1.
Art Deco
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Art Deco, sometimes simply referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. It took its name, short for Arts Decorators, from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925 and it combined modernist styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, Art Deco was a pastiche of many different styles, sometimes contradictory, united by a desire to be modern. It featured rare and expensive materials such as ebony and ivory, the Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York were the most visible monuments of the new style. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the became more subdued. New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic, a more sleek form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s, it featured curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco became one of the first truly international architectural styles, with examples found in European cities, the style came to an end with the beginning of World War II. Deco was replaced as the dominant global style by the functional and unadorned styles of modernism. The term arts décoratifs was first used in France in 1858, in 1868, Le Figaro newspaper used the term art décoratifs with respect to objects for stage scenery created for the Théâtre de lOpéra. In 1875, furniture designers, textile, jewelry and glass designers and it took its present name of ENSAD in 1927. The term Art déco was then used in a 1966 newspaper article by Hillary Gelson in the Times, describing the different styles at the exhibit. Art Deco gained currency as a broadly applied stylistic label in 1968 when historian Bevis Hillier published the first major book on the style. Hillier noted that the term was already being used by art dealers and cites The Times, in 1971, Hillier organized an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which he details in his book about it, The World of Art Deco. The emergence of Art Deco was closely connected with the rise in status of decorative artists, the term arts décoratifs had been invented in 1875, giving the designers of furniture, textiles, and other decoration official status. The Société des artistes décorateurs, or SAD, was founded in 1901, a similar movement developed in Italy. The first international exhibition devoted entirely to the arts, the Esposizione international dArte decorative moderna, was held in Turin in 1902. Several new magazines devoted to decorative arts were founded in Paris, including Arts et décoration, Decorative arts sections were introduced into the annual salons of the Sociéte des artistes français, and later in the Salon dautomne. French nationalism also played a part in the resurgence of decorative arts, in 1911 the SAD proposed the holding of a major new international exposition of decorative arts in 1912
2.
Houston
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Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of 667 square miles, it also is the largest city in the southern United States and the seat of Harris County. Located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, it is the city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land. Houston was founded on August 28,1836, near the banks of Buffalo Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5,1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded, the burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the citys population. Houstons economy has an industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics. Leading in health care sectors and building equipment, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city except for New York City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled, the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse city in Texas and has described as the most diverse in the United States. It is home to cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has a visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District. In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the general at the Battle of San Jacinto. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through the slave trade. New Orleans was the center of trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War, many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5,1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor, in the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas
3.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
6.
Skyscraper
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A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building having multiple floors. When the term was used in the 1880s it described a building of 10 to 20 floors. Mostly designed for office, commercial and residential uses, a skyscraper can also be called a high-rise, for buildings above a height of 300 m, the term supertall can be used, while skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m are classified as megatall. One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework that supports curtain walls and these curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscrapers walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure, and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, a relatively big building may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes well above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed historically with building methods and technologies, the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. High-rise buildings are considered shorter than skyscrapers, the first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. Even the scholars making the argument find it to be purely academic and this definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicagos Monadnock Building. What is the characteristic of the tall office building. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and it must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exaltation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line. Some structural engineers define a highrise as any vertical construction for which wind is a significant load factor than earthquake or weight. Note that this criterion fits not only high-rises but some other tall structures, the word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. A loose convention of some in the United States and Europe draws the limit of a skyscraper at 150 m or 490 ft. The tallest building in ancient times was the 146 m Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt and it was not surpassed in height for thousands of years, the 14th century AD Lincoln Cathedral being conjectured by many to have exceeded it
7.
Downtown Houston
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Downtown Houston is Houstons central business district, containing the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is a network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district. The tunnel system is home to restaurants, shops and services. What is now Downtown made up almost all of the City of Houston until expansions of the city limits in the early 20th century, Downtown Houston was the original founding point of the city. After the Texas Revolution, two New York real estate promoters, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land from Thomas F. L, parrot and his wife, Elizabeth, for $9,428. The Allen brothers first landed in the area where the White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou meet, gail Borden, Jr. a city planner, laid out wide streets for the town. The city was granted incorporation by the Texas legislature on June 5,1837, Houston was the temporary capital of Texas. In 1840, the town was divided into four wards, each with different functions in the community, by 1906 what is now Downtown was divided among six wards. The wards are no longer political divisions, but their names are used to refer to certain areas. Houston became a choice, as only the most powerful storms were able to reach the city. The second came a year later with the 1901 discovery of oil at spindletop, shipping and oil industries began flocking to east Texas, many settling in Houston. From that point forward the area grew substantially, as many skyscrapers were constructed, in the 1980s, however, economic recession canceled some projects and caused others to be scaled back, such as the Bank of the Southwest Tower. Ralph Bivins of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Fox said that area was a neighborhood of Victorian-era homes. Bivins said that the construction of Union Station, which occurred around 1910, hotels opened in the area to service travelers. Afterwards, according to Bivins, the area began a downward slide toward the skid row of the 1990s. Passenger trains stopped going to Union Station in 1974, the construction of Interstate 45 in the 1950s separated portions of the historic Third Ward from the rest of the Third Ward and brought those portions into Downtown. Beginning in the 1960s the development of the 610 Loop caused the focus of the Houston area to move away from Downtown Houston, in the mid-1980s, the bank savings and loan crisis forced many tenants in Downtown Houston buildings to retrench, and some tenants went out of business. Barna said that this development further caused Downtown Houston to decline, the Gulf Hotel fire occurred in 1943
8.
Tallest buildings in Texas
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This list of tallest buildings in Texas ranks skyscrapers in the U. S. state of Texas by height. The tallest structure in the state, excluding radio towers, is the tallest building in Texas is the JP Morgan Chase, in Houston, the second-tallest building in the state is the Wells Fargo in Houston, which rises 992 feet above the ground. As of May 2011, there are 1,217 completed high-rises in the state, texass history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1909 of the 14-story Praetorian Building in Dallas, which is considered to be the states first high-rise. The building rose 190 feet above ground and this list ranks Texas skyscrapers that stand at least 600 feet tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts or other objects not part of the original plans, existing structures are included for ranking purposes based on present height. Dallas Buildings of the City Emporis Buildings
9.
ExxonMobil Building
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The ExxonMobil Building was built in 1963 in Houston. At that time it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at 606 ft and it remained the tallest building west of the Mississippi only until 1965, when Elm Place was built in Dallas. As of 2011 ExxonMobil is the owner of the building, one of the most distinctive features of the building is the cantilevered seven-foot-wide shades on each floor that protrude from the side of the building to provide shade from the daytime sun. Currently, the JPMorgan Chase Tower, completed in 1982 is Houstons tallest building, the building is two blocks east of 1500 Louisiana Street, a parking lot is between the two buildings. The architect of the International style structure was Welton Becket and Associates, in 2011 the company announced that all employees in the ExxonMobil building are moving to the new ExxonMobil office in Spring. ExxonMobil did not state what it plans to do with the building after the employees leave, in January 2013, Shorenstein Properties announced it had closed on the property for an undisclosed amount. ExxonMobil immediately leased back the building into 2015. Shorenstien Properties plans to undertake significant improvements following ExxonMobils departure, in 2015 Mayor of Houston Annise Parker proposed moving municipal court and Houston Police Department operations into the ExxonMobil building. In September 2015 Parkers administration announced that the plan would not move due to concerns over costs. The top two floors were formerly dining space for the Petroleum Club of Houston, which had moved to the ExxonMobil Building in 1963, the club was accessible through elevators on Bell Street. Because of the sale and scheduled renovation of the ExxonMobil Building, in late January 2015 it was scheduled to move to Total Plaza. ThePetroleum Club of Houston official website
10.
