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Central Business District in Houston in Harris County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Gulf Building

 
 
Gulf Building Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
1. Gulf Building Marker
Inscription.
Prominent real estate developer, publisher, statesman and banker Jesse H. Jones opened the Gulf Building in 1929 with Gulf Oil, National Bank of Commerce, and Sakowitz Brothers as primary tenants. Alfred C. Finn designed the 430-foot high Art Deco edifice with a six-story base topped by a tall tower that diminishes in size as it rises. The 37-floor, steel-frame structure remained Houston’s tallest skyscraper for 34 years. In 1986, the building, then owned by a successor bank, underwent a $50 million restoration. It was renamed the JPMorgan Chase Building in 2000 and continues to be a monument to the city’s growth, modernity and financial prosperity.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2007
Marker is property of the state of Texas

 
Erected 2007 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 14042.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureIndustry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Art Deco series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.
 
Location. 29° 45.559′ N, 95° 21.852′ W. Marker is in Houston, Texas, in Harris County. It is in the Central Business District. Marker is on Travis Street, on the right when
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traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 712 Main Street, Houston TX 77002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Site of the Home of A.C. and Charlotte M. Allen (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kress Building (about 300 feet away); Site of the Organization of Lady Washington Chapter, NSDAR (about 600 feet away); Site of Capitol of the Republic of Texas (about 600 feet away); Former Site of Capitol, Republic of Texas (about 600 feet away); Busy Corners (about 600 feet away); Auditorium Hotel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Christ Church Cathedral (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Houston.
 
More about this marker. There were once duplicate markers on this building. The marker at Main & Rusk has since been removed. Only the marker on the Travis Street side of the building remains.
 
Regarding Gulf Building. This was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when built and the tallest in Houston when I was a child, and remained tallest for more than thirty years.

John Allen's (the primary founder of Houston) wife's home was on this location. She's the person who named Houston, Texas.

Born in 1898, my uncle worked as an elevator
The Gulf Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
2. The Gulf Building
operator in this building much of his life. (Yes, Virginia human beings once operated elevators.) He had polio in his twenties and found it difficult to get employment as anything other than this after that.
 
Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia Article on the Gulf Building. (Submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.)
2. The Gulf Building in The Texas Handbook. (Submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.)
3. Another article on the Gulf Building. (Submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.)
 
Gulf Building Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
3. Gulf Building Markers
Marker cluster on Main Street (east) side of building
Gulf Building Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
4. Gulf Building Markers
Marker cluster on west (Travis) side of building
Gulf Building Marker Missing image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Anderson, April 17, 2018
5. Gulf Building Marker Missing
The marker at the corner of Main & Rusk has been removed. The marker facing Travis Street is now the only marker on this building.
Ceiling of Main Entry Chamber of Gulf Building -- Now Chase Bank image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, June 18, 2013
6. Ceiling of Main Entry Chamber of Gulf Building -- Now Chase Bank
The chamber below this ceiling is a Chase Bank Branch.
Gulf Building Interior Entrance image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, June 18, 2013
7. Gulf Building Interior Entrance
After going through the entrance to the building you go through this entrance to the main chamber which contains the bank.
New & Old on the 34th Floor of the Gulf Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, June 18, 2013
8. New & Old on the 34th Floor of the Gulf Building
On the right, is an old fashioned mail shoot. You drop letters into this shoot and they fall into a mailbox 34 floors below. The other is a modern electronic elevator floor selector. Before entering the elevator you select your floor by pressing one of the buttons and it tells you which elevator to use to go to that floor. There are no floor selection buttons once you are in the elevator.
The more modern JPMorgan Chase Tower a couple of blocks north of the Gulf Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
9. The more modern JPMorgan Chase Tower a couple of blocks north of the Gulf Building
JPMorgan Chase Tower is the tallest composite building in the world. The office tower is clad in pale gray polished granite, stainless steel, and gray glass. The western corner of the tower has been sheared off to form a five-sided structure. The western facet of the tower is formed by an 85 foot wide free span of glass that ascends the full height of the building. The tower is positioned on a one-acre plaza to create a large public space. The area is ornamented with patterned granite paving, extensive landscaping, including a water garden and Bradford Pear trees, and a major sculpture. This area serves as an important open space for downtown Houston. JPMorgan Chase Tower rests on a full city block in the northwest quadrant of the downtown area, bounded by Capitol, Texas, Travis and Milam Streets. JPMorgan Chase Center, a twenty-story facility housing a parking garage, healthclub and data processing center, is located adjacent to the Tower, across Travis Street. This 75 story building rises 1,049 feet from ground level. The tower has 1.98 million square feet of gross building space.
Neils -- Esperson Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, January 20, 2013
10. Neils -- Esperson Building
The Neils -- Esperson Building is catercornered across the street from the Gulf Building on Travis. [I pronounce that cattie cornered] The building is the only complete example of Italian Renaissance architecture in Downtown Houston. Designed by theater architect John Eberson, the Esperson building was built in 1927. It's elaborately detailed with massive columns, great urns, terraces, and a grand tempietto at the top, similar to one built in the courtyard of San Pietro in Rome in 1502. His wife Mellie Esperson had the building constructed for her husband, Niels, a real estate and oil tycoon, and his name is carved on the side of the building, above the entrance, in large letters.
View of Houston from the 34th Floor of the Gulf Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jim Evans, June 18, 2013
11. View of Houston from the 34th Floor of the Gulf Building
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,022 times since then and 33 times this year. Last updated on May 2, 2018, by Brian Anderson of Humble, Texas. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.   5. submitted on April 17, 2018, by Brian Anderson of Humble, Texas.   6, 7, 8. submitted on June 19, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.   9, 10. submitted on January 21, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.   11. submitted on June 19, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024