Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1376323
I f imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Roux family in Saint-Paul de Vence surely must be impressed with what admirer, art collector, and Montrose-area investor Steve Zimmerman has done with his own Houston homage to their storied hotel. Back in the late '60s, Zimmerman made a memorable trip to Saint-Paul de Vence and was completely enchanted by the original "golden dove" (La Colombe d'Or ) and stories of starving artists who stayed there — Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Georges Braque, and Marc Chagall — and often traded their artwork for room and board. So inspired was Zimmerman that in 1979, he Garden Bungalows. The hotel itself was completely reimagined with the help of lauded architecture and design firm Rottet Studio. Downstairs, you'll find the revitalized dining room, rechristened Tonight & Tomorrow, and a craft cocktail bar dubbed Bar No. 3. The dining areas retain all the glorious original millwork but have been updated with cozy emerald tufted banquettes and elegant cane-back chairs. Marble tabletops sans linen alternate with those edged in gold and topped with gleaming black glass. Also new to the mansion is resident chef Jonathan Wicks, whose hotel background at The InterContinental Houston Medical Center and Hotel ZaZa readied him for the purchased the Fondren Mansion on Montrose Avenue and converted it into his own La Colombe d'Or hotel. Reminiscent of the French original, Steve Zimmerman has attracted artists to his enclave over the years and added works by Raoul Dufy, Arik Levy, Christian Rosa, Earl Staley, and Dorothy Hood to his enviable collection, sometimes trading room and board for their art, too. Now the Zimmerman family has transformed the nearly century- old manse again, in an exciting collaboration with global real estate firm Hines, building a 34-story apartment high-rise, The Residences of La Colombe d'Or, adjacent to their historic property and a series of DOVE TAKES FLIGHT THE GOLDEN BY LAURANN CLARIDGE. PHOTOGRAPHY BECCA WRIGHT. Tonight & Tomorrow dining room at La Colombe d'Or designed by Rottet Studio 24