One Shell Plaza

One Shell Plaza
General information
Status Complete
Type Commercial offices
Architectural style Modernism
Location 910 Louisiana Street
Houston, Texas
Country United States
Coordinates 29°45′33″N 95°22′04″W / 29.7591°N 95.3677°W / 29.7591; -95.3677Coordinates: 29°45′33″N 95°22′04″W / 29.7591°N 95.3677°W / 29.7591; -95.3677
Completed 1971 (1971)
Height
Antenna spire 304.8 m (1,000 ft)
Roof 218 m (715 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 50
Floor area 113,900 m2 (1,226,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators 22
Design and construction
Architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Developer Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Engineer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Main contractor W. S. Bellows Construction
References
[1][2][3][4]

One Shell Plaza (OSP) is a 50-story, 218 m (715 ft) skyscraper at 910 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. Perched atop the building is an antenna that brings the height to 304.8 m (1,000 ft). At its completion in 1971, the tower was the tallest in the city.

Designers

One Shell Plaza was designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Associate architects were Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, and the landscape architects were Sasaki Associates. One Shell Square, in New Orleans and Republic Plaza in Denver, also designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, have designs very similar to that of One Shell Plaza. Like One Shell Plaza, One Shell Square has Shell Oil as a major tenant.

Tenants

Shell Oil Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is headquartered in this building.[5][6][7] The law firm of Baker Botts is also headquartered there.[8][9]

The Houston Club, on the 49th floor of the building, has dining, entertainment, and meeting facilities.[10]

History

The building opened in 1971 and was renovated in 1994.[10] The $80 million in major renovations included an updated lobby and plaza, elevator modernization, upgrades to the buildings EMP systems, new lighting, and ADA modifications.[11]

In December 2011 Shell renewed the lease for 804,491 sq ft (74,739.7 m2). The new lease retroactively had the start date of January 1, 2011, and will last for 15 years, ending in 2025.[12]

In March 2012 Hines Interests Limited Partnership announced it was putting the building up for sale.[13]

Antennae

The 170 ft mast atop the building has carried various television and radio signals since the building's completion. The mast supported 1971 start up channel 26 KVRL (later KDOG, now KRIV) and a mast that simultaneously radiated signals for eight FM stations KYND (then 92.5, now KKBQ-FM on 92.9 MHz), 93.7 KRLY (now KQBT), 95.7 KIKK-FM (now KKHH), 99.1 KODA, 100.3 KILT-FM, 101.1 KLOL, 102.1 KLYX, and 104.1 KRBE. The combiner and antenna was supplied by Electronic Research Inc. One Shell was used until the completion of the then Texas Commerce Tower and Allied Bank Plaza in 1982–1983, creating a skyscraper canyon that causes multipath distortion, and necessitated the move to the Houston antenna farm in Missouri City.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ One Shell Plaza at CTBUH Skyscraper Database
  2. ↑ One Shell Plaza at Emporis
  3. ↑ One Shell Plaza at SkyscraperPage
  4. ↑ One Shell Plaza at Structurae
  5. ↑ "Shell Wind Energy offices." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Request for a Grant from Shell." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Privacy Policy." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Baker Botts hires corporate partner." Austin Business Journal. Wednesday January 21, 2004. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Houston, Texas." Baker Botts. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. "One Shell Plaza 910 Louisiana Street | Houston | Texas..."
  10. 1 2 "One Shell Plaza." Hines Interests Limited Partnership. Retrieved on January 17, 2009.
  11. ↑ TheSquareFoot "910 Louisiana Street." November 15, 2013. November 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ Patel, Purva. "Shell renews downtown lease." Houston Chronicle. December 5, 2011. Retrieved on December 5, 2011.
  13. ↑ Sarnoff, Nancy. "Major downtown HQ to hit the market." Houston Chronicle. March 27, 2012. Retrieved on March 30, 2012.

External links

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