Advance ticket purchase is required for this tour.

When landscape architects Hare & Hare drew up plans for Houston's civic center in the late 1920s, they envisioned a group of stylistically similar Spanish-influenced buildings arranged around a public square. However, those plans were derailed by the Depression, and the city's governmental and cultural center ended up developing over the next 50 years in a variety of styles with few overall planning efforts. Today, structures in the Civic Center and the adjacent Theater District reflect not only the evolution of Houston's municipal and cultural institutions, but also changing architectural tastes.

Advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

Market Square, one of the public squares laid out in the Allen brothers' original plan of Houston, was home to the city market and City Hall from 1841 to 1939. During that time, the square became the center of Houston's early commercial district. Although the area declined in the mid-20th century, preservation projects have brought new uses to its historic buildings and new life to Market Square itself.

Preservation Houston members are invited to celebrate the organization’s work in the past year, welcome new leaders and mingle with friends during the 2024 Member Reception and Meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 18.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

As large as it is, Houston shares a feature with dozens of small towns across Texas: a courthouse square. On Sunday afternoon, May 19, we'll take a look at the history and architecture of the neighborhood surrounding the Harris County Courthouse — one of Houston's most historic areas.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

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.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

Our 90-minute, docent-guided walking tour of the neighborhood tells the story of Allen's Landing and looks at historic buildings nearby, including turn-of-the-century warehouses, a former neighborhood saloon with a checkered past and the restored Willow Street Pump Station, the centerpiece of Houston's first sewer system. We'll also get a unique perspective on Allen's Landing as we walk across the historic Main Street Viaduct, one of the city's major public works projects of the 1910s.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

This tour explores the changes in downtown Houston's skyline during the past 100 years through buildings like 806 Main, called "Carter's Folly" when it was completed in 1910 because some locals thought a 16-story building couldn't stand on its own, and Philip Johnson's groundbreaking Pennzoil Place, which set the stage for the postmodern skyline of the 1980s.

This event is open to current Preservation Houston/Pier & Beam members.

Preservation Houston members are invited to join us Tuesday evening, June 20, for a celebration of the organization's work over the past year and a chance to welcome incoming members of the PH Board of Directors during the 2023 Member Reception and Meeting at POST Houston.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

Market Square, one of the public squares laid out in the Allen brothers' original plan of Houston, was home to the city market and City Hall from 1841 to 1939. During that time, the square became the center of Houston's early commercial district. Although the area declined in the mid-20th century, preservation projects have brought new uses to its historic buildings and new life to Market Square itself. Our docent-guided tour explores the neighborhood’s past, present and future as a vital part of downtown Houston.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

This 90-minute docent-guided tour traces the history of downtown Houston east of Main Street through architecture old and new, ranging from historic structures such as Union Station and the 1915 Texas Company Building to new developments like Discovery Green, which has been a catalyst for nearly $2 billion in new construction.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

As large as it is, Houston shares a feature with dozens of small towns across Texas: a courthouse square. On Sunday evening, September 11, we'll take a look at the history and architecture of the neighborhood surrounding the Harris County Courthouse — one of Houston's most historic areas.

This event is open to current Preservation Houston/Pier & Beam members.

Preservation Houston members are invited to celebrate the organization’s work over the past year, welcome incoming members of the Board of Directors and get a close look at a carefully restored historic building during PH’s 2022 Member Reception and Meeting at Christ Church Cathedral on Tuesday evening, June 14.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

When landscape architects Hare & Hare drew up plans for Houston's civic center in the late 1920s, they envisioned a group of stylistically similar Spanish-influenced buildings arranged around a public square. However, those plans were derailed by the Depression, and the city's governmental and cultural center ended up developing over the next 50 years in a variety of styles with few overall planning efforts. Today, structures in the Civic Center and the adjacent Theater District reflect not only the evolution of Houston's municipal and cultural institutions, but also changing architectural tastes.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

From glittering postmodern skyscrapers by Philip Johnson and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to gems from local architects including Lloyd, Morgan & Jones, downtown Houston’s skyline is a chronicle of the city’s phenomenal 20th-century growth. This 90-minute, docent-guided walking tour will explore downtown buildings built between 1940 and 1990 and what they can tell us about changing architectural trends and Houston's increasing stature in the postwar period.

Please note that advance ticket purchase is required for this walking tour.

Market Square, one of the public squares laid out in the Allen brothers' original plan of Houston, was home to the city market and City Hall from 1841 to 1939. During that time, the square became the center of Houston's early commercial district. Although the neighborhood declined in the mid-20th century, preservation projects have brought new uses to its historic buildings and new life to Market Square itself. Explore this fascinating neighborhood on our 90-minute, docent-guided walking tour.

Please note that advance registration is required for this online program.

Join Preservation Houston and architect Joe Meppelink for an online Preservation in Practice program Tuesday evening, December 15, exploring the restoration of the 1893 Kiam Building downtown, one of Houston’s early proto-skyscrapers.

Houston in its early years was a rough-and-tumble located on, as one tourist said, "the borders of civilization." But it was also the capital city of the new Republic of Texas and the center of activity in the young country, and the story of its founding and early boom years is fascinating. Though the city's earliest buildings have all been lost, this 90-minute docent-guided tour recreates 1830s Houston through stories of its structures and residents and first-hand accounts of life here.