JPMorgan Chase
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a U. S. multinational banking and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest bank in the United States, the third largest bank by total assets, with total assets of roughly US$2.5 trillion. It is a provider of financial services, and according to Forbes magazine is the worlds sixth largest public company based upon a composite ranking. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is the second largest hedge fund in the United States, the company was formed in 2000, when Chase Manhattan Corporation merged with J. P. Morgan & Co. The J. P. Morgan brand, historically known as Morgan, is used by the investment banking, asset management, private banking, private wealth management, and treasury & securities services divisions. Fiduciary activity within private banking and private wealth management is done under the aegis of JPMorgan Chase Bank, the Chase brand is used for credit card services in the United States and Canada, the banks retail banking activities in the United States, and commercial banking. The corporate headquarters is located at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the retail and commercial bank is headquartered in 270 Park Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, U. S. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is considered to be a universal bank. As of 2016, JPMorgan Chase is one of the Big Four banks of the United States, followed by Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase, in its current structure, is the result of the combination of several large U. S. banking companies since 1996, including Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed upon the 1955 purchase of Chase National Bank by the Bank of the Manhattan Company, the Bank of the Manhattan Company was the creation of Aaron Burr, who transformed The Manhattan Company from a water carrier into a bank. This of course injected a powerful element of politics into the process and invited what today would be called corruption, the innocuous-looking clause allowed the company to invest surplus capital in any lawful enterprise. Within six months of the creation, and long before it had laid a single section of water pipe, the company opened a bank. Still in existence, it is today J. P. Morgan Chase, weakened by the real estate collapse in the early 1990s, it was acquired by Chemical Bank in 1996, retaining the Chase name. Before its merger with J. P. Morgan & Co. the new Chase expanded the investment, in 1999, it acquired San Francisco-based Hambrecht & Quist for $1.35 billion. In April 2000, UK-based Robert Fleming & Co. was purchased by the new Chase Manhattan Bank for $7.7 billion, the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company was founded in 1823 as a maker of various chemicals. In 1824, the company amended its charter to perform banking activities, in the 1980s and early 1990s, Chemical emerged as one of the leaders in the financing of leveraged buyout transactions. In 1984, Chemical launched Chemical Venture Partners to invest in equity transactions alongside various financial sponsors. At many points throughout history, Chemical Bank was the largest bank in the United States
11.
Texas Commerce Bank
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The Texas Commerce Bank was a Texas-based bank acquired by Chemical Banking Corporation of New York in May 1987. The acquisition of Texas Commerce Bank represented the largest interstate banking merger in history at the time with a price of $1.2 billion. The bank had its headquarters in what is now the JPMorgan Chase Building in Downtown Houston, prior to the merger, interstate banking was illegal in Texas and many other states, which effectively prevented such cross-border mergers. Texas and New York had changed their laws to allow a merger of an in-state bank, without those changes to the law, the merger between Chemical Bank and Texas Commerce Bank, and later Chase Manhattan Bank would not have been possible. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions Chemical Bank bought Chase Manhattan Bank, the Texas Commerce Bank, formerly known as Texas National Bank of Commerce Houston, was a product of the 1964 merger of the National Bank of Commerce and the Texas National Bank. Texas Commerce changed its name to Chase Bank of Texas in 1998, in 1977, Lady Bird Johnson became a director of Texas Commerce Bank and Texas Commerce Bancshares in Houston. Other directors were former President Gerald R. Ford, Jr. former U. S, representative Barbara Jordan and the Odessa oil industrialist Bill Noël. At one time Ken Lay of Enron was a director, past presidents of the bank include Thomas E. Locke of Lubbock. Bush assisted in drafting communications for the chairman, Ben Love. In November 1977 he was sent to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to open a new operation for the bank, bush spent about two years there, working in international finance. He eventually worked for the executive program. J. P. Morgan acquired in 1987 References, Lady Bird Johnson, Director, Texas Commerce Bank - http, //content. scholastic. com/browse/article. jsp. id=4952
12.
Jesse H. Jones
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Jesse Holman Jones was a Democratic politician and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1940 to 1945, Jones was in charge of spending US$50 billion, especially in financing railways and building munitions factories. Born in Robertson County, Tennessee, Jones was the son of farmer and merchant William Hasque Jones. His mother died in 1880, when he was six years old and his father sent him to manage a tobacco factory at age 14, and at 19 he was put in charge of his uncles lumberyards. Five years later, after his uncle, M. T. Jones, died, Jones moved to Houston to manage his uncles estate and opened a lumberyard company, during this period, Jesse opened his own business, the South Texas Lumber Company. He also began to expand into real estate, commercial building and banking, in 1908, Jones constructed a new plant for the rapidly growing Houston Chronicle in exchange for a half-interest in the company, which had been solely owned by Marcellus Foster. The relationship between Jones and the Chronicle lasted the rest of his life, in 1926, Jones became the sole owner of the paper and named himself as publisher. In 1937, he transferred ownership of the paper to the newly established Houston Endowment Inc, sometime after 1908, Jones organized the Texas Trust Company. By 1912, he had become president of Houstons National Bank of Commerce and this bank later merged with Texas National Bank in 1964 to become the Texas National Bank of Commerce, renamed to Texas Commerce Bank which grew into a major regional financial institution. It became part of JP Morgan Chase & Co. in 2008, in 1911, Jones purchased the original five-story Rice Hotel from Rice University although the university retained the land on which it stood. He razed the structures and constructed the present building, which he then leased from Rice. The 17-story Rice Hotel opened on May 17,1913 and was closed in 1977, from 1998 to 2014, this building was known as the Post Rice Lofts. Jones soon made his mark as a builder across Houston, and helped to secure funding for the Houston Ship Channel. When the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established in 1932, President Hoover appointed Jones to the RFCs board, even though Hoover was a Republican and Jones a Democrat. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made him the Chairman of the RFC, while expanding the RFCs powers to make loans. This led some to refer to Jones as the branch of government. Roosevelt reportedly called Jones Jesus H. Jones, according to Joseph P. Lash, the President considered Jones too conservative and shot down a strong movement to make Jones the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1940. Jones retired from the RFC on July 17,1939, to become Federal Loan Administrator, Jones later served as President Franklin D. Roosevelts United States Secretary of Commerce from 1940 to 1945
13.
Kenneth Franzheim
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Kenneth Franzheim was an architect in Chicago and Boston in the early 1920s with C. Howard Crane. He started an independent practice in New York in 1925 and specialized in the design of commercial buildings. Franzheim became the foremost commercial architect in mid-century Houston after moving his offices to the city in 1937, Franzheim was one of the architects involved designing Humble Tower, the Prudential Building, Texas National Bank building and Bank of the Southwest building. His best-known building was the Foley’s Department Store downtown location, in 1950 the building received an Award of Merit from the AIA. John Zemanek and Eugene Werlin worked at the early in their careers. There are plans to add oral interviews with both Zemanek and Werlin in which they discuss Franzheim’s influence to the library at the University of Houston. One of Franzheims most enduring legacies is the development of Fairlington in Arlington, Franzheim was the primary architect of this WW2-era housing development a few miles south of the Pentagon, which is today a high-end, private housing development. The Houston Main Building formerly the Prudential Building, was a skyscraper in the Texas Medical Center, Houston and it originally housed offices of the Prudential Insurance Company, before becoming a part of the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The building was demolished on January 8,2012, Franzheim, Kenneth - Handbook of Texas
14.
Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design
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The winning entry, the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower, was built in 1925. Saarinens entry came in place yet became influential in the design of a number of future buildings. In 1921–22, the prominent Tribune Tower competition was held to design a new headquarters for the Chicago Tribune, first place was awarded to a design by New York architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, a neo-Gothic building completed in 1925. Saarinen was awarded $20,000 for second place, his design was never constructed, many observers felt that Saarinens simplified yet soaring setback tower was the most appropriate entry, and his novel modernist design influenced many subsequent architectural projects. Saarinen was an architect but had never before designed a skyscraper. To arrive at his design, he took as a starting place the upward sweep of Gothic architecture. He said that through logical construction each portion of the design was made to reflect the goal of verticality. He was 49 years old when he submitted the design, the year he moved from Finland to the Chicago area. In the U. S. he contributed to a design for the Chicago lakefront, and he lectured at the University of Michigan. Instead, others found success by incorporating his vision, pflueger, George W. Kelham, Hubbell and Benes, Holabird & Roche, Alfred C. Finn, and James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr. as well as later architect César Pelli, respected Chicago architect Louis Sullivan offered high praise to Saarinens design, and said that his building indicated the future direction for the old Chicago School. Sullivan named Saarinen his stylistic successor, Chicago architects Thomas Tallmadge and Irving Kane Pond were also very vocal in their praise for Saarinen. Pond said Saarinens design was by far the best contest entry, that it was devoid of the superficial adornments featured on the winning entry, Tallmadge projected that Saarinens design would be transformative for American skyscrapers. He said that under Saarinens hand, the spirit of the skyscraper, rid of its inhibitions, leaps in joyous freedom to the sky. Skyscraper Museum director Carol Willis, and art consultant Franck Mercurio, curator at the Field Museum in Chicago, Mercurio argues that Goodhues design is a better example of modernism because it has less ornamentation. Goodhues entry gained him honorable mention but no cash award, the following buildings have been observed to be influenced by Saarinens 1922 design. The Chicago Tribune Competition, Skyscraper Museum
15.
Tribune Tower
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The Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic structure located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Media, WGN Radio broadcasts from the building, while the ground level houses the large restaurant Howells & Hood, whose patio overlooks nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNNs Chicago bureau is located in the building and it is listed as a Chicago Landmark and is a contributing property to the Michigan–Wacker Historic District. The original Tribune Tower was built in 1868, but was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the competition worked brilliantly for months as a publicity stunt, and the resulting entries still reveal a unique turning point in American architectural history. More than 260 entries were received, the winner was a neo-Gothic design by New York architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, with buttresses near the top. The entry that many perceived as the best, by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, took second place, the 1929 Gulf Building in Houston, Texas, designed by architects Alfred C. Finn, Kenneth Franzheim, and J. E. R. Carpenter, is a realization of that Saarinen design. César Pellis 181 West Madison Street Building in Chicago is also thought to be inspired by Saarinens design, archival materials regarding the competition and the building are held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago. By 1922 the neo-Gothic skyscraper had become an established design tactic and this was a late example, perhaps the last important example, and criticized for its perceived historicism. Construction on the Tribune Tower was completed in 1925 and reached a height of 462 feet above ground, the ornate buttresses surrounding the peak of the tower are especially visible when the tower is lit at night. As was the case with most of Hoods projects, the sculptures, the tower features carved images of Robin Hood and a howling dog near the main entrance to commemorate the architects. Rene Paul Chambellan contributed his talents to the buildings ornamentation, gargoyles. Rene Chambellan worked on projects with Raymond Hood including the American Radiator Building. Also, among the gargoyles on the Tribune Tower is one of a frog and that piece was created by Rene Chambellan to represent himself jokingly as he is of French ancestry. Many of these reliefs have been incorporated into the lowest levels of the building and are labeled with their location of origin, there are 149 fragments in the building. More recently a rock brought from the moon was displayed in a window in the Tribune giftstore, a piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center has been added to the wall. Several buildings around the world reference to the design of the Tribune tower. Most notably in Australia, the spires of the Grace Building in Sydney, on April 11,2006 the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum opened, occupying two stories of the building, including the previous location of high-end gift store Hammacher-Schlemmer
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Terrazzo
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Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other material, poured with a cementitious binder, polymeric. Metal strips divide sections, or changes in color or material in a pattern, additional chips may be sprinkled atop the mix before it sets. After it is cured it is ground and polished smooth or otherwise finished to produce a textured surface. Terrazzo was created by Venetian construction workers as a low cost flooring material to surface the patios around their living quarters. Archaeologists have adopted the term terrazzo to describe the floors of early buildings in Western Asia constructed of burnt lime and clay, colored red with ochre. The embedded crushed limestone gives it a slightly mottled appearance, the use of fire to produce burnt lime, which was also used for the hafting of implements, predates production of fired pottery by almost a thousand years. In the early Neolithic settlement of Cayönü in eastern Turkey ca.90 m² of terrazzo floors have been uncovered, the floors of the PPN B settlement of Nevali Cori measure about 80 m². They are 15 cm thick, and contain about 10–15% lime and these floors are almost impenetrable to moisture and very durable, but their construction involved a high input of energy. Gourdin and Kingery estimate that the production of any amount of lime requires about five times that amount of wood. Recent experiments by Affonso and Pernicka have shown only twice the amount is needed. Other sites with terrazzo floors include Nevali Cori, Göbekli Tepe, Jericho, terrazzo artisans create walls, floors, patios, and panels by exposing marble chips and other fine aggregates on the surface of finished concrete or epoxy-resin. Much of the work of terrazzo workers is similar to that of cement masons. Marble-chip, cementitious terrazzo requires three layers of materials, first, cement masons or terrazzo workers build a solid, level concrete foundation that is three to four inches deep. After the forms are removed from the foundation, workers add a layer of sandy concrete. Before this layer sets, terrazzo workers partially embed metal divider strips in the concrete wherever there is to be a joint or change of color in the terrazzo. For the final layer, terrazzo workers blend and place each of the panels a fine marble chip mixture that may be color-pigmented. While the mixture is wet, workers toss additional marble chips of various colors into each panel
17.
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
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The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United States, as of 2013, there are over 260 landmarks included on the list. Sections or chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers may also designate state or local landmarks within their areas, list of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks American Society of Civil Engineers - Search by landmark name, project type, city, year of designation
18.
JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)
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The JPMorgan Chase Tower, formerly Texas Commerce Tower, is a 305.4 m, 75-story,2,243,013 sq. ft skyscraper at 600 Travis Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. The tower was built between 1979 and 1981 as the Texas Commerce Tower and it was designed by noted architects I. M. Pei & Partners. In some early plans, the building reached up to 80 stories, however, nonetheless, when it was completed, it was the eighth tallest building in the world. The building was developed as part of a partnership between Texas Commerce Bank and Khalid bin Mahfouz and it was built on the site where the Uptown Theatre, demolished in 1965, once stood. S. Bank Tower, was built in 1990, JPMorgan Chase Tower is not currently connected to the Houston Downtown Tunnel System. This system forms a network of subterranean, climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways that link twenty-five full city blocks, the Tower also includes 22,000 square feet of retail space. The sky lobby observation deck is located on the 60th floor, one can take the express elevator, providing a panoramic view of the city of Houston thanks to the use of wide glass spans and thirteen-foot ceilings. While the towers name reflects the bank JPMorgan Chase, the space designated to Chase is a single branch office on the bottom floor. The tower is owned by Prime Asset Management and managed by its original owner, police were forced to cordon off the area due to the amount of debris in the streets. At first, it was speculated that the glass came off the building due to impact from debris or due to high-speed winds in the confined spaces, however, flying glass debris must be entirely governed by drag and lift forces that overcome gravity for a considerable time period. This theory was proposed because an increase in speed produces a drop in external pressure. List of tallest buildings in Houston List of tallest buildings by U. S
19.
Brookfield Asset Management
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The firms assets are concentrated in property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. The company was founded in 1899 as a builder and operator of electricity and transport infrastructure in Brazil, the companys earlier name of Brascan reflected this history. Over the next century, the expanded and it is now an owner and operator of approximately $220 billion of real assets. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, and Brookfield Real Estate Services, Brookfield Asset Management invests through public, listed companies and through private funds. The companys institutional clients mainly include governments, sovereign funds, pension plans, institutions, corporations. The companys corporate headquarters are located in Toronto and New York City, other investments include Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Transelec and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners. Brookfields infrastructure assets include a major Australian railway and coal terminal and several European ports and it used to control such major Canadian companies as Noranda Inc. Falconbridge Limited, John Labatt, Royal Trust, MacMillan Bloedel, J. Bruce Flatt is senior managing partner and chief executive officer. Mr. Flatt was appointed to position in February 2002 after having served as chief executive officer of Brookfield Properties since 2000. He was trained as an accountant at Clarkson, Gordon and Company, as of fiscal year 2014, his basic compensation was $6.65 million. Mr. Flatt is senior managing partner and chief officer of the corporation, and on behalf of the corporation is the chairman. Mr. Flatt previously served as a member to Fraser Papers. Mr. Flatt holds a degree from the University of Manitoba. In 1899 the São Paulo Railway, Light and Power Company was founded by William Mackenzie, Frederick Stark Pearson, in 1904 the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company was founded by Mackenzies group. In 1916 Great Lakes Power Company Limited was incorporated to provide power in Sault Ste. Marie and the Algoma District in Ontario, in 1966 Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company Limited changed its name to Brazilian Light and Power Company Limited. In 2005, the changed its name to Brookfield Asset Management. As part of a number of purchases in 2007, Brookfield acquired Multiplex Group construction company for $6.1 billion and it also acquired Longview Fibre Company, expanding its timberland platform to 2.5 million acres
20.
