First City Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 1001 Fannin |
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 1001 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°45′21″N 95°21′50″W / 29.75579°N 95.36384°W |
| Completed | 1981 |
| Owner | First City Liquidating Trust, JMB Realty |
| Height | |
| Roof | 662 ft (202 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 49 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Morris Architects (formerly Morris-Aubry) |
| Developer | Vinson & Elkins |
| Main contractor | W. S. Bellows Construction Corporation |
First City Tower, also known as 1001 Fannin, is a very tall building called a skyscraper. You can find it in downtown Houston, Texas.
This impressive building stands 662 feet (202 m) high. It has 49 floors! First City Tower was finished in 1981. Today, it is the 14th-tallest building in Houston.
The company that designed the building was Morris-Aubry, now known as Morris Architects. It was built by W. S. Bellows Construction Corporation. The tower is a great example of late-modernist architecture. This style often mixes old and new ideas in its design.
The tower used to be the main office for First City National Bank. Now, it is the worldwide headquarters for Waste Management, Inc. It also houses the main office for the law firm Vinson & Elkins. Another important tenant is Campus Living Villages, which has its U.S. headquarters here.
The building offers top-quality office spaces. It has a huge 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of office area. First City Tower is famous for its special "staircase cuts" on its north and south sides. It is mostly made of aluminum and green-tinted glass. These designs were made to look like the letter "F". This "F" stood for First City Bank, which was the first big company to use the building. First City Bank was started by lawyers from Vinson & Elkins.
The tower was built at an angle, not perfectly lined up with Houston's main streets. This makes the building look even bigger than it is!
History of First City Tower
Morris Architects designed First City Tower, which opened in 1981. A company called JMB Realty owned part of the tower since the late 1980s. In 2003, JMB Realty bought the entire First City Tower. They also bought a 10-story parking garage next to it. Reports said they paid about $114 million for both.
Who Used the Building?
In 2002, some of the main companies in the tower were Waste Management, Inc., Vinson & Elkins, and Ocean Energy Inc. The company managing the building, Insignia/ESG, also had offices there.
In October 2002, First City Tower was the first building in Houston to start a special "courier intercept center." This was a central spot to collect and send out all deliveries for the companies inside.
By 2003, Vinson & Elkins was the biggest tenant in the building. They decided to keep their offices there until 2020. In 2004, Ocean Energy moved out after another company, Devon Energy, bought them. This left 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of empty space in the tower.
Building Upgrades
Also in 2004, big changes and upgrades began at the tower. FC Tower Property Partners, the owner, chose Morris Architects again. This time, they designed new public areas inside the tower. CB Richard Ellis, which managed the property, watched over the construction.
New Granite stones and plants were added to the open areas outside the building. The entrance columns were covered with shiny stainless steel. A new limestone sign was put up at the corner of Fannin and Lamar streets. This sign shows the building's address and lists the companies inside. A special private garden was also added. Companies could use this garden for events and parties.
In November 2010, SSY Chemicals rented space in the building. By January 2011, Black Stone Minerals renewed their lease for their main office in the tower. They even expanded their space, adding 13,119 square feet (1,218.8 m2) more room. This gave them a total of 55,082 square feet (5,117.3 m2) in the First City Tower.
See also
In Spanish: First City Tower para niños
