Robert Goodrich, owner of the Herring Hotel presented the program on the history of the hotel.  Robert first explained that he is a retired college economics professor, historian, preservationist and environmentalist.  Robert has a love for buildings with a rich history such as the Herring, and seeing prominent buildings of that grand style destroyed "breaks his heart". With a desire to leave this world a better place, he quoted Tribal Chief Seattle: "We didn't inherit the earth from our parents, we are borrowing it from our children."

The Herring was built in 1926 by a wealthy investment banker and rancher.  So determined was he to have the hotel completed in one year, he would sit across the street in a rocking chair with a shotgun to be sure no one left the 24/7 jobsite.  Amarillo Globe News archives note that the building was completed in six months!

The Herring has been the site for many social and cultural events over the years, hosting civic clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions in the Crystal Ballroom.  Many prominent families lived there and many from the surrounding area kept apartments there as well.  It quickly became a major hospitality and cultural center in the panhandle.  In fact the first art museum/exhibit was held in the lobby of the hotel.

When the interstate system diverted highway traffic away from downtown the inevitable happened in Amarillo that also happened across the country. The new fast paced travel left little chance for the out of the way downtown areas to thrive.  The Herring was sold at public auction in 1966 to collect back taxes and part of the building was refurbished for Federal offices. That lasted until 1979 when the building became vacant and fell into ruin, inhabited and vandalized by vagrants.

In 1987 the tax laws changed and the owners needed to sell.  Robert was the only person interested after 10 years and he became the new owner.  Bob says he and his wife believed that the life cycle of neighborhoods would eventually come around and although "not smart or rich just tenacious" they paid for the building over a period of 20 years.

In 2002-3 a major change came about, the Performing Arts Center was built just 1.5 blocks away.  With a renewed and growing interest in downtown development, Bob's hope is that local investors will see the merit in saving that grand structure.  The current selling price is $2,450,000.00 but it is negotiable.  Appraisers have estimated it to be worth $3,000.00.00 in it's current condition, so the potential buyers will get a great opportunity.

Possible utilization of the Herring might be for apartments, boutique hotel with apartments or best of all, a convention center hotel.  Heritage Tourism has become a fascinating aspect of travel because many people plan to visit historical buildings and stay in hotels that have been restored.  On the north side of the building one can see Bob's latest marketing tool, a large example of "poor man's poetry" a sign which states; "I'm Not a Has Been, I'm A Will Be".  Robert's positive attitude is infectious and after inviting group tours, he closed with this remark: "If we do away with our history, I'm not sure what the future will look like."