Today, the tall buildings of Houston soar above deep canyons along the streets of downtown. From a distance, their dizzying heights and dramatic designs create a unique signature for the fourth largest city in America. This remarkable skyline took shape over a span of 100 years, as builders competed to raise tall structures in what has become the financial and government center of Houston.

The history of Houston skyscrapers is also one of the engineering marvels of the century. What was built in Houston has aided skyscraper construction around the world, from Miami to the Middle East. Many Houston high-rise structures constructed in the past 100 years are now historic buildings, locally and nationally.

At the beginning of the 20th century, downtown Houston looked like a flat, coastal plain edged by Buffalo Bayou. Then, commercial buildings began to sprout up on Main Street in the blocks close to the Bayou. In 1893, The five-story Kiam Building at 320 Main seemed to mark the limit that stores and offices could go up.

But the modern era was ushered in by the construction of the Binz Building at 513 Main. When finished in 1895, it stood six stories tall and had a basement. An early guidebook to Houston states that people came from all over to ride in one of the first electric-powered elevators in Houston up to the roof of the Binz to gaze with wonder at the vast prairie.

The new century brought new construction ideas and demands to the city. The population in 1900 had doubled in a few short years and stood at 44,633. The First National Bank Building at 201 Main was erected in 1904 with an eight-story steel frame. The use of steel created greater stability over the previous brick-and-mortar method of building. In 1909, the 11-story Scanlan Building at 405 Main captured the title of tallest structure in the city.

However, that title rested on the Scanlan for only one year. In 1910, businessman and promoter S.F. Carter opened the Carter Building at 806 Main at what was then an incredible 16 stories. Mr. Carter's children used the roof on hot summer nights as a sleeping place. That same year businessman and civic leader Jesse Jones (and S.F. Carter's uncle) topped the city skyline by erecting the 17-story Rice Hotel, built on the site of the first capitol of Texas, at Main Street and Texas Avenue.

Not to be outdone by his uncle, Carter announced he would add another six stories to his office building. Newspapers at the time dubbed the project "Carter's Folly." As finishing touches were put in place, bystanders predicted it would fall down. But the all-steel building, erected on huge concrete and steel piers beneath ground, defied its critics. At the turn of the 21st century, Houston's first real "skyscraper" was standing proud at 22 stories.

Several important 22-story commercial skyscrapers followed the lead of the Carter Building, many of them in use today. Business in Houston boomed in the 1920s. Each new oil enterprise, bank, and agricultural business seemed to require a brand new building.

In 1927 they were all trumped by the Queen of Houston's high-rise structures: the 32-story Niels Esperson Building at 808 Travis. Planned and financed by Mrs. Mellie Esperson to honor her late husband, no expense was spared to erect his office building monument. The Italian Renaissance-inspired design with a small Roman temple atop the structure resembled a wedding cake in golden stone. Supporting the building are 33 concrete piles sunk to 46 feet deep. The Esperson Building cost $4 million to construct, a staggering amount at the time. In 2006, it sold for a reported $48 million.

Houston business leader Jesse Jones now wanted the tallest building in all of Texas. In 1929, he put his financial power to work constructing the 39-story Gulf Building at 712 Main. The Art Deco monument was designed as a Gothic castle tower with a majestic entrance, making the Gulf Building (now the JP Morgan Chase Bank Building) the undisputed King of Skyscrapers.

Nothing topped the Gulf Building for another three and a half decades. Through the Great Depression and World War II, Houston was occupied with other matters. The skyline in 1950, when Houston had a population of 596,163, grew out, but not up. The Gulf, Esperson, and Carter skyscrapers still ranked first, second, and third.

Then, in 1963, ground was broken for a modern International-style office building designed for 44 stories, at 800 Bell. The Humble Building (now the Exxon Building) was constructed on piers atop a concrete base known as a mat. Huge interior columns allowed the floors to be cantilevered out, with the exterior glass walls freed up from having to support the structure. Scores of other commercial high-rise buildings at the same height sprouted up during the post-war boom years.

Yet no one believed buildings could grow taller in Houston. When plans for a 50-story One Shell Plaza at 910 Louisiana were announced, a familiar refrain was heard: Would it stand up? What could support it?

Public doubts about super-high construction in Houston were based on information about area geology. It was known, because of extensive oil drilling, that Houston sits on a shelf of packed dirt called Beaumont Clay. While it is hard soil (much like hard cheese), there is no bedrock under the region. Very tall buildings in Houston cannot have steel rods drilled downward into solid rock to anchor them, as they do in New York or Chicago. To build upward to the sky in Houston required something different underneath.

Engineers and architects for One Shell Plaza created solutions to the puzzle. First, they lessened the load through innovative design. Then, they turned for ideas to an ancient craft: the art of building ships. Essentially creating a hull for their building, engineers dug down to make a concrete foundation exactly as heavy as the building, just the way ships are constructed to float. For One Shell Plaza, this meant excavating to 60 feet below the surface, removing all the clay, and filling it up with a concrete platform. When finished in 1971, they had created a giant raft on which they anchored a monumental building. University of Houston engineering professor Dr. Joseph Colaco, who helped solve the problem, lectures students on the historic project.

Based on this new technology, a remarkable boom followed for the next 20 years. Led by the twin towers of Pennzoil Place at 711 Louisiana, super-size buildings rose over Houston. Appearing as tall, slender sculptures, some have sloping roofs with pointed spires; one is topped by Mayan temples; others are clad in many colors of glass and stone. Moving out from downtown, other city centers arose at Greenway Plaza, the Texas Medical Center and the Galleria area. Today, skyscrapers follow the freeways around the city.

The pride in the Houston skyline included renovation of older, historic high-rises. Important re-dos include the historic Rice Hotel, the Kiam Building, and the super-size 53-story CenterPoint Energy Plaza at 1111 Lousiana.

In 2000, the U.S. Census registered 1,953,631 people living in Houston. At the turn of the 21st century, three structures rose above all the rest. The Williams Tower (known as the Transco Tower when it was built in 1983 at 2800 Post Oak Boulevard) stands 64 stories tall. The dark glass-covered square skyscraper has an Art Deco design, with corners cut back in rotation on three top levels. A giant searchlight beams out from the tower, giving Houston a nighttime landmark.

Downtown, the Wells Fargo Plaza Building (built as Allied Bank) is a reflective green-glass tower that climbs to 71 stories. Designed with two ovals joined off-center, the skyscraper appears to change as you walk or drive around it. Built in 1983 at 1000 Louisiana, the structure occupies an entire block.

Topping them all at 1,002 feet and 75 stories is the Chase Bank Tower, built on an angle to the plaza below. It also occupies a complete block, with a glass wall oriented to the south. When built, the tower was briefly the tallest building west of the Mississippi. The Chase Tower, located at 600 Travis Street, is a favorite destination for visitors. A recent guidebook to Houston extols a ride in the elevator to the 60th floor observation deck for the view. On a clear day, you can see across what was once - a hundred years before -- a flat prairie all the way to Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources: Houston, A History and Guide, Writers' Program of the Works Progress Administration (1942); Stephen Fox: Houston Architectural Guide, American Institute of Architects (1999); Marguerite Johnston: Houston, The Unknown City, Texas A&M Press, (1994); JP Morgan Chase Archives; Dr. Joseph Colaco; Official web sites of individual buildings; Houston Public Library Metropolitan Research Center. Special thanks to Richard Payne.

Written by: Mimi Crosley Detering, Museum of Houston

© Copyright 2007 Museum of Houston