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 Houston Post-Dispatch Building - Houston, Texas Posted by:  JimmyEv
N 29° 45.552 W 095° 21.687
15R E 271662 N 3294439
Quick Description: Ross Sterling, founder of Humble Oil and Governor of Texas, erected this 22-story Beaux-Arts building in 1926 to house the offices of his newspaper, the “Houston Post-Dispatch”, and radio station, KPRC. It is now the Magnolia Hotel.
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/9/2006 5:38:47 PM
Waymark Code: WMTQ8
Views: 26
Long Description:
| Ross Sterling purchased both the
Houston Dispatch and the Houston Post newspapers in
1924, creating the Houston Post-Dispatch. He hired William
P. Hobby, a former Texas governor, as President of the new paper.
In 1926, Sterling contracted with the Fort Worth architectural firm
of Staats, Sanguinet and Hedrick to design a building to house the
offices for the Post-Dispatch and his radio station, KPRC.
Staats, Sanguinet and Hedrick designed a 22-story skyscraper,
the tallest building in Houston when constructed. The building
followed the typical pattern of skyscrapers at the time, with a
well-defined four-story base, a 14-story shaft, and a crown of
four-stories. The base contains a two-story colonnade of paired
classical pilasters framing the windows. This pattern of framed
windows is repeated on three floors of the attic. In traditional
Beaux-Arts style, the very top features lions’ head gargoyles
topped by a shell and cherub frieze. This was one of the last
skyscrapers built in Houston that emphasized a horizontal look,
necessary at the time to allow maximum use of natural
light. |
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Although Sterling became governor of
Texas in 1930, he was bankrupted during the Depression. By 1932, he
had liquidated the Post-Dispatch, including this building.
The building then became the regional headquarters of Shell Oil
Company, and the name was changed from the Post-Dispatch
Building to the Shell Building. Shell Oil was a northeastern oil
company that had acquired Roxanna Oil of Texas in 1924, then built
a refinery in near-by Deer Park by 1929. The company consolidated
its midwestern offices by relocating them to Houston in 1930. In
1971, Shell moved its national headquarters to
One Shell
Plaza in Houston, vacating the Post-Dispatch Building.
The building is now the 314-room Magnolia Hotel. The exterior of
the building has mostly been restored, but the Magnolia hasn’t
restored the historic interiors opting instead for a sleek modern
look. |
Main Street/Market Square Historic District
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Source:
Texas Historical Commission, "Houston Post-Dispatch
Building," available at
Texas Historical Atlas
Street address:
609 Fannin Street
Houston, TX USA
77002
County / Borough / Parish: Harris County
Year listed: 2002
Historic significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering (Classical Revival)
Period of significance: 1925-1974
Historic function: Office Building
Current function: Hotel
Privately owned?: yes
[U.S.] National Register of Historic Places URL: [Web Link]
Website (secondary): [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
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