Who ended up buying Chip & Jojo's restoration project?
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The Waco Castle
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Last: 8 mo ago by Jackson Bear
Chip and Jo never sold it. They did an auction and the reserve price was never met so they just kept it rather than eating a loss on it and open it for tours at different times throughout the year
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
I ain't quite as dumb as I seem
-- (P.C. 1974)
-- (P.C. 1974)
He was from Aquila
Even worse
You'd think he could've made the 45 min drive to Waco to check out the area & what he was spending millions on.
You'd think he could've made the 45 min drive to Waco to check out the area & what he was spending millions on.
I ain't quite as dumb as I seem
-- (P.C. 1974)
-- (P.C. 1974)
North of West, might as well be New York.Plumb-line said:
He was from Aquila
Noooo evidence for that, babeeyyy, just maaade it up.
Plumb-line said:
He was from Aquila
If he could afford that he was the richest guy in Aquila
[The median income for a household in the city was $39,500, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $37,708 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,096....5.8% of the population living below the poverty line]
I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
It's amazing they put a pedestrian mall in at that time along with whenever they redid the exterior to the alico building. The original exterior was really nice.
As someone who lives in Castle Heights- I'm glad Chip and Jo still own it. Will be interesting to see what they do with it.
No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
Neither. Historically, Franklin was commercial from at least 26th down toward town (the old Cameron Millworks was between Franklin and the RR tracks inside of 26th; the back part is now the Live Oak athletic fields). Beyond 26th it was mostly open land the added commercial here and there. Rountree Motors was built in the 1940s at 27th, as was Youngblood chicken restaurant between 26th and 27th, and Surf & Sirloin in the 1950s.Robert Wilson said:No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
The Castle property backed up to Franklin, and the portion that became the used car lot fronting Franklin was originally the swimming pool IIRC, with a privacy fence all around it all the way to Franklin. It was the only residential parcel that stretched all the way to Franklin. Most of the other houses fronting Austin were lots that only took up half the block, with the lots fronting Franklin undeveloped.
Sometime after WWII Wilbur Crawford developed all the strip centers, box warehouses and other commercial parcels along Franklin out to Valley Mills that made it the unattractive commercial strip that it is today. Most of that happened from the early til the late 1950s. At some point in there, the Castle's pool was filled in and that part of the lot was also converted to commercial.
Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to lay that out.whitetrash said:Neither. Historically, Franklin was commercial from at least 26th down toward town (the old Cameron Millworks was between Franklin and the RR tracks inside of 26th; the back part is now the Live Oak athletic fields). Beyond 26th it was mostly open land the added commercial here and there. Rountree Motors was built in the 1940s at 27th, as was Youngblood chicken restaurant between 26th and 27th, and Surf & Sirloin in the 1950s.Robert Wilson said:No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
The Castle property backed up to Franklin, and the portion that became the used car lot fronting Franklin was originally the swimming pool IIRC, with a privacy fence all around it all the way to Franklin. It was the only residential parcel that stretched all the way to Franklin. Most of the other houses fronting Austin were lots that only took up half the block, with the lots fronting Franklin undeveloped.
Sometime after WWII Wilbur Crawford developed all the strip centers, box warehouses and other commercial parcels along Franklin out to Valley Mills that made it the unattractive commercial strip that it is today. Most of that happened from the early til the late 1950s. At some point in there, the Castle's pool was filled in and that part of the lot was also converted to commercial.
Robert Wilson said:Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to lay that out.whitetrash said:Neither. Historically, Franklin was commercial from at least 26th down toward town (the old Cameron Millworks was between Franklin and the RR tracks inside of 26th; the back part is now the Live Oak athletic fields). Beyond 26th it was mostly open land the added commercial here and there. Rountree Motors was built in the 1940s at 27th, as was Youngblood chicken restaurant between 26th and 27th, and Surf & Sirloin in the 1950s.Robert Wilson said:No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
The Castle property backed up to Franklin, and the portion that became the used car lot fronting Franklin was originally the swimming pool IIRC, with a privacy fence all around it all the way to Franklin. It was the only residential parcel that stretched all the way to Franklin. Most of the other houses fronting Austin were lots that only took up half the block, with the lots fronting Franklin undeveloped.
