The Rice (Houston) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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The Rice
(Rice Hotel) |
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 Location in Houston Downtown
Location in Texas
Location in the United States
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| Location | 909 Texas Avenue @ Main Street Houston, Texas United States |
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| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Mauran, Russell & Crowell; Alfred C. Finn, and J. Russ Baty |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002947 |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1978 |
The Rice, once known as the Rice Hotel, is a very old and important building in downtown Houston, Texas. It stands at 909 Texas Avenue. This building is the third one to be built on this special spot. It was finished in 1913. Before that, this location was home to the Capitol building of the Republic of Texas! The Rice is so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After being a hotel for many years, it closed in 1977. For over two decades, it was empty. Then, in 1998, it was beautifully renovated and reopened as apartments called the Post Rice Lofts. In 2014, it was sold again and is now simply known as The Rice.
Contents
The Rice: A Historic Houston Building
From Capitol to Hotel
The First Capitol Building
When Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen first planned the city of Houston in 1836, they set aside land for the government of the Republic of Texas. They chose a spot on Texas Avenue. They also built a capitol building for the Texas government and let them use it for a very low price.
This building served as the capitol for the Republic of Texas from 1837 to 1839, and again from 1842 to 1845. When the government wasn't using it, the building was leased out and operated as the Capitol Hotel. Charlotte Allen, one of the owners, later sold the property in 1857. Over the years, it had a few different names, like Houston House and Barnes House.
This historic building was also a meeting place for important groups like Holland Lodge #36 F.& A.M. and the Grand Lodge of Texas A.F.& A.M. Famous Texans like Sam Houston, Anson Jones, and William Marsh Rice were members of Holland Lodge. Anson Jones, who was the last president of the Republic of Texas, passed away at the hotel in 1858.
The First Rice Hotel
In 1881, Abraham Groesbeck tore down the original capitol building. He built a new, fancy five-story Victorian hotel in its place. This hotel was then known as the Capitol Hotel and was designed by George E. Dickey.
Later, William Marsh Rice bought the hotel in 1886. He added more rooms to it. William Marsh Rice passed away in 1900. After his death, the hotel property was given to the Rice Institute, which he had started in 1891. The trustees of the Rice Institute then renamed it the Rice Hotel.
Jesse H. Jones, a very important builder in Houston, lived at this first Rice Hotel when he first came to the city around 1898. Even the Governor of Texas, James Hogg, had a home there in 1904.
The Grand Rice Hotel Era
Building the New Hotel
The old Rice Hotel was losing money. So, Jesse H. Jones offered to lease the land from the Rice Institute. He planned to build a brand new, much bigger hotel through his company, the Houston Hotel Association. Jones signed a very long lease for the land. The Rice Institute also helped by investing money to build the new hotel.
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After tearing down the first Rice Hotel in 1912, Jones hired architects Mauran, Russell & Crowell to design the new building. This grand, seventeen-story hotel opened in May 1913. It had four restaurants, a large banquet room, a small concert hall, and even a rooftop deck! Building this amazing hotel cost about $3.5 million at the time.
Even though the new Rice Hotel lost money at first, Jesse Jones kept making it better. In 1922, he added air-conditioning to the hotel's cafeteria, which was a first for a public room in Houston! In 1925, he hired Alfred C. Finn to design a new wing, making the hotel even bigger with over 1,000 rooms. The famous Crystal Ballroom also got air-conditioning in 1928.
Famous Guests and Events
The Rice Hotel was a very popular place for important events and famous people. In 1928, Houston hosted the National Democratic Convention, and the Rice Hotel was a central spot. Jesse Jones even helped bring the convention to Houston by donating $200,000. A famous guest during this time was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who later became a U.S. President. The hotel's rooftop deck was a popular place for dancing in the 1930s.
Jones continued to improve the hotel throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He added new dining areas, a barber shop, and even an escalator in 1946, which was a first for Houston hotels. By 1949, all the guest rooms had air-conditioning. In 1951, an eighteenth floor was added to the roof deck to house the Petroleum Club of Houston.
After Jones passed away in 1956, his family's non-profit, the Houston Endowment, took over the hotel. They added a five-story annex for a motor lobby and a second grand ballroom in 1958. The hotel was known for its fancy Flag Room restaurant, a casual first-floor coffee shop, and the underground Rice Hotel Cafeteria, famous for its rice pudding. It also had many shops.
In 1962, the Rice Hotel was used for a meeting of NASA Astronaut Group 2 - The New Nine. These astronauts, who were preparing for space missions, all checked in using the code name "Max Peck," which was the name of the hotel's general manager at the time! This event was even shown in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
United States President John F. Kennedy visited the Rice Hotel twice. He was there on September 12, 1962, following his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech. He visited again on November 21, 1963, just before traveling to Fort Worth and then Dallas, where he tragically passed away. President Kennedy used a suite at the Rice Hotel for meetings. He also gave an important speech about religion in politics there in 1960. Many other famous people, like Texas Governor William P. Hobby and Captain James A. Baker, also spoke at the Rice. Famous entertainers like Groucho Marx and Liberace stayed there. Musicians like Tommy Dorsey, Perry Como, and Xavier Cugat performed at the Rice.
Saving and Renewing The Rice
Bringing the Building Back to Life
Rice University took full ownership of the hotel in 1971. However, new fire safety rules in 1974 would have cost a lot of money to meet. So, the university decided to sell the hotel. It was sold in 1975 and briefly reopened as the Rice Rittenhouse Hotel, but it closed again in August 1977.
The building stood empty for many years. Several people tried to buy and renovate it. Lance Thomas Funston, a Houston real estate developer, bought the property in 1978. He worked hard to get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places and tried to get government money to turn it into apartments. Even though his plans didn't fully happen, his efforts helped make sure the building would not be torn down.
Later, in 1981, another company bought the property, hoping to turn it into a luxury hotel. But they couldn't get the necessary funding, and the building remained empty.
The Rice Lofts Today
In 1995, Randall Davis, a developer known for turning old buildings into loft apartments, became interested in the Rice Hotel. He worked with Michael Stevens and the Houston Housing Finance Corporation to create a plan to renovate the building. After many challenges and changes in plans, a company called Columbus Properties (later Post Properties) took over the project.
Davis hired the architectural firm of Page Southerland Page to plan the renovation. They decided to bring back the grand look of the 1913 Rice Hotel. This included restoring the former two-story lobby, the beautiful Crystal Ballroom, and the Empire Room. The ground floor was designed to have 25,000-square feet of retail space for shops and restaurants.
In April 1998, the Post Rice Lofts opened for residents. The building, which once had 1000 hotel rooms, was transformed into 312 modern apartments. These included smaller "efficiency" apartments, larger apartments, and even some three-story penthouses. A jazz club called Sambuca opened on the ground floor in October 1998 and is still there today!
In early 2014, Post Properties listed the Post Rice Lofts for sale. Later that year, CH Realty/MF Houston Rice VI (Crow Holding Capital Partners) acquired the building from Post Properties and renamed it simply The Rice. The new owners announced plans for more renovations, including updating all the apartments and moving the swimming pool and fitness center to a new location within the building. They also planned to offer valet service to residents. The Rice continues to be a vibrant and historic place to live in downtown Houston.
See also