A walk along Main Street in downtown Houston is a walk through the city's business development and its changing architectural tastes. Our 90-minute, docent-guided tour traces Main Street's role as the center of activity for much of Houston's history, visiting early businesses and skyscrapers, retail stores, banks and the sites of its movie palaces.

A walk along Main Street in downtown Houston is a walk through the city's business development and its changing architectural tastes. Our 90-minute, docent-guided tour traces Main Street's role as the center of activity for much of Houston's history, visiting early businesses and skyscrapers, retail stores, banks and the sites of its movie palaces.

Market Square, one of the public squares laid out in the Allen brothers’ original plan of Houston, was home to the city market and City Hall from 1841 to 1939. During that time, the square became the center of Houston’s early commercial district. Although the neighborhood declined in the mid-20th century, preservation projects have brought new uses to its historic buildings and new life to Market Square itself.

Allen's Landing is sometimes called "Houston's Plymouth Rock," and with good reason: It is the spot where the city's founders, Augustus and John Kirby Allen, set foot on the land that would become Houston. Allen's Landing became the original site of the Port of Houston in 1840 and for many years was the center of trade in the city. The site fell into decline through the 20th century, but is now finding new life as link in the system of parks being developed along Buffalo Bayou's banks.

When landscape architects Hare & Hare drew up plans for Houston's civic center in the late 1920s, they envisioned a group of stylistically similar Spanish-influenced buildings arranged around a public square. But those plans were derailed by the Depression, and the city's governmental and cultural center ended up developing over the next 50 years in a variety of styles with few efforts at overall planning. Today, structures in the Civic Center and the adjacent Theater District reflect not only the evolution of Houston's municipal and cultural institutions, but also changing architectural tastes.

A walk along Main Street in downtown Houston is a walk through the city's business development and its changing architectural tastes. This 90-minute docent-guided tour traces Main Street's role as the center of activity for much of Houston's history, visiting early businesses and skyscrapers, retail stores, banks and the sites of its movie palaces.

The section of downtown east of Main Street is a study in change. Early in Houston’s history, it was home to Quality Hill, the city’s most fashionable residential neighborhood. The area turned commercial after the turn of the 20th century thanks to an expanding business district and the construction of Union Station in 1911. Large-scale redevelopment projects including Houston Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center drastically altered the area in the late 1900s, and today, east downtown is an intriguing mix of small commercial buildings, early skyscrapers and gleaming modern office towers and hotels.

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 its banks. Our 90-minute docent-guided walking tour looks at the bayou's crucial role in Houston's development and explores the remnants of some of the old development nearby, including what's left of the Houston Ice & Brewing Company, a major industrial concern in the early 1900s.

The Warehouse District grew up near two important modes of transportation in early Houston: the original Port of Houston at Allen's Landing and the hub of the many rail lines that served the city. Though the city's industrial base is long gone, many reminders of Victorian industry remain in the area, including historic warehouses and the Willow Street Pump Station, centerpiece of the city's first sewer system.

From glittering postmodern skyscrapers by Philip Johnson and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to gems from local architects including Lloyd, Morgan & Jones, downtown Houston’s postwar skyline is a chronicle of the city’s phenomenal 20th-century growth. This tour will explore downtown buildings from 1940-1990, discussing the architecture of Houston's signature towers while touching on regional modernism, preservation challenges and ways that the United States' largest unzoned central business district has developed through the years.

Our 90-minute docent-guided walking tour will explore the history and development of the Civic Center and Theater District downtown, visiting landmarks that include Ralph Adams Cram's Julia Ideson library building; Joseph Finger's Art Deco City Hall; Tranquillity Park, designed by Charles Tapley to commemorate the 1969 moon landing; and the recently renovated Alley Theatre, a 1968 design by Ulrich Franzen.

The section of downtown east of Main Street is a study in change. Early in Houston’s history, it was home to Quality Hill, the city’s most fashionable residential neighborhood. That changed after the turn of the 20th century thanks to an expanding business district and the construction of Union Station in 1911. Large-scale redevelopment projects including Houston Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center drastically changed the area in the late 1900s; today, east downtown is an intriguing mix of small commercial buildings, early skyscrapers and gleaming modern office towers and hotels.

Our all-new 90-minute docent-guided walking tour will trace the history of the area through architecture old and new, ranging from historic structures such as Union Station and the 1915 Texas Company Building to new developments like Discovery Green, which has been a catalyst for nearly $2 billion in new construction. Along the way, we’ll discuss some of the neighborhood’s hidden stories as well, helping to put this often-overlooked area in context in Houston’s history.

When the Binz Building opened in 1895, Houstonians flocked there to see what the world looked like from the top floor — six stories above the street. And although the city's skyline has changed a great deal since then, Houston's fascination with the skyscraper hasn't. This tour explores the changes in downtown Houston's skyline during the past 100 years through buildings like 806 Main, called "Carter's Folly" when it was completed in 1910 because some locals thought a 16-story building couldn't stand on its own, and Philip Johnson's groundbreaking Pennzoil Place, which set the stage for the postmodern skyline of the 1980s.