Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour. Scroll down or click here to register.
Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston was teeming with activity at the turn of the 20th century, from the wharves of the Port of Houston at Allen's Landing to the produce wholesalers, warehouses, breweries and factories that lined the bayou’s banks. The scene is very different today, but remnants of the busy commercial district of a century ago are visible if you know where to look for them.
This 90-minute, docent-guided walking tour looks at Buffalo Bayou's crucial role in Houston's development. The tour route from Allen's Landing to Market Square includes surviving bits of the old downtown waterfront's history, including extant portions of the once-massive Houston Ice & Brewing Company complex, sites related to Houston's role in the Civil War and the area once known as Vinegar Hill, one of the city's most notorious slums.
Please note this is an exterior architecture tour only. The tour will not go inside any buildings. There are no public restrooms along the tour route.
About the tour
Admission is $10 per person for the general public ($7 for Preservation Houston members and students.) Children 11 years old and under are admitted free.
Advance ticket purchase is required. Reservations are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We are not able to accommodate walk-ups the day of the tour. There are no refunds for tour reservations.
Registrants will receive parking and check-in information via e-mail.
In the event of inclement weather that prevents the tour from being offered as planned, we will notify registrants as far in advance as possible about their options to attend a rescheduled tour or transfer their reservations to another Preservation Houston tour.
Reserve your tickets now
Do you have an Architecture Walks pass?
If you have joined Preservation Houston and received a pass for a free Architecture Walk, you may redeem the pass for admission to this tour. E-mail us and we'll be happy to help.
Passes are redeemable subject to ticket availability.
