JPMorgan Chase Building | |
---|---|
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°WCoordinates: 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 |
Gulf Building
|
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NRHP reference # | 83004436 |
RTHL # | 14042 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | August 30, 1983 |
Designated RTHL | 2007 |
References | |
Alfred Charles Finn
Kenneth Franzheim
J.E.R. Carpenter
The JPMorgan Chase Building, formerly the Gulf Building, is a 37-story 130 m (430 ft) Art Deco skyscraper in downtown Houston, Texas. Completed in 1929, it remained the tallest building in Houston until 1963, when the Exxon Building surpassed it in height. The building is the Houston headquarters of JPMorgan Chase Bank, and was formerly the headquarters of Texas Commerce Bank.
Jesse H. Jones arranged to have the Gulf Building constructed; it was built in 1929. Designed by architects Alfred C. Finn, Kenneth Franzheim, and J. E. R. Carpenter the building is seen as a realization of Eliel Saarinen's second-place-but-acclaimed entry in the Chicago Tribune Tower competition.
Texas Commerce Bank initiated the restoration of the building in 1989, in what is still considered one of the largest privately funded preservation projects in American history. Recent preservation work included restoring the terrazzo floor in the building's Banking Hall, but keeping the hollows worn into the marble border where generations of customers stood to conduct their banking business. Largely through the efforts of JPMorgan Chase, the former Gulf Building was designated a City of Houston Landmark in 2003. The structure was already a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.