The ExxonMobil Building (formerly the Humble Building) was built in 1963 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. At that time it was the tallest building west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

at , surpassing the Southland Center in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

(the previous record holder). It remained the tallest building west of the Mississippi only until 1965, when Elm Place was built in Dallas. As of 2011,

ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

is the owner of the building.Connelly, Richard.
ExxonMobil Making Big Move To North Houston
." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. Tuesday June 7, 2011. Retrieved on March 4, 2012. One of the most distinctive features of the building is the

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

ed seven-foot-wide shades () on each floor that protrude from the side of the building to provide shade from the daytime sun. Currently, the JPMorgan Chase Tower, completed in 1982 is Houston's tallest building, and the tallest building in Texas, at . The building is two blocks east of

1500 Louisiana Street 1500 Louisiana Street, formerly Enron Center South, is a 600 ft (183m) tall skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It was completed in 2002 and has 40 floors and a total building area of 1,284,013sq.ft. It is the 17th tallest building in the city and ...

; a parking lot is between the two buildings. The architect of the International style structure was

Welton Becket and Associates Welton David Becket (August 8, 1902 – January 16, 1969) was an American modern architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California. Biography Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washingt ...

. During the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

' 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. In 2011 the company announced that all employees in the ExxonMobil building are moving to the new ExxonMobil office in

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. ExxonMobil did not state what it plans to do with the building after the employees leave. In January 2013,

Shorenstein Properties Shorenstein is a real estate investment company based in San Francisco that owns interests in of office space throughout the United States. The company has sponsored twelve closed-end real estate funds, with total equity commitments of $8.8 bill ...

announced it had acquired the property for an undisclosed amount. ExxonMobil immediately leased back the entire building into 2015.

announced plans to undertake significant improvements following ExxonMobil's departure. In 2015

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...

Annise Parker Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller fro ...

proposed moving municipal court and

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

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 The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

. In September 2015 Parker's administration announced that the plan would not move forward due to concerns over costs.

Tenants

The top two floors were formerly dining space for the

Petroleum Club of Houston The Petroleum Club of Houston (PCOH) is a private social club located on the 35th floor in the Total Plaza in Downtown Houston. As of November 2014 the club had 1,200 members.Sarnoff, Nancy.Bucks for the memories: Petroleum Club auctions off some ...

, which had moved to the ExxonMobil Building in 1963. The club was accessible through elevators on Bell Street.Contact
"
Archive
. Petroleum Club. Retrieved on June 4, 2014. Because of the sale and scheduled renovation of the ExxonMobil Building, the club was forced to find a new location. In late January 2015 it was scheduled to move to

Total Plaza Total Plaza (formerly the Entex Building, Louisiana Place, and United Gas Building) is a tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, one block from the Allen Center complex. The building, managed by Brookfield Properties, opened in 1971. The 35-story build ...

.Sarnoff, Nancy.
Bucks for the memories: Petroleum Club auctions off some of its relics
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. November 13, 2014. Retrieved on March 9, 2015.

References

External links

ThePetroleum Club of Houston official website
{{Houston skyscrapers ExxonMobil buildings and structures Skyscraper office buildings in Houston International style architecture in Texas Buildings and structures in Houston Welton Becket buildings Office buildings completed in 1963 Downtown Houston