Sometime after WWII Wilbur Crawford developed all the strip centers, box warehouses and other commercial parcels along Franklin out to Valley Mills that made it the unattractive commercial strip that it is today. Most of that happened from the early til the late 1950s. At some point in there, the Castle's pool was filled in and that part of the lot was also converted to commercial.
Here's an old aerial shot superimposing where the old Cameron Mill used to be. The street just to the right of the water tower is S. 26th; you can see where it splits after you cross the second set of railroad tracks. Franklin would be the street in front of the office part of Cameron that is the only part on the N side of the RR tracks. The only building in thisshot that is still there and somewhat recognizable is the rectangular one to the right of the water tower diagonally across the RR tracks: that is where Shepherd's Heart is today on S. 26th.
I especially appreciate seeing the old Cameron Mill
What decade would that image be from? It's hard to tell but I'm guessing 50s from the cars.whitetrash said:Robert Wilson said:Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to lay that out.whitetrash said:Neither. Historically, Franklin was commercial from at least 26th down toward town (the old Cameron Millworks was between Franklin and the RR tracks inside of 26th; the back part is now the Live Oak athletic fields). Beyond 26th it was mostly open land the added commercial here and there. Rountree Motors was built in the 1940s at 27th, as was Youngblood chicken restaurant between 26th and 27th, and Surf & Sirloin in the 1950s.Robert Wilson said:No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
The Castle property backed up to Franklin, and the portion that became the used car lot fronting Franklin was originally the swimming pool IIRC, with a privacy fence all around it all the way to Franklin. It was the only residential parcel that stretched all the way to Franklin. Most of the other houses fronting Austin were lots that only took up half the block, with the lots fronting Franklin undeveloped.
Sometime after WWII Wilbur Crawford developed all the strip centers, box warehouses and other commercial parcels along Franklin out to Valley Mills that made it the unattractive commercial strip that it is today. Most of that happened from the early til the late 1950s. At some point in there, the Castle's pool was filled in and that part of the lot was also converted to commercial.
Here's an old aerial shot superimposing where the old Cameron Mill used to be. The street just to the right of the water tower is S. 26th; you can see where it splits after you cross the second set of railroad tracks. Franklin would be the street in front of the office part of Cameron that is the only part on the N side of the RR tracks. The only building in thisshot that is still there and somewhat recognizable is the rectangular one to the right of the water tower diagonally across the RR tracks: that is where Shepherd's Heart is today on S. 26th.
Noooo evidence for that, babeeyyy, just maaade it up.
The vacant tract at the very top of the picture toward the right end is the far corner of the Floyd Casey parking lots. The stadium was built in 1950, as were many of the houses on Clay just to its left. So you're probably right on the dating.BaylorHistory said:What decade would that image be from? It's hard to tell but I'm guessing 50s from the cars.whitetrash said:Robert Wilson said:Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to lay that out.whitetrash said:Neither. Historically, Franklin was commercial from at least 26th down toward town (the old Cameron Millworks was between Franklin and the RR tracks inside of 26th; the back part is now the Live Oak athletic fields). Beyond 26th it was mostly open land the added commercial here and there. Rountree Motors was built in the 1940s at 27th, as was Youngblood chicken restaurant between 26th and 27th, and Surf & Sirloin in the 1950s.Robert Wilson said:No, I heard it looked like the residential stretch of Austin - Castle Heights area.Yogi said:Robert Wilson said:I've heard Franklin used to look like Austin Ave. Would be cool to see if anyone has photographic evidence.MrGolfguy said:
They actually had a 'buyer' or high bidder from New York or somewhere. Amazingly this person had no idea of the physical location other than Waco Tx. When they came to Waco to look at it they discovered it backed up to all the Franklin Ave used car lots and backed out of the deal.
Hopefully it was nothing like this version of Austin Avenue...
The Castle property backed up to Franklin, and the portion that became the used car lot fronting Franklin was originally the swimming pool IIRC, with a privacy fence all around it all the way to Franklin. It was the only residential parcel that stretched all the way to Franklin. Most of the other houses fronting Austin were lots that only took up half the block, with the lots fronting Franklin undeveloped.
Sometime after WWII Wilbur Crawford developed all the strip centers, box warehouses and other commercial parcels along Franklin out to Valley Mills that made it the unattractive commercial strip that it is today. Most of that happened from the early til the late 1950s. At some point in there, the Castle's pool was filled in and that part of the lot was also converted to commercial.
