rumor is that it’s for “safety concerns.”
Scott Gertner’s Sports Bar, safely ensconced on the ground- (and only) floor of a parking-lot site on Fountainview just north of Richmond, is apparently in no danger of collapse, and will remain open. The complete message passed onto us from Gertner after the jump:
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hey guys, wanted to let you know my Skybar will be closing for good….
this saturday, july 3rd due to the building closing it’s doors. it’s been 11 years of great fun, great friends, great fans and it would not have lasted this long in any other city.
come visit this week to say goodbye to a great location and then come have fun at my …sports bar!
BTW, i’m currently looking at new locations, bigger to fit more patrons…..
thank you, thank you, thank you for making the skybar a legendary live entertainment location.
Update, 6:48 p.m.: According to Fox 26 reporter Isiah Carey, the closure of the building may be just, uh, speculation on Gertner’s part: “He says the Montrose Blvd. nightclub is closing because the new owner of the building where his club is located is not making the needed repairs. Gertner says, ‘they will likely close the building all together.'”
Later Update, 7/1: Gertner says he thought the city was going to shut the building down 2 weeks ago.
Photo of 3400 Montrose Blvd.: LoopNet
I hope this isn’t true. I’ve always thought this bldg was so ugly that it was actually cool.
Additionally, if it does come down, there’s no way anything in this environment could replace it other than maybe some lame strip mall. More than likely, it’ll be a vacant lot to match the old River Cafe site down the block.
It’s been red-tagged and this was not the first time. I noticed the red-tag a couple of nights ago while walking. Maybe the owners removed it. Which would also not be the fist time. The building was, well, old. But oh, the memories. Before Skybar, the Palace. Long, long ago…
The building was old back then too. One too many on the elevator tended to cause the elevator to sort of “sink” a little. They actually had elevator attendants. Who would make the one too many get off.
What a place to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July. All over the city. Not this year. Shame Scott didn’t keepit open one last night. For one last 4th of July.
I remember sitting on Cody’s deck in 1980 counting the building cranes (Houston’s State Bird at the time)
Fifteen? Twenty? hard to remember exactly.
Good times.
I forgot about Cody’s. I’m obviously very old…
The Chinese consulate was located in this building during the 80’s. In the book Mao’s Last Dancer, there is a chapter about a ballet dancer who defected, and was held prisoner for several hours by consulate officials. As for the building itself, I love the art deco style mail drop that is inside the lobby.
It hasn’t looked like most of the floors are occupied for a long time. It was red-tagged about 2 weeks ago as Matt Mystery said above. I thought it was going to be done then but then they were bustling as normal a couple days later. I will miss all the cars parking in front of my house.
This would be a fantastic candidate for a loft conversion…. who has cash? I know an architect.
um yeah, I’m ok with letting the Skybar go. On a related note, as a resident of Montrose, is it just me, or does it feel like Montrose has taken over Swamplot lately?
Any ideas what it was tagged for? I saw that too on the way to the medical center..
As a former resident of Montrose, I’m glad when it takes over. Most of the rest of the city is stultifying!
Despite gentrification, it is the most interesting part of town, IMO.
@Udunno: I’m not gonna lie, I had to google “stultifying” and now I feel a little stultified myself.
You’re right, I also enjoy being clued into the happenings of my always-intriguing neighborhood.
My husband and I met in that building in the late 70’s, not to mention the hours I spent knocking back Scotch and water at Cody’s. To say it has some sentimental value to us is an understatement. I’ll hate to see it go if that happens. Based on some vintage photos I’ve seen (Life Magazine), 3400 Montrose originally was the location for a large, brick colonial style house with a front circular drive, very similar to its ritzy neighbor, La Colombe D’or. At one point, the house was evidently the location for an insurance company.
The building has not been shut down, I am still renting there.
They have not communicated any plans.
It would make an excellent art studio building, and there is money in that- take Winter Street Studios as an example.
Would also make great living spaces, but would require tremendous remodel.
If you hear any clues about plans of owners, please post!
It’s not such a bad building after all, just a little too big and out of place for that particular Montrose area.
There has been little to no maintenance done on the building for decades. The restrooms are on landings between the floors on the central staircase, and are kept locked to minimize their attractiveness as smack havens. The fire exit doors are regularly chained and padlocked. The HVAC is totally shot. The elevator switchgear is original to the construction. The parking garage is structurally unsound, with chunks of concrete falling regularly,exposing rusting rebar, and don’t even get me started on the electrical system. And did I mantion the asbestos?
Any repurposing of the building would be ruinously expensive, other than as a high-rise self-storage facility, which was the primary use to which the Ali brothers put it.
Okay- just one more thing to throw out there, if anyone has any comments, ideas, knowledge about this…
Why would a landlord not cash rent checks for 6 months? What would that mean in terms of a building like 3400 Montrose and the intentions of the landlords and its future?
Claiming bankrupt? seems obvious.
Divorsing?
Dead?
or just pinned under something heavy…
hey , i was so happy when i entered the skybar, reasons of great memories of the first time me and my husband came together for our18 annversary, and we continued until the closing of the skybar july 1, our special day is nov 8! he loved the asmosphere, the friendly people and especially scott with his great voice, and annie the waitress ,she always presented us the first drink for our annvy and pleasant andjust asweet person inside and out. but also we meet ms.mary (dancing mary) just the humble ,sweet white lady that enjoyed herself everytime we saw her, it cld be 6 or 10 mths from now and we smile ,knowing that god has blessed this lady to enjoy herself like she do, and with others!when we see ms.mary she gives hungs and kisses and we both felled down holding on to each other dancing. sherry and dwight and a few of our friends and family enjoyed the skybar very, very much and scott, my mother also danced with ms.mary and they laughed and hugged, our place will be greatly missed, indeed !