The Great Southwest Building, formerly the Petroleum Building, is a skyscraper located at 1314 Texas Avenue in
Downtown Houston,
Texas in the
United States.
History
The structure was originally commissioned by
Joseph S. Cullinan
Joseph Stephen Cullinan (December 31, 1860 – March 11, 1937) was a U.S. oil industrialist. Although he was a native of Pennsylvania, his lifetime business endeavors would help shape the early phase of the oil industry in Texas. He founded The Te ...
founder of
The Texas Company to house the offices of his growing oil and gas business. Designed by New York Architect
Alfred Bossom
Alfred Charles Bossom, Baron Bossom GCStJ FRIBA (6 October 1881 – 4 September 1965) was an architect in the United States who returned to his native England and became a Conservative Party politician. He also wrote books on architecture.
...
, the building features
Art Deco styling with unusual
Mayan touches including reliefs and a stepped back style on upper floors to mimic a
Mayan pyramid. This Mayan influenced design would be re-imagined 50 years later with the similarly styled
Heritage Plaza
Heritage Plaza is a postmodern skyscraper located in the Skyline District of downtown Houston, Texas. Standing at , the tower is the 5th-tallest building in Houston, the 8th-tallest in Texas, and the 60th-tallest in the United States. The bu ...
building finished in 1987.
Tenants
After Texaco relocated to larger offices, the building continued to serve smaller oil and gas companies on upper floors and retail outlets on the ground floor. In 2015, a Dallas based developer Todd Interests purchased the structure with plans to renovate the building and create 150 luxury apartment units. The project will receive a 15,000 tax credit per unit from the Houston Downtown Living Initiative, a program designed to encourage residential development in the city center.
The building is now the site of Cambria Hotel Downtown Convention Center.
See also
*
Heritage Plaza
Heritage Plaza is a postmodern skyscraper located in the Skyline District of downtown Houston, Texas. Standing at , the tower is the 5th-tallest building in Houston, the 8th-tallest in Texas, and the 60th-tallest in the United States. The bu ...
References
External links
{{Houston skyscrapers
1927 establishments in Texas
Office buildings completed in 1927
Skyscraper office buildings in Houston
Buildings and structures in Houston