Here's an old aerial shot superimposing where the old Cameron Mill used to be. The street just to the right of the water tower is S. 26th; you can see where it splits after you cross the second set of railroad tracks. Franklin would be the street in front of the office part of Cameron that is the only part on the N side of the RR tracks. The only building in thisshot that is still there and somewhat recognizable is the rectangular one to the right of the water tower diagonally across the RR tracks: that is where Shepherd's Heart is today on S. 26th.
Marlin3030 said:
It's amazing they put a pedestrian mall in at that time along with whenever they redid the exterior to the alico building. The original exterior was really nice.
It was beautiful. I've been waitng for an announcement that they are restoring it. Waco, Texas actually has some gorgeous historical buildings thay were hidden by renovations between the 50's and 70"s.
McLennan County is great at ruining people and buildings for some reason.
What they did to that courthouse is just a terrible sin.
Another question for you Waco historians. Why was that site at Clay/Dutton chosen for Baylor Stadium? Cheaper land than near campus?
Baylor was already playing on the municipal field at 15th & Dutton by the old Cotton Palace. They wanted to build Baylor Stadium there but parking was a problem and there were engineering problems at the Cotton Palace site. They were able to buy 100 acres 15 blocks farther down Dutton at a decent price, so the stadium was built there. Getting 100 contiguous acres near campus was a problem since so much already was built up with construction that wasn't that old 75 years ago. Baylor buys it all up now, but its resources and the value of the structures situated on the real estate relative to the land have changed a whole lot in 75 years.BellCountyBear said:
Another question for you Waco historians. Why was that site at Clay/Dutton chosen for Baylor Stadium? Cheaper land than near campus?
The last picture disappeared! I'd love to seei it.
The country judge is the problem with doing a full restoration of the interior of the courthouse and getting rid of that awful paneling. A lot of the commissioners and judges would support a restoration, but that will have to wait until Felton is gone.Yogi said:Marlin3030 said:
It's amazing they put a pedestrian mall in at that time along with whenever they redid the exterior to the alico building. The original exterior was really nice.
It was beautiful. I've been waitng for an announcement that they are restoring it. Waco, Texas actually has some gorgeous historical buildings thay were hidden by renovations between the 50's and 70"s.
McLennan County is great at ruining people and buildings for some reason.
What they did to that courthouse is just a terrible sin.
I think that last time I saw an estimate it was $18m, and that was 4+ years ago. I can't imagine what it would be now.Jackson Bear said:The country judge is the problem with doing a full restoration of the interior of the courthouse and getting rid of that awful paneling. A lot of the commissioners and judges would support a restoration, but that will have to wait until Felton is gone.Yogi said:Marlin3030 said:
It's amazing they put a pedestrian mall in at that time along with whenever they redid the exterior to the alico building. The original exterior was really nice.
It was beautiful. I've been waitng for an announcement that they are restoring it. Waco, Texas actually has some gorgeous historical buildings thay were hidden by renovations between the 50's and 70"s.
McLennan County is great at ruining people and buildings for some reason.
What they did to that courthouse is just a terrible sin.
There is a great program through the Texas Historical Commission that issues grants to help pay for restorations. Many courthouses in Texas have been restored because of this, including many local Central Texas ones. The exterior of the McLennan CCH was redone and looks excellent because of the grant from this fund. It is a sin that Bosque County, Navarro, Freestone, and Falls County (all local) had have a fully restored courthouse through this program and not us. Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Denton (all big cities) have used this program to fully restore their courthouses as well. Abilene is currently redoing theirs.SteamedHams said:I think that last time I saw an estimate it was $18m, and that was 4+ years ago. I can't imagine what it would be now.Jackson Bear said:The country judge is the problem with doing a full restoration of the interior of the courthouse and getting rid of that awful paneling. A lot of the commissioners and judges would support a restoration, but that will have to wait until Felton is gone.Yogi said:Marlin3030 said:
It's amazing they put a pedestrian mall in at that time along with whenever they redid the exterior to the alico building. The original exterior was really nice.
It was beautiful. I've been waitng for an announcement that they are restoring it. Waco, Texas actually has some gorgeous historical buildings thay were hidden by renovations between the 50's and 70"s.
McLennan County is great at ruining people and buildings for some reason.
What they did to that courthouse is just a terrible sin.
https://thc.texas.gov/preserve/preservation-programs/courthouse-preservation/restored-historic-courthouses