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-   -   AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192101)

Tech House Dec 4, 2014 11:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jngreenlee (Post 6830233)
Oh that? That's slated to become an 800 room hotel with convention center space below. It will be a narrow but long tower set at the edge of a block-spanning podium. IHOP will feature prominently in the design. 12 floors of parking. And a spire.
I've been savoring your reply since I first read it yesterday. It's just too good. You've managed to make the best of a fairly grim reality. I mean, we can laugh or cry, so we may as well laugh at the thing you so perfectly described. No, I can't... it's too tragic. :(

Spaceman Dec 4, 2014 11:59 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas (Post 6831638)
They're going through the development review process. Even after the Fairmont was approved 2 years ago, it took a while, but it's finally moving forward now.
As I said, I hope I'm wrong...I concerns with the new council..tovo will have a death grip on the new members...Her ego has gotten out of control according to city hall gossip

jngreenlee Dec 5, 2014 3:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech House (Post 6831704)
I've been savoring your reply since I first read it yesterday. It's just too good. You've managed to make the best of a fairly grim reality. I mean, we can laugh or cry, so we may as well laugh at the thing you so perfectly described. No, I can't... it's too tragic. :(
And for some more (real) info on current owners see my post here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=258

I think the ABJ article the Spaceman shared fits this information.

The ATX Dec 11, 2014 2:02 PM
It's getting busy at the site - lots of digging and earth moving. The remnants of the parking lot have been pushed into a big pile of rubble.

brando Dec 11, 2014 9:35 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman (Post 6831734)
As I said, I hope I'm wrong...I concerns with the new council..tovo will have a death grip on the new members...Her ego has gotten out of control according to city hall gossip
The Tovo Court: Where No is the new Yes.

jngreenlee Dec 11, 2014 10:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by brando (Post 6840360)
The Tovo Court: Where No is the new Yes.
Tovo? Toh-No!

KevinFromTexas Dec 12, 2014 1:30 AM
Tovo - to vote or not to vote, that is the question Tovo troubles with on her to do list of what she sees as too many 400 footers.

The ATX Dec 17, 2014 3:37 PM
I just drove by the site, and it looks like they have already dug down about one parking level - at least on the Cesar Chavez side of the site.

ClendonRoss Dec 17, 2014 9:43 PM
Not sure if this is accurate or not, but heard that excavation has been halted since Sunday because they unearthed the walls of a Civil War armory.

lzppjb Dec 17, 2014 9:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClendonRoss (Post 6848080)
Not sure if this is accurate or not, but heard that excavation has been halted since Sunday because they unearthed the walls of a Civil War armory.
hahaha If this is true...awesome. I bet they are pulling their hair out.

I love history and discovering stuff like this is awesome. I'd love to see it.

lzppjb Dec 17, 2014 10:06 PM
Found this link from a couple years ago: http://www.austin360.com/news/lifest...-reader/nSt3N/


Quote:
Reader Bob Cavendish added that the Confederates built an armory on Waller Creek near the original Palm School building, which now houses government offices. This factory complemented the war materials plant that used slave labor at Anderson Mill.

“The Confederacy never took off as an industrial power,” Cavendish wrote. “While this enterprise did not produce a significant level of artillery, it did serve as a repair and fabrication point for farm implements in central Texas.”

LoneStarMike Dec 17, 2014 10:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by lzppjb (Post 6848112)
I love history and discovering stuff like this is awesome. I'd love to see it.
This reminds me of when they were building 301 Congress.

link

Quote:
When ground broke on the 301 Congress office building (now owned by Crescent and joint venture partner, Aetna Life Insurance Company) in 1985, one of the largest fossil discoveries in North America was unearthed. Workers were astonished to discover bones, teeth and tusks from prehistoric mastodons and mammoths, as well as an entire ecosystem. Construction was immediately halted, while over 7,000 people visited the dig site to view the fossils, and paleontologists were contacted for the removal, identification and preservation of the fossils. Since then, the artifacts have been on display in the 301 Congress lobby, as well as at the Texas Memorial Museum of Science and the Austin Nature Center's Deep Eddy Annex. With the opening of the Dino Pit, replicas can now be found at the 301 Congress pit, which will include a field collection display that will highlight fossils unearthed during the 301 Congress building construction.

lzppjb Dec 17, 2014 10:13 PM
Also found this: http://archive.org/stream/jstor-3024...43064_djvu.txt

Quote:
After the Mexican War of 1846 the United States established for several years the headquarters of the military department in Austin. But few troops were ever kept there, for they were posted at the forts on the frontier built by the United States. The United States Arsenal was where a public schoolhouse now stands on the block marked " Armory/' it being the southeast corner block of the original town.

LoneStarMike Dec 17, 2014 10:47 PM
^^And I found this

OLD ARMORY
Is there really an historical treasure trove beneath downtown Austin?
by Mike Cox

Quote:
"When they were excavating for a new building at the site several years ago," he said, "the workmen found a tunnel underneath where the arsenal had stood."

That is interesting enough, but what he said next borders on the incredible: "Inside the tunnel were stacks of rifles and swords."

When the heavy equipment crew reported the find to the contractor, his reaction was not one of historical fascination, the metal detector said.

"Fill it up with concrete," the boss man supposedly ordered.
The contractor was afraid that if he reported the find, the project would be delayed by archaeologists and all the associated governmental red tape. So, on penalty of losing their job, the workmen poured concrete into the tunnel.

lzppjb Dec 17, 2014 11:15 PM
Ugh. That makes me sick. If they really covered up all those artifacts with concrete, that guy needs his butt kicked.

Jdawgboy Dec 18, 2014 7:55 AM
Simply have the artifacts removed. As far as the armory is concerned, if anything, they could incorporate it into the hotel as a basement attraction...lol... okay that sounds kinda strange. At any rate I don't think it's worth halting the construction any longer than it would to remove whatever artifacts that were in there.

The ATX Dec 18, 2014 9:30 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jdawgboy (Post 6848796)
Simply have the artifacts removed. As far as the armory is concerned, if anything, they could incorporate it into the hotel as a basement attraction...lol... okay that sounds kinda strange. At any rate I don't think it's worth halting the construction any longer than it would to remove whatever artifacts that were in there.
There has been no stop to the activity on the site since this past Sunday. They were busy excavating and moving dirt Wednesday.

lzppjb Dec 18, 2014 12:28 PM
Even if they found something, I assume it doesn't take up the entire lot. They can keep excavating, wouldn't you think?

I wish I could see it and actually walk around the area, if indeed it's there. I get chills walking around old historic remnants like that. When Lake Buchanan was really low a few years ago, I visited that town site that's usually underwater. Mostly just foundations, some headstones and some artifacts. Still got a thrill out of it.

KevinFromTexas Dec 18, 2014 2:59 PM
Hey, just be glad Austin isn't Boston. :D They can't dig a hole with a shovel without finding stuff. :haha: Or worse, yet, Cairo. lol

ClendonRoss Dec 18, 2014 3:32 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country (Post 6848824)
There has been no stop to the activity on the site since this past Sunday. They were busy excavating and moving dirt Wednesday.
I don't think they worked on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday though. I was by there all those days and they were not excavating, at least not as they were on Saturday. I watched for half and hour or so on Saturday, and a truck was being filled every four minutes. Fascinating to watch that process.


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