JPMorgan Chase Building (Houston) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids JPMorgan Chase Building |
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| Former names | Gulf Building Texas Commerce Bank Building Chase Bank Building |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Art Deco/Art Moderne |
| Location | 712 Main Street Houston, Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°45′32″N 95°21′49″W / 29.75889°N 95.36361°W |
| Completed | 1929 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 37 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Alfred Charles Finn Kenneth Franzheim J.E.R. Carpenter |
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Gulf Building
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| NRHP reference No. | 83004436 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 30, 1983 |
The JPMorgan Chase Building, once known as the Gulf Building, is a very tall building in downtown Houston, Texas. It has 37 floors and stands about 130 meters (428 feet) high. This building was finished in 1929.
It was the tallest building in Houston for many years. This changed in 1963 when the Exxon Building became taller. Today, the JPMorgan Chase Building is the main office for JPMorgan Chase Bank in Houston. It used to be the main office for Texas Commerce Bank.
Contents
Building History: How It Was Built
Jesse H. Jones helped make sure the Gulf Building was constructed. It was built in 1929. Three architects designed the building: Alfred C. Finn, Kenneth Franzheim, and J. E. R. Carpenter.
The building's design was inspired by a famous competition. It looked a lot like Eliel Saarinen's design for the Chicago Tribune Tower. His design came in second place but was very popular.
Saving a Historic Building
In 1989, Texas Commerce Bank started a big project to fix up the building. This was one of the largest private projects ever to save a historic building in America. Workers carefully restored the floor in the main banking area. They even kept the worn spots in the marble where people had stood for many years.
Thanks to efforts by JPMorgan Chase, the old Gulf Building became a special City of Houston Landmark in 2003. Before that, it was already recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
Texas Commerce Bank also owned another famous skyscraper nearby. This was the 75-story Texas Commerce Tower, built in 1982. Today, it is known as the JPMorgan Chase Tower.
New Owners and Leases
In 2010, JPMorgan Chase sold the old Gulf Building. It was bought by the Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Fund. However, Chase Bank still rents space in the tower for a long time.
As of 2010, Chase used about 50,000 square meters (500,000 square feet) of space. They planned to reduce their rented space because they didn't need as much room. After Chase gave up some space, about 20,000 square meters (200,000 square feet) became available for other businesses to rent.
What's Inside the Building?
The JPMorgan Chase Building has a total of about 74,000 square meters (800,000 square feet) of space. On the ground floor, there is a large banking center. This center is about 1,400 square meters (15,000 square feet) in size.
The banking center has very high ceilings, about 13 meters (43 feet) tall. Its floors and walls are made of beautiful marble. There are also large, colorful stained glass windows. The building once had a spinning, lit-up sign for Gulf on its top. This sign was removed in 1973.
Fire on the 27th Floor
On August 30, 2010, a fire started on the 27th floor of the building. Firefighters from the Houston Fire Department quickly responded. They had to bring in water directly because a pipe was broken.
It took about three and a half hours to put out the fire. Six firefighters were hurt while battling the blaze. They were taken to a hospital but were later released.
Images for kids
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Illustration of Gulf Building, 1929
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The Gulf Building, 2013
