Lifestyle

Midtown Houston Building to Take Down Their Massive Neon Crosses

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Tony Maples Photography

 

If you’ve driven into downtown Houston, Texas you’ve no doubt taken notice of the humongous neon crosses on the sides of the St. Joseph Professional Building. They illuminate the sky and cover two entire sides of the structure, but the building, which is 55 percent occupied, was recently purchased by Boxer Property.

“We have two giant canvases that everybody sees,” Andrew Segal, chief executive officer of Boxer Property, told Chron.com. “It’s like a photo bomb in the entire downtown skyline,” he added. The new owners haven’t decided what will go in place of the crosses, but they’re going to commission an artist (or artists) to create something amazing that will add beauty and interest to the Houston skyline. From there, they will either rename the building themselves or wait for the community to come up with an appropriate name to reflect its new look.

When ABC 13 posted about the change on Facebook, some people said they don’t want to see the iconic crosses go. Brenda Kaye wrote, “Awe, that’s a real shame I will really miss it! I remember this ionic St. Joseph’s Cross ever since I have lived in Houston since I was a very little girl!” But many people think it’s time to see the neon eyesore turned off. Cristan Williams wrote, “Honestly glad to see it go. It was architecturally uninteresting and more than a bit gaudy.”