Williams Tower

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Skyscraper in Houston, Texas

title: "Williams Tower" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["skyscraper-office-buildings-in-houston", "office-buildings-completed-in-1983", "philip-johnson-buildings", "john-burgee-buildings", "postmodern-architecture-in-texas"] description: "Skyscraper in Houston, Texas" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_Tower" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Skyscraper in Houston, Texas ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox building"]

FieldValue
nameWilliams Tower
former_namesTransco Tower (1982–1998)
statusComplete
logoWilliamstowerlogo.png
logo_size90
imageWilliamstower.jpg
image_size250
captionWilliams Tower in 2011
altitudeup
building_typeOffice tower
architectural_stylePostmodern
costU.S. $300 million
ownerInvesco Advisers Inc.
current_tenantsWilliams Companies
Quanta Services
Valaris Limited
Cadence Bancorp
Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Consulate General of Denmark, Houston
landlordHines Interests Limited Partnership
address2800 Post Oak Boulevard
location_townHouston, Texas
location_countryUnited States
coordinates
groundbreaking_date
completion_dateBetween December 1982 and January 1983
opened_date
roof275 m
floor_count64
floor_area1,483,308 sqft
elevator_count49
architecture_firmJohn Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson and Morris-Aubry Architects
structural_engineerCBM Engineers Inc.
main_contractorJ.A. Jones Construction Co.
awardsAward for Architectural Excellence (AISC)
website
references
::

| name = Williams Tower | former_names = Transco Tower (1982–1998) | alternate_names = | status = Complete | logo = Williamstowerlogo.png | logo_size = 90 | image = Williamstower.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = Williams Tower in 2011 | map_type = | map_alt = | map_caption = | relief = | altitude = up | building_type = Office tower | architectural_style = Postmodern | structural_system = | cost = U.S. $300 million | ren_cost = | client = | owner = Invesco Advisers Inc. | current_tenants = Williams Companies Quanta Services Valaris Limited Cadence Bancorp Hines Interests Limited Partnership Consulate General of Denmark, Houston | landlord = Hines Interests Limited Partnership | location = | address = 2800 Post Oak Boulevard | location_town = Houston, Texas | location_country = United States | coordinates = | groundbreaking_date = | start_date = | completion_date = Between December 1982 and January 1983 | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | renovation_date = | demolition_date = | destruction_date = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = 275 m | top_floor = | observatory = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = 64 | floor_area = 1,483,308 sqft | elevator_count = 49 | architecture_firm = John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson and Morris-Aubry Architects | structural_engineer = CBM Engineers Inc. | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = J.A. Jones Construction Co. | awards = Award for Architectural Excellence (AISC) | designations = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_awards = | parking = | website =
| embedded = | references =

The Williams Tower (originally named the Transco Tower) is a 64-story, 1.4 e6sqft class A postmodern office tower located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas. The building was designed by New York–based John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson in association with Houston-based Morris-Aubry Architects (now known as Morris Architects). Construction began in August 1981, and the building was opened in 1983. The tower is among Houston's most visible buildings as the 4th-tallest in Texas, and the 51st-tallest in the United States. The Williams Tower is the tallest building in Houston outside of Downtown Houston, and is the tallest skyscraper in the United States outside of a city's central business district.

History

Real estate developer Gerald D. Hines hired New York–based John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson to design the building, in association with Houston-based Morris-Aubry Architects (now known as Morris Architects). At the time of its completion, it was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River, standing at 64 stories (901 feet).

The building was originally named for its first major tenant and the company that commissioned it, Transco Energy Corporation. In 1995, the building was sold to Williams Companies, and, in 1999, became Williams Tower.

In 2008, Hines REIT Properties LP, an affiliate of Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., purchased the Williams Tower for $271.5 million from Transco Tower Ltd., a partnership consisting of Kuwaiti investors represented by Atlanta-based Fosterlane Management Corp. The building was offered along with a parking garage, a 2.3 acre tract across the street from the Williams Tower, and a 48% stake in the Williams Waterwall (now named the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park) and the surrounding park; prior to this transaction Hines had already owned the other 52% of the waterwall.

On the morning of September 13, 2008, during Hurricane Ike, the top of the tower was damaged near the rotating beacon, and many windows were blown out. The skyscraper suffered over $3.5 million in wind damage. Twelve of the 49 elevators were damaged, most by water damage.

Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. put the Williams Tower up for sale in August 2012, selling it to Invesco Ltd. subsidiary Invesco Advisers Inc. for $412 million in March 2013.

Major tenants

The building was originally named for its major tenant, Transco Energy corporation, now part of the Williams Companies, the tower's current namesake. Other major tenants include Quanta Services, and the Consulate General of Denmark. The tower also served as the headquarters for the Hines companies until mid-2022. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Williams_Tower.jpg" caption="The beacon of the Williams Tower, 2002"] ::

Significance

At 64 stories and 909 ft above the ground level, the Williams Tower is the tallest building in Houston outside of Downtown Houston. When it was constructed in 1983, it was also the world's tallest skyscraper outside of a city's central business district.

The building was built to function as two separate towers stacked directly on top of one another, one comprising the first forty floors and the other the forty-first to sixty-fourth. The building has separate banks of elevators and lobbies for each of the two building sections.

Williams Tower was named "Skyscraper of the Century" in the December 1999 issue of Texas Monthly magazine. Paul Gapp of the Chicago Tribune said that the building became an "instant classic" when it opened. Paul Goldberger of The New York Times said that the tower gave Post Oak Boulevard "a center, an anchor, which most out-towns lack".

Features

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Wiliams_Tower_Texans.jpg" caption="Williams Tower showing the word "TEXANS" using its office lights, the night before a [[Houston Texans]] game."] ::

Six elevators take tenants to the 51st floor, where they can transfer to other elevators to get to the 49th through 64th floor of the building. There is no public observation deck.

During the nighttime hours, the building is defined by a 7,000 watt beacon that sweeps across the sky and can be seen up to 40 miles (65 km) away on a clear night. Topped by such a beacon, the tower hearkens back to the Palmolive Building in Chicago, Illinois. The building, along with its beacon, is a Houston landmark that identifies the Uptown Houston district.

The building is connected to a 10 level, 3,208 car parking garage by a sky bridge. The bridge also connects the building to retail outlets, like The Galleria, and two Federal Aviation Administration-licensed helipads.

In a grass field adjacent to the Williams Tower is the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park. Formerly privately owned in common with the tower, the waterwall and park has been owned by the Uptown Houston Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, a non-profit local government corporation since 2008. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Williams_Tower_Front.jpg" caption="Upward view of the Williams Tower during the day"] ::

The Houston Business Journal said that the tower was "designed to be energy efficient". The building received the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star label for each year since 2000 in which the building was eligible to receive the award. As of 2009, the building managers are seeking to gain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the United States Green Building Council.

The top four angles of the building form cat-like shapes with tails that run down all the way to street level. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Williams_Tower_Spotlight.jpg" caption="A long exposure of the Williams Tower spotlight at night."] ::

References

References

  1. {Staff writer(s); no by-line.}-->. (2013). "Williams Tower, Houston, TX". [[Hines Interests Limited Partnership]].
  2. Bradley, Robert L.. (2011). "Edison to Enron : energy markets and political strategies". Scrivener.
  3. Levy, Dan. (March 5, 2013). "Houston's Williams Tower Sold by Hines for $412 Million".
  4. "Williams Tower".
  5. "Williams Tower – HoustonPhotowalks".
  6. "Williams Tower".
  7. Dawson, Jennifer. (March 25, 2008). "Hines To Pay $271M for Williams Tower". American City Business Journals.
  8. "Houston’s Williams Tower Sold by Hines for $412 Million". Bloomberg.com.
  9. (2009-04-13). "Project Sale: Williams Tower - Houston Business Journal".
  10. (October 4, 2008). "The Williams Tower Water damage repair project". Houston Water damage Division from PBTP.
  11. "For sale: Iconic Williams Tower on the block". Houston Chronicle.
  12. (January 1983). "Behind the Lines". Texas Monthly.
  13. (December 1999). "The Best of the Texas Century—Business". Emmis Publishing.
  14. Gapp, Paul. (March 11, 1987). "Moderne Redux Creative Churnings Breathe New Life Into a Neglected Style". Tribune Company.
  15. Goldberger, Paul. (July 26, 1987). "Architecture View; When Suburban Sprawl Meets Upward Mobility". [[The New York Times]].
  16. Jordan, Jay R.. (July 19, 2021). "How to spot the 'secret cat' built in the side of Houston's Williams Tower".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

skyscraper-office-buildings-in-houstonoffice-buildings-completed-in-1983philip-johnson-buildingsjohn-burgee-buildingspostmodern-architecture-in-texas