Elder Bush’s name will grace new site, not relic
Well, this was potentially embarrassing.
Back in March, state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, filed House Concurrent Resolution 141 concerning someone in his district. Not just any someone. A someone who once lived at an exclusive Washington, D.C., address.
Murphy’s measure called for the Texas Facilities Commission to “rename the State Insurance Building in the Capitol Complex as the George H.W. Bush State Office Building in ... honor of former president George H.W. Bush and his steadfast commitment to our state and nation.”
Nice, and an appropriate tribute, though the early 1960s, four-story State Insurance Building at 1100 San Jacinto Blvd. is, shall we say, not the crowning architectural achievement of the Capitol Complex. On the plus side, it’s not already named for somebody. So there’s that.
On April 3, the House Administration Committee heard testimony about the measure, including from Land Commissioner George P. Bush, grandson of the 41st president.
“The thing I admire most about my grandfather is he has never been the kind of man that expected in his lifetime to have buildings named after him,” George P. Bush said. A George H.W. Bush State Office Building, he said, “will remind his oldest grandson of my grandfather, my hero.”
Austin Rep. Donna Howard, as devoted a Democrat as there is, expressed her support for the measure, noting that Republican ex-president had
earned the respect of all, including political foes.
“I do want to say, especially in light of the present situation we find ourselves in politically, that your grandfather is obviously a great man and somebody that we can all get behind because we respect him,” she told George P. Bush.
And then the committee heard from Harvey Hilderbran, the Texas Facilities Commission executive director. I’m not sure who, other than Hilderbran, knew he was about to inject some considerable doubt into this legislative lovefest. As he approached the microphone to testify, Hilderbran spoke of “an interesting development.”
Seems the committee was en route to backing a measure to honor a past president by putting his name on a building with an uncertain future. The short version is the State Insurance Building is not what Hilderbran considers a “permanent building.”
That’s a nice way to say it’s old, a concept that conjures up an unsettling image of a wrecking ball approaching the George H.W. Bush State Office Building.
“We need to get a different building,” Hilderbran told the committee, adding, “For a permanent hero, we need a permanent building.” Yeah, seems right. Hilderbran told me this week no decision has been made about the Insurance Building’s future, “but it’s the only building that’s been discussed that could potentially be decommissioned and demolished in 15 years.”
That would be depressing for the George H.W. Bush State Office Building.
At the April hearing, committee Chairman Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, told Murphy to work with Hilderbran on finding another building to name for Bush. Geren apparently knew that a building in the Capitol Complex mall project was a possibility.
“I’d like to be able to pick a building that’s currently standing, because the mall project, as it is, probably won’t be finished in his lifetime,” Geren said. “And I’d like to see something done while (George H.W. Bush) is still with us.”
No current building was found, so that latter goal might prove elusive. The Legislature, powerful though it is, can’t control that.
What we wound up with is the amended version of HCR 141 signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on May 18, naming the to-be-built building for George H.W. Bush. It will be at 1801 N. Congress Ave., has a completion date in 2021 (Bush turns 97 that year), and will house the Texas Lottery Commission and other state offices.
Earlier this week, my colleague Bob Sechler told you about the groundbreaking ceremony tentatively set for Sept. 28 for the 14-story, $170 million, 603,000-square-foot state office building that will be named for the ex-president. Bush spokesman Jim McGrath told me the former president will be in Maine that day and won’t be able to attend the ceremony.
It’s a nice touch that the George H.W. Bush State Office Building will be across the street from the Bullock Texas State History Museum, named for the late Bob Bullock, who, as a Democratic lieutenant governor, was instrumental in the political career and rise of Republican George W. Bush.
The elder Bush never served in state government, but naming a state office building for him seems so right. He earned it by résumé and by the respect he garnered through the way he served our nation for so long, in so many ways.
He is grateful for the honor, saying in a statement, “At age 93, I am finding that kind words and kind acts mean more than ever.”
And he added this: “Years ago, when the school board in Midland was voting on naming a building there for yours truly, the vote came in three in favor, two against. One of the dissenters explained their vote against saying, ‘You should only name buildings for dead people.’ Happily, despite a few bumps in the road, I don’t qualify on that score! My sincere thanks to all who made this day possible.”
For this Texan, a shiny new building with an eye on the future seems more appropriate than a relic from the past.