Houston Fire Department
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City of Houston Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and property for a population of more than 2 million in an area totaling 617 square miles, the department is the largest fire department in the state of Texas. The administrative offices of HFD are located on the 7th floor of Continental Center II in the Cullen Center in Downtown Houston and they were previously located at the City of Houston Fire Department Logistical Center & Maintenance Depot. The Houston Fire Department got its start in 1838 with one known as Protection Company No.1. By 1859, the department had grown to three stations. After 57 years of service, Houston converted the department over to all paid members, on May 31,2013, the Southwest Inn fire broke out in an Indian restaurant in Southwest Houston before spreading to an adjoining hotel. The fire claimed the biggest casualty loss for the Houston Fire Department since its inception, four firefighters were killed and 13 others were injured while fighting the five-alarm fire at the Southwest Inn. Iron Bill Dowling, who lost his legs and damaged his brain in the fire, died in Colorado on March 7,2017, after a short hospitalization for pneumonia and cellulitis, attributed to his injuries. After the spreading of a fire in Spring Branch, Houston, Texas. Nearly 200 firefighters were dispatched to the site several hours. As of May 2016, the cause of the fire remains unknown. Below is a listing of all stations and their apparatus
21.
Architecture of Houston
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The architecture of Houston includes a wide variety of award-winning and historic examples located in various areas of the city of Houston, Texas. Some of Houstons oldest and most distinctive architecture is found downtown, as the city grew around Allens Landing, during the middle and late century, Downtown Houston was a modest collection of mid-rise office structures, but has since grown into the third largest skyline in the United States. The Uptown District experienced rapid growth along with Houston during the 1970s, in the late 1990s Uptown Houston saw construction of many mid and high-rise residential buildings. The Uptown District is also home to other structures designed by such as I. M. Pei, César Pelli. Houston has many examples of architecture of varying styles, from the mansions of River Oaks. A number of Houstons earliest homes are located in what is now Sam Houston Park, Homes in the Heights have varied architectural styles, including Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival. Post-war housing constructed throughout Houston reflects many architectural styles, the Hilton Houston Post Oak Hotel was designed by I. M. Pei. Its twin towers are joined by a lobby with a curved glass ceiling that by day lights up the entire space. The hotel has more than 30,000 sq ft. of meeting space and 448 guestrooms, in 2005, the hotel was renovated to reflect a more contemporary style that mirrors the original design. The Rice Hotel, built in 1912 on the site of the old Capitol building of the Republic of Texas, was restored in 1998. The original building was razed in 1881 by Colonel A. Groesbeck, William Marsh Rice, the founder of Rice University, purchased the building in 1883, added a five-story annex, and renamed it the Rice Hotel. Rice University then sold the building in 1911 to Jesse Jones, the new Rice Hotel building opened on May 17,1913. This historic hotel now serves as an apartment building known as The Rice Lofts, the Texas State Hotel was built in 1926 from a design by architect Joseph Finger, who also created the plans for Houstons City Hall. The hotel has Spanish Renaissance detailing and ornate metal canopies, which remain intact even though the building had, until recently. The hotel is a designated City of Houston landmark, and with refurbished ornate terra cotta detailing on the façade, the Gulf Building, now called the JPMorgan Chase building, is an Art Deco skyscraper. Completed in 1929, it remained the tallest building in Houston until 1963, carpenter, the building is seen as a realization of Eliel Saarinens acclaimed second-place entry to the Chicago Tribune Tower competition. Restoration of the building was started in 1989, in what is considered one of the largest privately funded preservation projects in American history. The Niels and Mellie Esperson buildings are examples of Italian Renaissance architecture in downtown Houston, designed by John Eberson, the two buildings were built in 1927 and 1941, respectively
22.
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
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The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. Its stated mission is to study and report on all aspects of the planning, design, the Council was founded at Lehigh University in 1969 by Lynn S. Beedle, where its office remained until October 2003 when it moved to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The CTBUH ranks the height of buildings using three different methods, Height to architectural top, This is the criterion under which the CTBUH ranks the height of buildings. Heights are measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the top of the building, inclusive of spires but excluding items such as flagpoles and antennae. Highest occupied floor, Height to the level of the highest floor that is occupied by residents. Height to tip, Height to the highest point of the building, including antennae, flagpoles, a category measuring to the top of the roof was removed from the ranking criteria in November 2009. This became the CTBUH official definition of a building’s completion, the CTBUH maintains an extensive database of the tallest buildings in the world, organized by various categories. Buildings under construction are included, although not ranked until completion. The CTBUH also produces an annual list of the ten tallest buildings completed in that particular year. Second on the 2008 list was the 363-metre Almas Tower in Dubai, third was the Minsheng Bank Building in Wuhan which stands at 331 metres, whilst fourth was The Address Downtown Burj Dubai. All in all, six of the ten tallest buildings completed in 2008 are located in Asia, the CTBUH also hosts annual conferences and a World Congress every three to five years. The most recent World Congress was held in Shanghai between 19 and 21 September 2012, the next World Congress will be held in Shanghai between 16 and 19 September 2014. The CTBUH also bestows Tall Building Awards each year, with four awards to the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Among these four regional awards, one is given the Best Tall Building Award Overall, there are also two lifetime achievement awards. Starting in 2010, these awards are presented at a symposium, in 2012 the CTBUH added two new awards for Innovation and Performance. In addition to the newsletter and daily updated global news archive. The Journal includes peer-reviewed technical papers, in-depth project case studies, book reviews, interviews with prominent persons in the building industry. The CTBUH also publishes guidebooks, reference manuals, and monographs related to the building industry
23.
Emporis
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Emporis GmbH is a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collects and publishes data and photographs of buildings worldwide, Emporis offers a variety of information on its public database, Emporis. com, located at www. emporis. com. Emporis is frequently cited by media sources as an authority on building data. Emporis previously focused exclusively on high-rise buildings and skyscrapers, which it defines as buildings between 35 and 100 metres tall and at least 100 metres tall, respectively, today, the database has expanded to include low-rise buildings and other structures. Michael Wutzke started a website about skyscrapers in Frankfurt in 1996, in 2000 he started skyscrapers. com which was folded into Emporis in 2003. In 2004, Stephan R. Boehm assumed the role of Chairman, Wutzke was Chief Technology Officer and managing director until 2010, when he left the company. In 2007 venture capital firm Neuhaus Partners and KfW Bankengruppe invested several million Euro in the company, effective January 1,2009, the company moved its headquarters from Darmstadt to Frankfurt. In 2011, the company moved from Frankfurt to Hamburg, in 2000 a group of Emporis senior editors began presenting the Emporis Skyscraper Award. Eligible buildings are selected from a list of all buildings in the world at least 100 meters tall which were completed that year
24.
SkyscraperPage
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SkyscraperPage is an internet forum for skyscraper hobbyists and enthusiasts that tracks existing and proposed skyscrapers around the world. SkyscraperPage. com drawings have appeared in National Geographics website, Wired, Condé Nast, The Globe and they are based in Victoria, British Columbia. The site has a database of scale-model illustration skyscrapers and other major macro-engineering projects, the scale of the drawings are one pixel per meter. The images are created using pixel art, using these diagrams, skyscrapers and other tall structures from any cities can be compared. General information is given about each structure, such as the location, the year built, if available. In 2008, the site had over 22,000 custom made drawings of skyscrapers, there were 600 artists signed up with the site, about half of whom were active. List of Internet forums List of tallest buildings in the world
25.
