Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

Re: "Builders' Block" (Feb. 9, 2004):

Your story on the front page about the INTL. BUILDERS' SHOW

getting bigger fast is good news to those of us who watch trends in the industry. This, however, is to offer one correction to the last paragraph of your story: The McCormick Place fire had nothing to do with the NAHB move from Chicago to Houston.

The Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau (then called Council) and the operators of the Astrodome/Astrohall, which also owned and operated the Astroworld Hotels, Astroworld and the Houston Astros, worked through 1965 and 1966 to bring NAHB to Houston. They (we) worked through the Convention & Exposition Committee of the NAHB board of directors, then the executive committee of NAHB and finally before the full board of directors of NAHB to book NAHB for Houston. It's an exciting story you might research.

The final decision to move NAHB out of Chicago, initially for three years, was made by a voice vote of the full NAHB board, a body of more than 500 builders, at their regular meeting in May 1966 at the Washington Hilton. Houston was allotted 15 minutes for its presentation. Five minutes was given to then-Houston Mayor Louie Welch to tell them how we would provide 1,000 cars, with drivers for free to serve anybody with an NAHB badge during the convention.

Five minutes was then given to then-Texas Gov. John Connally to assure NAHB that the Texas Legislature would pass a liquor-by-the-drink bill before NAHB got to Houston. The final five minutes was given to Judge Roy Hofheinz, who guaranteed NAHB's best yearly profit, $1 million for each of the three years in question, 1968, 1969 and 1970. The NAHB president, Larry Blackmon, called for the vote and ruled it unanimous.

The McCormick Place fire was seven months later, on Jan. 16, 1967.

Jack O'Connell, Former vice president, Astrodomain, Houston