George R. Brown Convention Center
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The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), opened on September 26, 1987, is located on the east side of
Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The center was named for internationally recognized entrepreneur, engineer, civic leader, philanthropist and Houstonian
George R. Brown George Rufus Brown (May 12, 1898 – January 22, 1983) was a prominent Houston entrepreneur. With his brother Herman, Brown led Brown & Root Inc. to become one of the largest construction companies in the world and helped to foster the political c ...
(1898–1983). George and his brother, Herman, turned Brown & Root into the world's largest construction and engineering company. Later, he and investors founded Texas Eastern Transmission Company, which donated six of the 11 blocks required to build the GRB. The center is owned by the city of
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 ...
and managed by the Houston First Corporation. The facility was completed with a price tag of $104.9 million (equivalent to $ in ), requiring 30 months and more than 1,200 workers. The red-white-and-blue building replaced the obsolete Albert Thomas Convention Center, which was later redeveloped into the
Bayou Place Bayou Place is a 130,000 square foot entertainment complex that houses multiple theaters, bars, and restaurants located in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex was the former Albert Thomas convention center located in the Houston Th ...
entertainment complex in the downtown
Houston Theater District The Houston Theater District, a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States, is home to Houston's nine professional performing arts organizations, the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and ...
. It is the first convention center in the world to have a permanent
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ATM. The convention center is served by
METRORail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...
light rail service at Convention District station.


History

The center sits where the Pillot House, a house owned by the family of one of the founders of the
Henke & Pillot Henke & Pillot was a chain of supermarkets headquartered in Houston, Texas.Gonzales, J.R.Houston's own Henke & Pillot" ''Houston Chronicle'' blogs. October 20, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2011. "Offices at 3021 Washington" The chain began in 1872. ...
supermarket chain, used to be. The Pillot House was moved to Sam Houston Park in 1965. Designed by John S. Chase, the first licensed Black-American architect in Texas. The first convention held in the GRB began on October 11, 1987, for the American Society of Travel Agents. A renovation project began on July 28, 2001 to expand the convention center and build an adjacent 1,200-room convention headquarters hotel at a cost of $165 million (equivalent to $ in ) and requiring 27 months of construction. The adjacent hotel is the Hilton Americas-Houston, which is connected to the convention center via two skywalks. The hotel and convention center are not connected to the
Houston tunnel system The Houston tunnel system is a network of subterranean, climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways that links 95 full city blocks below Houston's downtown streets. It is approximately long. There are similar systems in Chicago, Dallas, Oklahoma Ci ...
. The project expanded the center from . Three exhibit halls were added to increase exhibition space from , and 62 meeting rooms were added for a total of 105. Completion of the project concluded in November 2003, a few months before
Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...
. There is also a 3,600-seat General Assembly Theater which can be used for
concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
s,
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows, conferences, meetings, and other events, while Exhibit Hall B3 can be converted into a 6,500-seat indoor
arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
for concerts and
sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s using telescopic seating. At the same time, METRORail was completed on schedule (connecting downtown to the
Houston Museum District The Houston Museum District is an association of 19 museums, galleries, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting art, science, history and culture. The Houston Museum District currently inc ...
,
Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...
, and
NRG Park NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway ( I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consist ...
), and what is deemed a revived Downtown Houston has opened doors to future conventions (in 2004 and 2008, the Texas Democratic Convention was held at the GRB). The International Quilt Festival and International Quilt Market annually draws about 50,000 per year. In 2008, the
Discovery Green Discovery Green is an public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south. The park is adjacent to the George R. ...
park was completed across the street and three-block
GreenStreet GreenStreet, formerly known as Houston Pavilions, is a commercial development in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was scheduled to begin in Spring 2006, with the first developments opening in the fourth quarter of 2007. The ...
(a retail and entertainment complex, anchored by
House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...
) opened four blocks away. A new 700-car parking garage was built under Discovery Green to replace two surface lots removed to make way for the park. The convention center is flanked by
Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...
(home of the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
) and
Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
(home of 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 ...
). With the new improvements, the GRB is one of the 10 largest in the nation. In November 2014, the ground was broken yet again, this time in preparation for
Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...
. The latest expansion to the GRB includes converting six lanes and the length of five city blocks into ADLA Plaza, a , pedestrian-friendly, outdoor space. The new Grand Lobby will be 10 stories high and showcase
Ed Wilson Ed Wilson is an American media executive. He has been President of Chicago-based Tribune Broadcasting and has held top-level executive roles with Fox Television Network, NBC Enterprises and CBS Enterprises. Wilson sits on the Board of the USO ...
's sculpture, " Soaring in the Clouds", suspended from the ceiling in the very center of the GRB. From there, patrons will have improved connectivity to of prime exhibition space via a Grand Concourse. Construction is set to be completed by late 2016. Opened in late 2016 and located at the north end of the GRB is the Marriott Marquis, which connects to the GRB via skybridge. This unique property boasts 1,000 guest rooms and a Texas-shaped lazy river. An additional 2,461 rooms are being added to Houston's downtown hotel inventory in eight unique properties. By late 2016, there will be more than 7,700 rooms in 24 hotels downtown. After
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, approximately 7,000 people went to the convention center, due to the
Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
being at its full capacity. In 2009, a televised audition of the show ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' was filmed at the convention center. From May 4–15, 1998, ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'' aired two weeks of shows that were taped in the center in April 1998, including College Week from May 11–15. Many graduations from local high schools and colleges are held at the convention center. Houston's largest
pop-culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
event
Comicpalooza Comicpalooza is a large annual, multi-genre, comic book, science fiction, anime, gaming, and pop culture convention in the Southern United States and is held in Houston, Texas. The event is organized by John Simons, the originator of the eve ...
draws a massive crowd every year and continues to increase as the convention becomes more popular. One month after opening on October 28, 1987; the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
series '' Firing Line'' hosted a special 2-hour debate featuring the six major candidates seeking the 1988 Republican nomination for President. The following year; one of those candidates, incumbent
Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
and longtime Houston resident
George H.W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
would hold his victory celebration at the convention center.


Race history

From 1998 to 2001,
Championship Auto Racing Teams Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 to 2003. It sanctioned the PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 CART season, ...
(CART) held a race on Houston's downtown streets, adjacent to the GRB. This event was sponsored by the oil company
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...
and named the Texaco Grand Prix of Houston. However, construction in
Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...
resulted in the race not being renewed for the
2002 CART season The 2002 FedEx Championship Series season, the twenty-fourth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 19 races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 10 and concluding in Mexico City, Mexico on November 17. The FedEx Championshi ...
.


Gallery

File:ViewDowntownHoustonFromGeoRBrownConvCtr25Apr13.jpg, A view of Downtown Houston from inside the GRB File:Houston Convention Center Interior.jpg, A view of the interior second floor File:Houston Convention Center Exterior 1.jpg, Front exterior File:Houston Convention Center Exterior 2.jpg, Front exterior


References


External links


George R. Brown Convention Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, George R. Convention Center Buildings and structures in Houston Convention centers in Texas Event venues established in 1987 Tourist attractions in Houston Boxing venues in the United States 1987 establishments in Texas Downtown Houston