This morning brought a bit of a surprise that I thought initially might mean a huge announcement involving a downtown Amarillo, Texas landmark-turned-community eyesore.
It appears my hopes are a good bit premature.
I refer to the Herring Hotel, the long-abandoned structure on the northern end of the downtown district.
My preliminary snooping this morning revealed a website;
Herring Hotel – Amarillo Investment (herringhotelproject.com)
It appears to be the creation of an investment firm that is looking for people to sink money into rehabilitating the Herring Hotel site. The site has lots of pictures of the structure as well as photos of other downtown hotel projects that have succeeded in other communities.
Does any of this signal the pending rebirth of the once-grand hotel? Not necessarily. Then again, lightning could strike.
I also reached out this morning to Bob Goodrich, who has owned the site for many decades. He pays the tax bill every year on it and has been doing what he can to entice someone — anyone! — to buy it from him. On at least two occasions over the years I have known Goodrich, he has told me of a pending sale only to see it fall apart.
I cannot speak passionately enough about how I want to see the building revived and brought back to life. It stands vacant and, truth be told, time has not been entirely kind to it.
Here’s the good news, though, for those of us who want a brighter future for the Herring: The Barfield Building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Polk Street — which was actually uglier than the Herring — has returned to the world of functionality. It is now a boutique hotel. I haven’t seen it yet in its newfound glory; maybe one day soon.
Meantime, I will continue to send good vibes and karma to the Herring in the hope we hear of an announcement soon.