Houston Skyline District
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The Houston Skyline District is a geographic area encompassing severral blocks of downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The collection of skyscrapers in this district creates one of the largest skylines in the United States, most of Houstons major modern buildings can be found in this district, including the two tallest buildings in both Houston and Texas, the JPMorgan Chase Tower and Wells Fargo Bank Plaza. These buildings are home to the headquarters of various multinational businesses, most of the buildings in the Skyline District are connected by the Houston Downtown Tunnel System. Downtown Houston Architecture of Houston Houston Skyline District map
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Houston Theater District
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More than two million people visit the Houston Theater District annually. Houston is recognized as an important city for contemporary visual arts, the Houston Grand Opera is the only opera company in the U. S. to win a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy. In 2007, Da Camera of Houston was awarded the CMAcclaim Award from Chamber Music America, the Alley Theatre, founded in 1947, is Houstons oldest professional theatre company. The Alley is the theatre in Texas to win the Tony Award for best Regional Theatre. The Alley is the third oldest continually operating theatre in the United States, Alley Theatre Hubbard Stage Neuhaus Stage Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Sarofim Hall Zilkha Hall Jesse H. Early venues in the district were the Sam Houston Coliseum and the Houston Music Hall, the district is served by METRORail light rail service at Theater District Station. Houston Theater District Alley Theatre Da Camera of Houston Theatre Port
27.
Main Street Market Square Historic District
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Main Street Market Square Historic District is a historic district in Houston that includes the Market Square Park. It includes buildings nearby, as well as the square itself and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Main Street Market Square District has irregular boundaries, the district includes all of the blocks between Travis and Main from Texas Street to the northern boundary of University of Houstown-Downtown. From the southern edge of Market Square at Preston Street, it all of the blocks northward until Buffalo Bayou. It includes three and a half blocks between Main and Fannin Streets, running south from Franklin Street, a wedge-shaped, partial block at Milam falls within the district, as well as a partial block east of Main Street at the base of the viaduct. The University of Houston–Downtown is a state university, located within the Main Street Market Square Historic District. Founded in 1974, it is one of four separate and distinct institutions in the University of Houston System, UHD has an enrollment of 12,900 students—making it the 13th largest public university in Texas and the second-largest university in the Houston area. One of the anchors of the district is Market Square Park, so-named because this site previously hosted four Houston City Halls and City Markets. Adjacent to the park are three structures, the Fox-Kuhlman Building at 305-307 Travis, the Baker-Meyer Building at 315 Travis. Like the Kennedy Bakery Building, the property at 214 Travis had been owned by Irish-born baker and he started a building there in 1860. WL Foley Dry Goods commissioned Eugene Heiner to enlarge the structure in 1889, across the street at 201 Travis is the Houston National Bank, once owned by Ross S. Sterling. Houston Ice and Brewing Company built the Magnolia Brewery Building at 110 Milam, Eugene Heiner designed two other buildings in the district, the 1882 Henry Brashear Building at 910 Prairie, and the Sweeney and Coombs Building at 310 Main. National Register of Historic Places listings in Harris County, Texas
28.
Houston Independent School District
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The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas, and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby, like most districts in Texas it is independent of the city of Houston and all other municipal and county jurisdictions. The district has its headquarters in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center in Houston, in 2016, the school district was rated met standards by the Texas Education Agency. The Brunner Independent School District merged into Houston schools in 1913-1914, Houston ISD was established in the 1920s, after the Texas Legislature voted to separate school and municipal governments. Houston ISD replaced the Harrisburg School District, in the 1920s, at the time Edison Oberholtzer was superintendent, Hubert L. Mills, the business manager of the district, had immense political power in HISD. He had been in the employment of the district over one decade before Oberholtzer started, by the 1930s the two men were in a power struggle. The number of students in schools in Houston increased from 5,500 in 1888 to over 8,850 in 1927. There were 8,293 students in Houstons schools for students in the 1924-1925 school year. The original secondary school for blacks, was Colored High School, at the time all three secondary schools had junior high and senior high levels. There were 12,217 students in the schools in the 1929-1930 school year. William Henry Kellar, author of Make Haste Slowly, Moderates, Conservatives, Houston ISD absorbed portions of the White Oak Independent School District in 1937 and portions of the Addicks Independent School District after its dissolution. In the fall of 196012 black students were admitted to HISD schools previously reserved for whites, the racial integration efforts in HISD, beginning in 1960, were characterized by a lack of violence and turmoil as business leaders sought not to cause disruption. Prior to 1960 HISD was the largest racially segregated system in the United States. During the 1960s, HISDs school board instituted a phase-in with each subsequent grade being integrated, local African-American leaders believed the pace was too slow, and William Lawson, a youth minister, asked Wheatley students to boycott school. Five days afterwards 10% of Wheatley students attended classes, in 1970 a federal judge asked the district to speed the integration process. Simultaneously Mexican Americans were being discriminated against when they were being labeled as whites and this kept both Mexican Americans and African Americans away from Anglos while satisfying integration requirements set forth by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court case decision. Many Mexican Americans took their children out of the schools and put them in huelga. On August 31,1970 and organized by the Mexican-American Education Council and this action lasted approximately three weeks, during which up to 75% of the student bodies of some high schools participated in the boycotts
29.
Incarnate Word Academy (Houston)
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Incarnate Word Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary girls school located in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. Incarnate Word Academy serves grades 9 through 12 and is owned and operated by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, gabriel Dillon and two other members of the religious order of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament arrived just 37 years later in 1873. At the time, Houston’s streets weren’t paved and most residents did not yet have electricity, in fact the entirety of the town encompassed what we now know as downtown Houston. While its population was only around 10,000 residents, its Catholic leaders were already seeing the need for a Catholic school to serve the youths in the region and these three Sisters arrived and began what is the oldest Catholic high school in Houston. Today, much like the city it calls home, Incarnate Word Academy has grown into an example of what can happen when people are willing to work hard. Regardless of the changes to the school and the community, the commitment to educate, Incarnate Word Academy provides young women with a Catholic college preparatory education, helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus, the Incarnate Word, and live according to His values. Its cornerstones are, Academics, Values and Spirituality. The Academy has a Strategic Plan in place to help pave the way for the generation of young women who will call the school “home. ”In addition to the Strategic Plan. New Advanced Placement courses and stimulating electives have been added to the curriculum, after 140 years, IWA understands that continually planning and adapting is the only way to be prepared for the future. IWA continues to offer its students a traditional Catholic education in a more modern world. The IWA Young Leaders Program is an innovative 4-year character and leadership development program and it provides each student the unique opportunity to develop in-demand leadership skills built upon a foundation of strong personal character. The program provides activities and curriculum for each grade classification, for incoming freshmen and sophomores, the focus is on character - challenging each student to be virtuous by doing the right things, the right way, and, thus, becoming a role model. The focus for the junior and senior years is leadership and our program and curriculum will inspire the student to prepare for a lifelong journey to becoming a better leader. This involves understanding the laws of leadership and how to apply them in service to others, additionally, the demands of the 21st century require that our students have something extra. When they identify and apply their personal strengths in creative ways, when our students go above and beyond, the community recognizes them as future good neighbors or students whom they would like to hire one day. This program, together with IWAs unique downtown location, creates a strong differentiator for our graduates, some schools talk about building leadership and character as an indirect outcome of the high school experience. Conversely, the IWA Young Leaders Program is built around specific courses and activities intended to achieve a positive outcome. It is available to all students, the activities required to stay active in the program will demand effort largely outside of the classroom
30.
