The One Main Building, formerly the Merchants and Manufacturers Building (commonly referred to as the M&M Building), is a building on the campus of the

University of Houston–Downtown The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) is a public university in Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1974 as University of Houston–Downtown College (UH–DC), it has a campus that spans in Downtown Houston with a satellite loc ...

. The building is recognized as part of the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and considered a Contributing Building 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 ...

's Main Street/Market Square Historic District. The building was built above Allen's Landing—an area where Houston's founders

John Kirby Allen John Kirby Allen (1810 – August 15, 1838) was a co-founder of the city of Houston and a former member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. He was born in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present-day hamlet of Sullivan in the To ...

and Augustus Chapman Allen originally settled. The Merchants and Manufacturers Building was built in 1930 and was the largest building in the city at the time. Although the commerce-focused building featured 14 miles of floor space and could accommodate one-third of the city's population, the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

stifled initial participation. The building was purchased by South Texas Junior College in the 1960s, which became the university of College in 1974. The building remains as the largest facility of the University of Houston–Downtown and was given an official designation as "One Main Building," or simply the "Main Building," by the university.

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University of Houston–Downtown National Register of Historic Places in Houston History of Houston University and college academic buildings in the United States Art Deco architecture in Texas Historic district contributing properties in Texas Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Buildings and structures in Houston 1930 establishments in Texas Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks {{HarrisCountyTX-NRHP-stub