SunKing Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Indeed - GREAT photos - THANKS! Back in the late 80's I was lucky to take a tour of the Esperson building that included a visit to the top tower. The view was awesome, and I could kick myself for not getting any pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Great view. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Very cool shots we would never get to see otherwise. I love the way the shapes echo the skyscrapers in the background. Wasn't that originally a viewing area open to the public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzo1976 Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Very cool shots we would never get to see otherwise. I love the way the shapes echo the skyscrapers in the background. Wasn't that originally a viewing area open to the public?Probably. From Page 266 of the WPA Guide to Houston:The Observation Tower (open 10-4 daily; adm 25 cents), is reached by express elevators and a metal and marble staircase. Through a long-range telescope mounted on a platform, Galveston and other points within a 50-mile radius are visible on clear days.Some other things I wasn't aware of:Just above the observatory is the Jesse H. Jones aeronautical beacon, 450 feet from the street level, and the vertical radiator of Radio Station KXYZ, which has studios on the fifth floor. Two shafts of light are visible on clear nights for a distance of 50 miles. A 15,000 candlepower beam is projected vertically into the heavens, while another of 8,000 candlepower is thrown horizontally toward the Municipal Airport.At Christmas colored lights are used, which, at a distance, seem to transform the towering shaft into an emerald-and-ruby obelisk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I'm jealous. Very nice work. m. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxDave Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 What a cool perspective of the new/current structures from a more historical vantage point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Wow ... heights scare me, but just wondering what the view is like from the top of the Wells Fargo building or the Chase (? ... formerly Texas Commerce) buildings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Wow ... heights scare me, but just wondering what the view is like from the top of the Wells Fargo building or the Chase (? ... formerly Texas Commerce) buildings? I would certainly like to find out! If I have the chance to go up, I'll report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 I would certainly like to find out! If I have the chance to go up, I'll report back. You an engineer or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 You an engineer or something?No, I just had some connections to folks in the Gulf/Chase building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neuman Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Well, since I wasn't allowed to post both pictures due to storage constraints, I have combined them both into one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Very cool. The city looks a lot more industrial than it does now, especially with the mill along the bayou and that huge tank in the background. Interestingly, Houston seems greener now than it did then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunKing Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Cool pic - thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 The before and after is very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnfinley Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Those are some great pics! It's funny to see what buildings are still there between the then and now pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Well, since I wasn't allowed to post both pictures due to storage constraints, I have combined them both into one. Rare photo indeed. It's too bad the public cant go up there now or can they? It would be so nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I figured this would be as good a place as anywhere to ask, but there's an article on the Gulf Building in this week's HBJ that, in the last paragraph mentions a historical marker dedication at the Main & Rusk entrance at 10 AM this Wednesday (11/26). A tour is said to be offered after the activities and it would include the observation area... Does anyone know more about this, if it's open to the public? etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Feeling Roomy, J.P. Morgan Shops Its SpaceLender Seeks to Unload Properties Following Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual AcquisitionsBy CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS and ROBIN SIDELJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is marketing 23 office properties across the nation in an effort to rid itself of excess space. But the bank's timing, amid the worst property market in decades, means any sale is likely to come with sizable concessions.The portfolio of properties for sale, with a combined 7.1 million square feet of space, includes four notable towers: One Chase Manhattan Plaza, near Wall Street; Four New York Plaza, also in the Financial District; the former headquarters of Washington Mutual in a downtown Seattle skyscraper that also houses the city's art museum; and a landmarked 1929 Art Deco building in Houston, the former headquarters of Texas Commerce Bank.Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 does anyone know who the current tenants are? has the building had renovations in recent years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_jim Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 This was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when built and remained tallest in Houston for more than thirty years. John Allen's (the primary founder of Houston) wife's home was on this location. She's the person who named Houston, Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Jaclynn Smith's father, Jack Smith had a single chair dental practice on the 5th floor. The 6th floor and below had direct connections to Texas Commerce Bank and GBA (Gulf Building Annex). After Gulf Oil moved out in the early 80's, a major gut and remodal occured. We had to keep service going to this dental office during renovation which was inconveniently located right under a major pipe chase. There were pictures of his daughter in the waiting room of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Jaclynn Smith's father, Jack Smith had a single chair dental practice on the 5th floor.There were pictures of his daughter in the waiting room of course. Ha! I also had a picture of Jaclyn Smith in my dorm room in the early '80s. Thirty plus years later she is still a beautiful woman. Even in a still photo you can see the poise, grace, and class people who know her say she has. Also, the Gulf Building is, and always will be, a delight for my eyes. Thanks for posting i_am_jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I thought this was kind of cool: https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/gulf-building.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWARD Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Love the Gulf Building, and the old lollipop that used to be at the top! www.drawcomicdesigns.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earlydays Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 My brother-in-law was a weekend DJ at a classical music FM station that broadcast from the top of the Gulf Building. I remember in 1958, when I was 12, I went to visit him and we went out on a balcony near his studio and launched rubber-powered gliders off the building! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EspersonBuildings Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 My dad used to boast about how The Gulf Building was the tallest building in Houston when he was a kid and how beautiful it was which is true. He also used to tell us kids that the cupola atop The Niels Esperson Building was the home of a gorilla. And of course as kids, we believed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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