South Texas College of Law
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South Texas College of Law - Houston, is a private American Bar Association accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. US News consistently ranks the South Texas trial advocacy program in the top ten, in 2010, according to South Texas 2013 ABA-required disclosures,61. 2% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. South Texas offers a 3 and 3 program with Texas A&M University and this program makes it possible to obtain a Bachelors degree and a Juris Doctor in six years. The Consortium for Innovative Legal Education, combines resources designed to enhance and strengthen the educational mission of each school separately and this partnership provides access to educational programs on a national and international basis. Students at South Texas can study abroad in London, Ireland, Malta, the Czech Republic, France, in 2007, South Texas won the National White Collar Crime Invitational Mock Trial Competition hosted by Georgetown Law School. As of August 2011, South Texas has won 108 national titles, the schools most recent win was at the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Tournament in 2011. As of 2016, South Texas College of Law Houstons rank is unpublished in the US News Rankings of Best Law Schools and it is currently not ranked on the U. S. News Report for Best Law Schools in the nation. According to South Texas official 2013 ABA-required disclosures,61. 2% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, the total cost of attendance at South Texas for the 2013-2014 academic year is $50,010. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $186,530, the average Class of 2009 graduate had $104,862 of student loan debt. Since September 3,2011, the courts are now located in the 1911 Harris County courthouse, in 1998, Texas A&M University tried to merge with South Texas College of Law Houston under a public/private partnership. Under the proposal, the law school would have remained a private school, the deal went sour after a lengthy legal fight with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the governing body of the states public institutions. The courts ruled that the schools had failed to obtain the Boards approval before entering into the agreement, the University of Houston and other institutions voiced concern about the partnership. In 2013, Texas A&M University entered into an arrangement with the Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas. Until mid-2016, the law school was called South Texas College of Law, the University of Houston System filed a lawsuit on June 27,2016, in U. S. Federal district court in Houston. On November 7,2016, the dean of the law school announced that the name would be changed to South Texas College of Law Houston, pat Lykos, former Harris County District Attorney David M. S. News and World Report, Americas Best Graduate Schools, Law Specialties, Trial Advocacy Official website Digital Collections at The Fred Parks Law Library
31.
Houston Community College
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Houston Community College, also known as Houston Community College System is a community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Katy, and Stafford in Texas. It is notable for actively recruiting internationally and for the number of international students enrolled. Its open enrollment policies, which do not require proficiency in English, are backed by a full-time 18-month English proficiency program, in 1971, the district founded HCCS after HJCs and HCNs evolutions into the University of Houston and Texas Southern University respectively. In its early days, HCCS once used HISD school campuses for teaching facilities with classes during evenings, around 1997, HCCS began to transfer operations to community college district-operated campuses throughout the HCCS service area. Jim Murphy, a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 133 in Houston, was a HCCD trustee for two terms from 1997 until 2006, HCC operates its own police department. They may make an arrest pursuant to a warrant anywhere in Texas, the HCC Police Department is divided into six divisions, Administrative, Criminal Investigations, Patrol, Bike Patrol, Training, Communications. HCCS operates Houston Community College Television, aired on Comcast Channel 19, TV Max Channel 97, Phonoscope Channel 77 and Cebridge Channel 20. Content is also streamed over the internet, the studio complex, which has one large studio unit, five editing suites, and a digital master control system, is located at the HCC District Campus. Houston Academy for International Studies of Houston ISD opened on HCCs Central Campus in Fall 2006, willie Lee Gay Hall Coleman College of Health Sciences Codwell Hall Campus Northline Campus The HCC Northline Campus is the site of HISDs North Houston Early College High School. Pinemont Campus Alief Campus The Alief Campus is the site of Alief ISDs Alief Early College High School, Alief Continuing Education Center Katy Campus Spring Branch Campus Southeast College is home to two separate campuses in different parts of the HCC Southeast service area. The Felix Fraga Academic Campus is located a mile and a quarter east of Downtown Houston at 301 N. Drennan St. Fraga served as an HISD trustee, today he is the Vice President of External Affairs for the Neighborhood Centers, Inc. The Felix Fraga Campus hosts classes to over 1,500 students every semester and its flagship offerings include Maritime Logistics, Pre-Engineering, and other STEM classes. Most core courses are also available, in partnership with HISD, the Felix Fraga Campus is also the host location of HISDs East Early College High School. The country of Qatar operates an area called Education City and its purpose is to bring U. S. universities to the Middle East. Houston Community College ran a satellite campus in Education City, however, as of March 2016, HCC “is massively scaling back operations, ” according to Gulf News Journal. Over a five-year period, Qatar’s government paid HCC approximately $30.5 million to subsidize the Education City campus, in a news interview, the HCC Board of Trustees Treasurer said he did not support continuing the campus. “We’re a community college to educate kids in our district, ” he said, when HCC first sent teachers to its Qatar campus, the Qatari government made some of them return back to the United States because they were Jewish. Kim Su Tran La, founder of the restaurant chain Kim Sơn, HCCS Homepage HCCS Libraries TSPR Houston Community College System - Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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Midtown, Houston
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Midtown is a district southwest of Downtown Houston, bordered by Neartown, Interstate 69/U. S. Around 1906 what is now Midtown was divided between the Third Ward and Fourth Ward, before the 1950s what is now Midtown was a popular residential district. Increasingly, commercial development lead homeowners to leave for neighborhoods they considered less busy, the area became a group of small apartment complexes, low-rise commercial buildings, and older houses. According to a City of Houston report, the remaining churches, in the 1970s, Midtown became home to Little Saigon, a neighborhood of Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans, who pioneered the redevelopment of Midtown Houston. During the 1980s, Travis and Milam Streets were viewed as an image of 1970s era Saigon. The Vietnamese areas were established around Milam Street, Webster Street, Fannin Street, by 1991 this Little Saigon had Vietnamese restaurants, hair salons, car shops, and travel agencies. Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly stated in 1991 that Little Saigon is a place to begin easing into a new country, on June 24,1994 Isabella Court at 3909-3917 South Main Street received listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Houston established the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone in 1995, the establishment of the TIRZ lead to the opening of upper income townhomes and apartment complexes in western Midtown and the area along Elizabeth Baldwin Park. Between 1990 and 2000 the area within the Midtown Superneighborhood saw the increase from 3,070 to 5,311. The increase by 2,241 people was 73% of the 1990 population, during that period about 2,200 multi-family units opened, particularly along Louisiana Street and West Gray Street. Since the total multi-family acreage remained at a number, the population increase also increased the density of the area. During the 1990s commercial uses increased, particularly along Main Street, in 1999 the 76th Texas Legislature created the Midtown Management District. In 2009 Houston City Council approved the expansion of the Midtown TIRZ by 8 acres, the new territory includes the Asia House, the Buffalo Soldiers Museum and the Museum of African-American culture. In 2014 the ranking website Niche stated that Midtown was the neighborhood for millennial people. In 2010 Denny Lee of The New York Times said that Midtown, by 2012 many new bars, retail operations, and restaurants had opened in Midtown. Ed Page, a broker, said in 2012 that Midtown has not yet seen any significant new retail. As of 2010 five flower shops are located along Fannin in a section of Midtown, one decade before 2010 there were over one dozen flower shops in that area. In 2003 the flower shop owners were mostly Asian, the shops, along four city blocks, were centered on Rosedale Street
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Houston Public Library
