One Shell Plaza, Houston

One Shell Plaza is one of the architectural marvels of Houston. It stands 50 stories tall, and covers more than 1.6 million square feet. It is a travertine oriented tower that has a slight taper to the building. You have to really look at it to see the taper though. One can also note the very closely spaced columns that help to frame the windows of the structure, making it look very different than your typical sky scraper. The design makes the building look as if there is a gentle undulation to the building.

The construction was completed in 1971. It was designed by firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merritt. It cost $39 million dollars to build. It towers a whopping 715 feet into the air. In 1980, it was renovated, costing over $80 million dollars.

On the 49th Floor, there is a wonderful restaurant, called the Plaza Club. The site has room for over 300 cars in the parking garage, and another 1,000 across the street. So, the site is quite popular for meetings.