M & C Magazine - August 2014

Meetings & Conventions • mcmag.com 49 August 2014

DESTINATIONGUIDE SOUTH TEXAS BY SARAH J.F. BRALEY

BLACK GOLD

Oil is still one of the top industries in Texas, and its history in the state goes back to the 1800s, with a major boom in the early 1900s.

Learn more about offshore drilling at the Offshore Energy Center’s Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum and Education Center in Galveston.

(The venue itself is a retired rig.)

Culture connection. The galleries at the Mexic-Arte Museum hold up to 200 guests for a reception. Opening next month is “Miradas: Ancient Roots in Modern and Contemporary Mexican Art.” mexic-artemuseum.org

A hotel boom in the Lone Star State’s capital is making Austin, whose skyline is overseen here by a statue of rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan, more attractive to groups. The 1,012-room JW Marriott Austin will open next February. Construction should begin soon on the 1,000-room Fairmont Austin.

Why here?

AUSTIN

• The 1,012-room JW Marriott Austin will open its doors on Feb. 20,

2015. The hotel, which is aiming for LEED Silver certification, will have more than 112,000 square feet of event space and three eateries, including a regional Italian restaurant.

• Construction begins in December on a 23-story tower that will house two Starwood hotels: the 260-room Aloft Austin Downtown and 150- room Element Austin Downtown. Both will open in summer 2016.

• Ground should be broken this year on a new Fairmont Austin, to debut in 2017. Plans call for the property to offer 1,000 guest rooms and

Continued on page 50

NEWS FROM HOUSTON

Effective July 1, the

Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau became part of Houston First Corp., the public/private entity that runs the George R. Brown Convention Center and nine other city buildings and outdoor areas.