When it was finished in 1971, One Shell Plaza was the tallest skyscraper in Houston, and the landmark antenna mast on top of the building hosted one TV station and 8 FM radio stations. Subsequent construction of taller skyscrapers around One Shell Plaza destroyed the utility of One Shell as a broadcast location, and the stations moved their transmitter sites to the Missouri City antenna farm about 20 miles southwest of Houston.
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"One Shell Plaza (OSP) is a 50-story, 217.6 m (714 ft) skyscraper at 910 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. Perched atop the building is an antenna that brings the height to 304.8 m (1,000 ft). At its completion in 1971, the tower was the tallest in the city.
Designers
One Shell Plaza was designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Associate architects were Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, and the landscape architects were Sasaki Associates. One Shell Square, in New Orleans and Republic Plaza in Denver, also designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, have designs very similar to that of One Shell Plaza. Like One Shell Plaza, One Shell Square has Shell Oil as a major tenant.
Tenants
Shell Oil Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, was headquartered in this building until 2016. The law firm of Baker Botts is also headquartered there.
The Houston Club, on the 49th floor of the building, has dining, entertainment, and meeting facilities.
History
The building opened in 1971 and was renovated in 1994.[11] The $80 million in major renovations included an updated lobby and plaza, elevator modernization, upgrades to the buildings EMP systems, new lighting, and ADA modifications.
In December 2011 Shell renewed the lease for 804,491 sq ft (74,739.7 m2). The new lease retroactively had the start date of January 1, 2011, and will last for 15 years, ending in 2025.[13]
In March 2012 Hines Interests Limited Partnership announced it was putting the building up for sale.
Antennas
The 170 ft mast atop the building has carried various television and radio signals since the building's completion. The mast supported 1971 start up channel 26 KVRL (later KDOG, now KRIV) and a mast that simultaneously radiated signals for eight FM stations KYND (then 92.5, now KKBQ on 92.9 MHz), 93.7 KRLY (now KQBT), 95.7 KIKK-FM (now KKHH), 99.1 KODA, 100.3 KILT-FM, 101.1 KLOL, 102.1 KLYX, and 104.1 KRBE. The combiner and antenna was supplied by Electronic Research Inc. One Shell was used until the completion of the then Texas Commerce Tower and Allied Bank Plaza in 1982–1983, creating a skyscraper canyon that causes multipath distortion, and necessitated the move to the Houston antenna farm in Missouri City."