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After suffering heavy flood damage from Tropical Storm Allison, the Allen Park Inn has permanently closed its doors.
The hotel's owners - descendants of the oil-rich Blaffer family of Texas have shuttered the 40-year-old operation. The owners plan to demolish the structure that sits on more than seven acres of valuable real estate and put the high-profile land up for sale.
A fence now surrounds the 249-room property, signifying the end of an era in the Houston hospitality industry. The hotel at 2121 Allen Parkway has been run by Rebecca and Robert Harris since 1974.
"We were a husband and wife team," says Rebecca Harris. "We had a very stable, long-standing staff and guest list that was very enviable and loyal."
The Allen Park Inn was one of many businesses destroyed by, the devastating flood that hit the city last June.
The floodwaters mostly affected the hotel's lobby, restaurant and ballroom.
"It would have been a big investment to bring the inn back, and it's not...