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Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the Houston Lyceum in 1854, the lyceum was preceded by a debating society, a special-interest mechanics lyceum, and a circulating library. The lyceums library eventually split into an institution at the end of the 19th century. In 1892, William Marsh Rice, a Houston businessman and philanthropist who later chartered Rice University, the facility opened in 1895 and obtained its own building in 1904 with financial assistance from Andrew Carnegie. Julia Ideson was named its first librarian, the building constructed as Houstons Central Library in 1926 was later named in her honor, the name was changed to Houston Public Library in 1921. The Colored Carnegie Library opened in 1913 and became a part of HPL in 1921, the library system racially desegregated in 1953. In June 1953, Mayor of Houston Roy Hofheinz told the HPL board that library facilities should no longer be segregated, on August 21,1953, library facilities for high school students and adults were desegregated – without public announcement to the black community. On July 31,1961, the Carnegie colored branch closed, the library facility required extensive repairs and it was in the path of the Clay Avenue extension project. The branch, auctioned in February 1962 and shortly afterward demolished except for the cornerstone, was replaced by the W. L. D. Johnson Library in Sunnyside, Central Library consists of the Julia Ideson Building and the Jesse H. Jones Building, constructed in 1976. The HPL administrative offices were moved out of the Jones Building, freeing 12,600 square feet of space. Lisa Gray, of the Houston Chronicle, said the renovation made the Jones Building less of a public space devoted to reading, the offices moved to the Marston Building. Additions in the 2000s include McGovern-Stella Link Neighborhood Library, HPL Express Southwest, a new building for Looscan Neighborhood Library opened in 2007, replacing a 1956 structure. The Jones Building closed for renovations in 2006 and reopened in 2008 and that same year, the Houston Press heralded the project as Houstons best renovation in its annual awards. In 2010, due to a shortfall, the library system reduced its hours. During the same year the system put its decades-old city directories online, during the Jones Building remodeling the HPL administrative offices moved to the 22, 000-square-foot Marston Building in Neartown Houston. The City of Houston spent $1.3 million to renovate the Marston Building to accommodate HPL staff, prior to the remodeling, the HPL administrative offices were located in the Jones Building. This addition houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center which is the center of the Houston Public Library System. The Marston Building was sold in 2012 by the City of Houston, in addition to the Central Library and Clayton Library, there are 35 neighborhood libraries, including four regional libraries, all located within the city of Houston
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Julia Ideson Building
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The Julia Ideson Building is a Houston Public Library facility in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is named for Julia Bedford Ideson, the first Head Librarian of the Houston Public Libraries, the building, with Spanish Renaissance architecture, is part of the Central Library, it houses the archives, manuscripts, and the Texas and Local History Department. The Houston Metropolitan Research Center is located in the building, in 1976 the Jesse H. Jones Building opened, and the Central Library moved to the new building. The building received listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the Ideson building reopened in 1979. Lana Berkowitz of the Houston Chronicle stated that there are legends of the Ideson Building being haunted by the ghost of Jacob Frank Cramer, a library caretaker, and Petey, his dog
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Discovery Green
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Discovery Green is a public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. Opened in 2008, Discovery Green 11. 78-acre is located on Avenida de las Americas across from the George R. Brown Convention Center, the park includes a lake, bandstands and venues for public performances, two dog runs, a childrens area and multiple recreational areas. The park was designed by the landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Associates. The first event held at the park was Houston Mayor Bill Whites 2008 inauguration, the park officially opened to the public on April 13,2008. It is estimated that almost a quarter-million people visited the park between opening day and June 30,2008, the estimates were made by comparing the size of crowds with the Houston Police Departments estimate of 30,000 people who went to the park on opening day. The City of Houston acquired a portion of the land in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center in 2002, the Mayor agreed and became a strong advocate of a public-private partnership was developed for the $125 million project. Several other philanthropic foundations joined the effort, including the Wortham Foundation, with the guidance of Project for Public Spaces, the Conservancy mounted the large public meetings and smaller focus groups to solicit public feedback. This feedback became the basis for the park’s programming, Hargreaves Associates, an internationally renowned landscape architecture firm based in San Francisco, oversaw the design effort. Page designed the architecture and Larry Speck was their lead architect. Provided landscape and horticultural design services, artists Margo Sawyer and Doug Hollis were integral members of the design team and produced three works of art for the park. A large team of local and international engineers and specialists supported the design team. Elmore Public Relations was contracted for marketing and public relations, ever since the opening in 2008, the park has added upon. An estimate of $1 billion worth of buildings, offices, hotels, in 2009 the One Park Place opened. A high-end residential tower that houses 346 units, on 2011, the Hess Tower was built, a 29-story office building. On 2016, the Marriott Marquis convention hotel was built north of the park, a hotel that holds over 1,000 rooms. The park earned LEED certification in October 2009, the Kinder Foundation provided $10 million to help fund the $125 million project. Hargreaves Associates and their team of architects, engineers, and artists took thirteen months to design, notable challenges would be the dense intersection and the intricate design of implementing the garage with the surface park. The park is placed in the center of two juxtaposing cross axes, the linear plaza is lined by a multitude Mexican Sycamore trees and uniquely designed pavement
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1200 Travis
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1200 Travis is a 28-story building in Downtown Houston, Texas that is currently occupied by the Houston Police Department as its current headquarters. At one time it was known as the Houston Natural Gas Building, the building houses HPDs administrative and investigative offices. The building, with 575,000 square feet of space, has a typical floor size of 16,500 square feet. The building, originally the Entex Building, was built in 1967, a renovation in 1988 involved the installation of a new central plant. In 1994 the City of Houston bought the building to house the headquarters of the Houston Police Department, in February 1995 the Houston City Council unanimously voted to retain the Hines company as the development manager for the renovation of 1200 Travis. In the 1990s Hercules Engineering and Testing Services received a contract to do testing in the renovated 1200 Travis building, in October 1997 the $21 million renovation was completed. In 2007 the Houston Police Department announced that it was opening a shop inside the building. The Museum, Gift Shop, and officers memorial opened on May 12, in 2008 Harold Hurtt, the head of HPD, proposed a plan which would have involved the City of Houston selling 1200 Travis. In regards to a new police headquarters, Hurtt said It is not a building like 1200 Travis. In 2011 Mayor of Houston Annise Parker said that the city is considering selling the 1200 Travis facility so that the city will not have to lay off 273 jailers, as of 2012 the facility is for sale. List of tallest buildings in Texas Architecture of Houston Houston Police Department Headquarters at Emporis HPD Home Page
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1500 Louisiana Street
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1500 Louisiana Street, formerly Enron Center South, is a 600 ft tall skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It was completed in 2002 and has 40 floors and a building area of 1,284. It is the 17th tallest building in the city and the tallest completed in the 2000s, Enron, a Houston-based company, had the building constructed to serve as its US headquarters. Due to a scandal in late 2001 the company collapsed and filed for bankruptcy that same year, intell Management and Investment Co. paid $102 million for the tower, which came equipped with technology that was, in 2003, the latest for energy firms. Charlie Giammalva of Lincoln Property Co. the leasing company of 1500 Louisiana, Giammalva said that the management of the building had contacted several firms, such as ExxonMobil, about the possibility of leasing space in the building. By July 2003 none of the firms contacted the management, chevronTexaco bought the building in 2004 for $340 million. By 2005 the firm announced that it would move out of the former Chevron Tower in Houston Center, in 20064,000 employees worked in 1500 Louisiana. List of tallest buildings in Houston Emporis Skyscraperpage Houston Architecture
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Allen Center
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The Allen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It consists of five buildings, One Allen Center, the Devon Energy Tower or Two Allen Center, Three Allen Center, Allen Center Clay Street, the complex has about 3,000,000 square feet of space. The area that became the Allen Center was originally considered to be a portion of the Fourth Ward. The opening of Interstate 45 in the 1950s separated the portion from the rest of the Fourth Ward. TrizecHahn Properties acquired the Allen Center in 1996, Trizec defeated 16 other real estate companies so it could purchase the center for an amount reported by Tanya Rutledge of the Houston Business Journal as $270 million. When Trizec acquired the Allen Center in November 1996, the complex had a 76 percent occupancy rate, by 1997, Trizec had convinced several tenants of the Cullen Center, also owned by Trizec, to relocate to the Allen Center. Paul Layne, a president of the office division of Trizec. In 2001, when Enron collapsed, it vacated 800,000 square feet of space in the Allen Center, in 2010 Devon Energy was trying to sublease about 125,000 square feet of space that it occupies in the Allen Center complex. Hess Corporation will vacate around 500,000 square feet of space in the complex when a new tower in the east side of Downtown Houston opens. One Allen Center is a 452 ft tall skyscraper and it was completed in 1972 and has 34 floors. It is the 31st tallest building in the city, One Allen Center employs a composite stub-girder steel frame floor system, originally developed in part by Joseph Colaco then of Ellisor Engineers Inc. currently of CBM Engineers, Inc. Macquarie Bank houses its Houston representative office in Suite 3100 of the building, the Devon Energy Tower was known as Two Allen Center and previously the Citicorp Building. Three Allen Center is a 685-foot tall skyscraper completed in 1983 with 50 floors and it is the 12th-tallest building in the city. Macquarie Capital Inc. has an office in Suite 4200, oil States International has an office in Suite 4620. 1400 Smith Street was known as Four Allen Center, the building was the former headquarters of Enron, one of Americas largest commodities trading companies during the 1990s and later infamous for its financial scandal in 2001. Enron occupied the building after relocating to Dallas in 1985, before Enrons collapse, the energy giant constructed a second, similar building across the street, connected to 1400 Smith Street by a circular skywalk. In 2006 Brookfield Properties acquired the 1,200, 000-square-foot Four Allen Center for $120 million, at the same time Brookfield announced that Chevron USA signed a lease for the entire building. Brookfield held 4 Allen Center in a joint partnership with the private equity group The Blackstone Group, as of 2006 the joint venture has 7,400,000 square feet of office space in Downtown Houston, making it the largest office owner in the central business district
