ExxonMobil Building
George Pierce-Abel B. Pierce
Golemon & Rolfe Associates
The ExxonMobil Building (also known as Exxon Tower, and formerly as Humble Oil Building) at 800 Bell Street in Houston, Texas is a 45-story, 1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2) skyscraper built in 1963, designed by Welton Becket & Associates.[1] The building is known for its “fins” which protrude from the building’s exterior to provide shade from the sun.[1]
At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at 606 ft (185 m), surpassing the Republic Bank Tower in Dallas (the previous record holder). It remained the tallest building west of the Mississippi only until 1965, when Elm Place was built in Dallas.
History
800 Bell Street was built in 1963 as the headquarters of Humble Oil Company, a predecessor of Exxon.[1] In 1973 Humble's parent company Standard Oil of New Jersey rebranded nationwide as Exxon and discontinued the Humble name.
During the Houston Astros' 2004 NLCS run (playoffs), the top of the building was crowned by hundreds of tiny blue lights while an enormous Astros star (logo) made of white lights was hung on the south side of the building.[7]
In 2011 the company announced they would relocate all employees in the building to a new ExxonMobil office in Spring.[8]
In January 2013, Shorenstein Properties acquired the property for $50 million.[1] As part of the deal, ExxonMobil leased back the entire building through 2015.[1] Shorenstein Properties announced plans to undertake significant improvements following ExxonMobil's departure.[9]
In 2015, as ExxonMobil's lease expired, oil prices crashed. This caused petroleum companies to shed excess office space, leaving the property vacant for almost the next decade.[1]
Mayor of Houston Annise Parker proposed moving municipal court and Houston Police Department operations into the ExxonMobil building. Charles McClelland, the head of HPD, stated that having so many law enforcement and public safety agencies concentrated in a single building may be a safety risk, citing the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.[10] In September 2015 Parker's administration announced that the plan would not move forward due to concerns over costs.[11]
In late 2022, the 1.2 million square foot building was sold to developers with plans to convert the vacant office building to residential units.[1]
Location
The building is two blocks east of 1500 Louisiana Street; a parking lot is between the two buildings.[12] The building is situated about five blocks north of the Pierce Elevated freeway, which is slated to be re-routed and removed as part of a Texas Department of Transportation Plan.[1]
Petroleum Club
The Petroleum Club of Houston moved into the top three floors of the ExxonMobil Building in February 1963.[13][14] The club was accessible through elevators on Bell Street.[15] In January 2015, due to ExxonMobil's lease expiration, the club relocated to Total Plaza.[13][16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Realty News Report (17 January 2023). "Exxon Skyscraper Sold for Apartment Conversion". Realty News Report. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "ExxonMobil Building". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- ^ "Emporis building ID 117636". Emporis. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ ExxonMobil Building at Glass Steel and Stone (archived)
- ^ "ExxonMobil Building". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "ExxonMobil Building 800 Bell St Houston, TX". TheSquareFoot. 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Connelly, Richard. "ExxonMobil Making Big Move To North Houston Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Shorenstein Properties Completes Purchase of 800 Bell Street in Houston - High Rise Facilities". Archived from the original on 2013-03-27.
- ^ Morris, Mike. "Questions emerging over plans to move justice complex to Exxon tower." Houston Chronicle. March 12, 2015. Retrieved on March 13, 2015.
- ^ Morris, Mike. "Parker halts plans to turn Exxon tower into police, courts complex." Houston Chronicle. September 25, 2015. Retrieved on September 16, 2015.
- ^ Nancy Sarnoff (February 8, 2002). "ExxonMobil may be frontrunner for Enron Center South building". The Houston Business Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ a b "History". The Petroleum Club of Houston. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Petroleum Club of Houston". Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2013. ()
- ^ "Contact." (Archive). Petroleum Club. Retrieved on June 4, 2014.
- ^ Sarnoff, Nancy. "Bucks for the memories: Petroleum Club auctions off some of its relics." Houston Chronicle. November 13, 2014. Retrieved on March 9, 2015.
External links
- ThePetroleum Club of Houston official website
- v
- t
- e
Primary and secondary schools |
|
---|---|
Colleges and universities |
|
Libraries |
|
complexes
- 609 Main at Texas
- 919 Milam
- 1000 Main
- 1200 Travis
- 1500 Louisiana Street
- 1600 Smith Street
- Allen Center
- Devon Energy Tower
- 1400 Smith Street
- Bank of America Center
- Bayou Place
- BG Group Place
- Calpine Center
- CenterPoint Energy Plaza
- Club Quarters Hotel
- Cullen Center
- El Paso Energy Building
- Enterprise Plaza
- Esperson Buildings
- ExxonMobil Building
- First City Tower
- GreenStreet (Houston Pavilions)
- Heritage Plaza
- Hess Tower
- Houston Center
- Houston House Apartments
- Houston Post-Dispatch Building
- Hyatt Regency Houston
- JW Marriott Downtown Houston
- Bob Lanier Public Works Building
- JPMorgan Chase Building
- JPMorgan Chase Tower
- Magnolia Hotel
- One City Centre
- One Park Place
- One Shell Plaza
- Pennzoil Place
- Total Plaza
- Wedge International Tower
- Wells Fargo Plaza
public plazas
Historic Places
- Houston Cotton Exchange Building
- Annunciation Church
- Antioch Missionary Baptist Church
- Battelstein's
- Beaconsfield
- James Bute Company Warehouse
- Christ Church
- City National Bank Building
- W. L. Foley Building
- Gulf Building
- Hogg Building
- Houston City Hall
- Houston Post-Dispatch Building
- Humble Oil Building
- Julia Ideson Building
- Kennedy Bakery
- Kress Building
- Main Street/Market Square Historic District
- McKee Street Bridge
- Merchants and Manufacturers Building
- National Biscuit Company Building
- Palace Hotel
- Paul Building
- Rice Lofts
- The Sam Houston Hotel
- San Jacinto Street Bridge
- Scanlan Building
- South Texas National Bank
- State National Bank Building
- Stowers Building
- Sweeney, Coombs, and Fredericks Building
- Texas Company Building
- Texas State Hotel
- US Customhouse
- Union Station (Houston)
- Willow Street Pump Station
- 1910 Harris County Courthouse
- Alley Theatre
- Bayou Place
- George R. Brown Convention Center
- Capitol Lofts
- Downtown Aquarium
- Federal Detention Center, Houston
- Franklin Lofts
- Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
- Great Jones Building
- Harris County jails
- Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
- Houston Club
- Hotel Icon
- Houston tunnel system
- Jones Hall
- Joe Kegans State Jail
- Kiam Building
- Minute Maid Park
- Petroleum Club of Houston
- Pillot Building
- Texas Company Annex
- Toyota Center
- Wortham Theater Center
- Bell
- Central Station
- Convention District
- Downtown Transit Center
- Main Street Square
- Preston
- Theater District
- UH–Downtown
Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center was in Downtown until 1955