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American General Building: AIA 25 Year Award The Humble Building, former headquarters of the oil company 1200-1206 Nance, a preserved Victorian streetscape 1919 Decatur, the former Tabernacle Baptist Church 2012 Kane, a restored Folk Victorian cottage in the Old Sixth Ward 4610 Oak Ridge, a 1930s bungalow in Norhill 2508 Pelham, a Spanish-style house in River Oaks Trinity Episcopal Church in Midtown Villa Serena, the former DePelchin Faith Home at 2700 Albany Holy Cross Chapel, a restoration of the 905 Main building The Magnolia, an adaptive reuse of the former Post-Dispatch Building Al Davis for leadership in preservation in Harris County Historic Documents Preservation Project of Harris County Houston Chronicle and Jack Sweeney: Preservation Partner in Print Award George Strake for commitment to preservation and GHPA JPMorgan Chase for its stewardship of the former Gulf Building |
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| A restoration of the Post-Dispatch Building's classical façade and a modern adaptation of its interior spaces combine to make The Magnolia a dramatic new downtown hotel. (Photo by Janice E. Ashton) Photo gallery from this project > This is another project with humble beginnings — Humble Oil, to be exact, whose co-founder Ross Sterling built the 22-story Post-Dispatch Building on Texas Avenue in 1926. The skyscraper housed the offices and printing presses of Sterling's newspaper and the studios of KPRC, one of Houston's earliest radio stations. The building had been vacant for at least a decade when workers began its conversion into a luxury hotel in September 2001. Steve Holtze Hotels, the project's owner-developer, was well-qualified for the undertaking. The firm had adapted historic office buildings in Dallas and Denver as Magnolia Hotels. In cooperation with the City of Houston Department of Planning and Development and North Houston Bank, the $50 million project went forward. Over the years, most of the building's interior detailing had been removed and the classical limestone façade on the first two stories had been replaced with recessed plate glass. A new cast stone façade was installed at street level. Where printing presses once rolled, guests are welcomed under a dramatic rotunda. Work was completed earlier this year and the hotel was a Valentine to a revitalized Texas Avenue when it opened February 14. While the Good Brick jury noted the outstanding quality and scope of this project, the jurors were also impressed that the nomination was submitted by the hotel's neighbor -- historic Christ Church Cathedral. |
