Watching those huge pieces of heavy equipment demolish the office and boat barns of the Port Motel several weeks ago was somewhat of a sad experience. Sad, because this meant the ending of a portion of Port O’Connor that had been a vital part of our area for a number of years. But the buildings had been vacant for some time, and all units had been razed except for the office building, one motel unit, and the boat barns.

The Port Motel, formerly Payne’s Courts had been located across the street from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at the corner of Adams and Washington Streets. When Carla struck in September of 1961, many units were destroyed and those remaining were uninhabitable. The owner at that time, Ed Payne, recognizing the still present need for comfortable spaces for our visitors, re-built the motel at 14th & 15th Streets on Commerce. And they remained in operation for a long time until the last few years.

Construction will begin on this site shortly to develop a 10-unit townhouse-condominium project under the direction of the owner, Dwayne and Rhonnie Fishbeck, new residents of Port O’Connor from the Weimer area. There will be five units facing Commerce Street with an additional five units sited behind the first group; I’m looking forward to seeing the day-to-day construction take place as I am lucky enough to have a front row seat. And, the last unit of the Port Motel is still standing and will become a temporary office for the Developer-Owner, so that a vital part of Port O’Connor remains.