Humble Oil Building
Humble Oil Building | |
Houston, Texas | |
Coordinates | 29°45′19″N 95°22′1″W / 29.75528°N 95.36694°W |
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Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
Built | Original: 1921 Expansions: 1936, 1940, 1947 |
Architect | Clinton and Russell, John F. Staub, Kenneth Franzheim |
Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, 3-part vertical block |
NRHP reference No. | 99000068[1] |
Added to NRHP | January 27, 1999 |
The Humble Oil Building, is a historic office building, designed in the
History
The original 9-story structure occupied half of a city block between Main Street and Travis Street, with the front facing Polk Street. This original structure was designed by prominent New York architects Clinton and Russell and cost approximately $1.2 million. It was the largest office building in Houston at the time, containing approximately 196,000 sq ft (18,200 m2) of space.[2] A 1932 renovation added a central air conditioning system to the building, the first in any Houston office building.[3]
Humble Oil and Refining Company expanded the building in 1936 with an adjacent 17-story tower. This expansion was designed by John F. Staub and Kenneth Franzheim. Additional expansions were made in 1940 and 1947; and the complex now contains 529,809 sq ft (49,220.9 m2).[1][2][4]
In 1997, the building complex was purchased by Historic Restoration Inc., with plans to adapt the buildings into a mixed-use hotel, apartments, and retail space. The plans moved forward in 1999 with a loan from the City of Houston in the amount of $4.6 million in order to encourage the development. The plans were completed in 2003 and the building opened as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, a Residence Inn hotel, and the Humble Tower apartments. It contained 360 hotel rooms, 82 'luxury' apartments, 6,721 sq ft (624.4 m2) of street-level retail, and a parking garage.[1][2][4][5] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, under the category "Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals".[1] The apartment section was converted to a third Marriott-branded Hotel in 2015, a Spring Hill Suites.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d The City of Houston. "Houston's Historic Oil Buildings" (PDF). Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Myers, Victoria J. (2009). "Preservation Can Work in Houston: The Humble Oil & Refining Company Building" (PDF). Houston History. 6 (3): 46–50. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "Humble Oil building on the market". Houston Chronicle. August 9, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Ann De Rouffignac (July 11, 1999). "Developer seeks city loan to redo Humble building". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ "Real estate transactions". September 5, 2015.