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Devon Energy Tower (Houston)
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Two Allen Center, also known as Devon Energy Tower, is a 521 ft tall skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It was completed in 1978 and has 36 floors and it is the 24th tallest building in the city. The tower houses offices for Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation, the building has travertine flooring and is Energy Star labelled. It is owned by Brookfield Properties and it was known as the Citicorp Building in 1989. During that year Exxon had office space there, greater Houston Partnership has its offices in Suite 700, on the seventh floor. Devon Energy had its Houston office there, in October 2012 Devon Energy announced that it was closing its office there, affecting 500 jobs. Two Allen Center also hosts the headquarters of Houston-based national tax law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka, previously Trizec Properties had its Houston offices in Suite 1100. List of tallest buildings in Houston Emporis Skyscraperpage
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1400 Smith Street
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1400 Smith Street is a 691 ft tall skyscraper located in downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The building has 50 floors and is the 11th tallest building in the city, designed by architectural firm Lloyd Jones Brewer and Associates, the building was completed in 1983. The 1,200, 000-square-foot office tower is situated on Houstons six-mile pedestrian and it was formerly Four Allen Center, a part of the Allen Center complex. The building was the headquarters of Enron, one of Americas largest commodities trading companies during the 1990s. 1400 Smith Street was originally known as Four Allen Center prior to Enron relocating to Houston in 1985, before Enrons collapse, the energy giant constructed a second, similar building across the street, connected to 1400 Smith Street by a circular skywalk. In 2006, Brookfield Properties acquired the 1,200, 000-square-foot Four Allen Center for $120 million, at the same time, Brookfield announced that Chevron USA signed a lease for the entire building. Brookfield held 4 Allen Center in a joint partnership with the private equity group The Blackstone Group, as of 2006, the joint venture has 7,400,000 square feet of office space in Downtown Houston, making it the largest office owner in the central business district. Beginning in 2006, Chevron leased the entirety of the building, earlier in 2011 Brookfield Properties, the owner of the building, searched for a prospective buyer. In June 2011, Chevron bought the building from Brookfield for $340 million, Brookfield confirmed the purchase on June 24,2011. If Chevron had not fully occupied the building, Brookfield would have put the building on the market, architecture of Houston List of tallest buildings in Houston List of tallest buildings in Texas Enron Emporis Skyscraperpage 1400 Smith Street website
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Bank of America Center (Houston)
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The Bank of America Center is a highrise representing one of the first significant examples of postmodern architecture construction in downtown Houston, Texas. It has three segmented tower setbacks, each with a steeply pitched gabled roofline that is topped off with spires, the tower was developed by Hines Interests and is owned by a joint venture of M-M Properties and an affiliate of the General Electric Pension Trust. The banking center is housed in a building, due to construction problems. There are 32 passenger elevators each finished with wood panels that include Birdseye Maple, Macassar Ebony, Italian Willow, Tamo, the building contains an art gallery in the lobby and plans to host curated exhibitions. At 56 stories the Bank of America Center is the 55th tallest building in the United States and is the seventh tallest building in Texas, the northeast corner of the structure houses a building within a building. On June 9,2001, the building was the site of an accident that took place during Tropical Storm Allison. Building security warned individuals that the below grade parking levels were in danger of flooding and instructed persons working late in the building to move vehicles to upper levels of the garage. Kristie Tautenhahn, an employee of the law firm Mayer, Brown & Platt and she drowned in an elevator car when it filled with water as it descended to the lower floor of the garage. Mayer Brown has its Houston office in Suite 3400
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Bayou Place
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Bayou Place is a 130,000 square foot entertainment complex that houses multiple theaters, bars, and restaurants located in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex was the former Albert Thomas convention center located in the Houston Theater District at 500 Texas Street, the convention center was made obsolete with the opening in 1987 of the much larger George R. Brown Convention Center on the eastern edge of downtown. After years of discussion, Maryland-based developer David Cordish entered into an agreement with the city of Houston in 1991 to redevelop the site. After a few years of discussions, delays, and construction. At one time the complex had a completion date in the year 1996. Cordish Company has had a 50-year lease to manage Bayou Place since 1997, the following are located within the complex, The Hard Rock Cafe is a popular global chain that offers meals with an atmosphere surrounded by plenty of Rock and Roll memorabilia. A four-tiered riser system on the main floor creates an intimate cabaret/dinner theater feel, the permanent 56 x 40 stage is equipped with ample sound and light. Two 8 x 10 video screens are suspended above the stage, check the Website for upcoming concert schedules. Sundance Cinemas Houston opened in Bayou Place in early November 2011, the theater features specialized film programming and also present features from film festivals and from general release. In March 2011, Cordish signed a 10-year lease with Sundance, the 36,000 square feet space will receive a $2.25 million remodeling. It will open to the public on November 23,2011, the theater closed after being open for 13 years. Angelika left the space and closed on Sunday, August 29,2010 due to a dispute with the landlord
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BG Group Place
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BG Group Place is a 630 ft tall skyscraper in Downtown Houston, Texas. It was completed in February 2011 and has 46 floors, when it was completed, BG Group Place became the 15th tallest building in Houston and features a skygarden on the 39th floor. It is the tallest building built in Houston in 23 years, the naming was done when BG Group Plc became an anchor tenant and leased 164, 000sq ft of space. The primary monument & all core signage for the facility was built by Ad Display Sign Systems, water that condenses in the buildings air-conditioning system is used to irrigate the plants. Glass fins that act as sunshades reduce the buildings need for air-conditioning, the 10-foot ceilings allow in more sunlight, cutting the need for electric lights. Each floor is on average 27,000 square feet and can hold up to 8 full corner offices, Basement Floor 2, Parking Basement Floor 1, Parking, access to Downtown Houston tunnel system, and a small area for retail space. 1st Floor, Lobby,1 large and 1 small retail space area, access to the Downtown Houston tunnel system will also be available via an escalator to Basement Floor 1. The 30-foot high ceilings will extend through Floor 2 and half of Floor 3
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Calpine Center
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The Calpine Center is a 453 ft tall postmodern skyscraper in Downtown Houston, Texas. The building has 33 floors of Class A office space and it is the 30th tallest building in the city. The building has the headquarters of Calpine Corporation. Hines and Prime Asset Management jointly developed the building, the Houston office of HOK designed the building, and Turner Construction acted as the general contractor. It is connected to the tunnel system. Mark Russell of Studley, a real estate firm, said that the Calpine Center is more efficient than many of the office buildings built in Houston in the early 1980s. Originally Calpine intended to lease 300,000 square feet of space, by February 2003 Calpine announced that it would sublease some of the space to other firms. The Calpine Center was scheduled for completion at the end of 2003, in July 2003 the space was 82% booked for occupation. Calpine and Burlington Resources, another company, leased space in the building. In addition Jones Day agreed to lease over 50,000 square feet, the building opened on Monday November 10,2003. Other tenants that had occupied the building by its opening included Cheniere Energy Inc. in 2004 Avalon Advisors LP agreed to lease 9,385 square feet of space in the building, bringing its occupancy level to 86%. List of tallest buildings in Houston Emporis Skyscraperpage
