The Hogg Building, also known as the Hogg Palace, is a building located at 401 Louisiana in Downtown Houston, Texas, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hogg Building
The building's exterior in 2011
Hogg Building is located in Houston Downtown
Hogg Building
Hogg Building is located in Texas
Hogg Building
Hogg Building is located in the United States
Hogg Building
Location401 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates29°45′45″N 95°21′50″W / 29.76250°N 95.36389°W / 29.76250; -95.36389
Arealess than one acre
Built1921 (1921)
ArchitectBarglebaugh & Whitson
Architectural styleLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Mediterranean Revival
NRHP reference No.78002943[1]
RTHL No.10684
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 14, 1978
Designated RTHL1981

History

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The Hogg Building was known as the Armor Building during the design process[2] and the Great Southern Building when it opened in March 1921.[3] Charles Erwin Barglebaugh and Lloyd R. Whitson of El Paso designed the eight-story, Sullivan-inspired building. The ground floor was used as a showroom for automobiles, while the other stories were dedicated to office space. It was constructed of concrete with reinforced steel, thus eliminating the need for a large number of piers. The building is also characterized by a great number of windows, covering much of the outer facing. Ornamentation marks the tops of the seventh and first floors.[2]

Will Hogg, the eldest son of former Texas Governor Jim Hogg, used the eighth-floor penthouse to manage Hogg Brothers Company and the family's philanthropic projects.[3][4] In the 1920s, Hogg's workspace was, "surrounded by a roof garden lavishly abloom with shrubs and flowers, in a suite of elegantly furnished rooms that included an oval dining room, a kitchen, a living room, and a guest bedroom as well as offices."[4] He decorated the penthouse with his collection of artwork by Frederic Remington.[4][5] The Hogg family used the penthouse as a business office until 1941.[3]

In the early 1990s, developer Randall Davis converted the retail and office building into seventy-nine loft apartments.[6] Davis opened the refurbished building as the Hogg Palace Lofts in the fall of 1995, and it was already fully leased by the end of that year.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Henry, Jay C. (1993). Architecture in Texas, 1895-1945. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 66–67.
  3. ^ a b c Kirkland, Kate Sayen (2009). The Hogg Family and Houston: philanthropy and the civic ideal. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 28.
  4. ^ a b c Bernhard, Virginia (1996). Ima Hogg: the Governor's daughter (2 ed.). New York: Brandywine Press. p. 67.
  5. ^ Kirkland, p.213
  6. ^ Myers, Victoria J. ("Preservation CAN work in Houston: The Humble Oil & Refining Company Building" (PDF). Vol. 6, no. 3. Houston History.
  7. ^ Bivins, Ralph (December 20, 1995)."Lofty ambitions/Old Texaco offices selling to investors/Downtown building to get apartments". Houston Chronicle.
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