will downtown Houston ever get an iconic new tower? (Fort Worth: 2013, quality of life)

[aero100]

If you are thinking of a landmark supertall tower that's known outside of Houston, those really do not get built anymore in the United States and have not since the 80's.

Once upon a time wealthy corporations and individuals erected these enormous signature towers as monuments to themselves. For the most part that's fallen out of favor in North America, which is why the Sears Tower is now the Willis Tower, there is no One Apple Place supertall in downtown San Francisco, and Exxon is building a corporate campus north of town to replace the signature tower Humble oil put up in the 60's.

The only recent exceptions I can think of are One World Trade in New York (replacing another signature project) and the Trump International in Chicago (monument to Trump and important to his branding). You need some unique circumstance to cause one of those buildings to get built beyond a strong economy.

[fnh]

Originally Posted by bu2

Pennzoil not well known??????

Its the most distinctive building(s) in Houston and quite well known. Its one of the few buildings you can name and everyone knows what it is (part of that is that the rest have changed names so many times).

I understand what they mean about it not being well-known. It isn't as tall as the newer surrounding towers so it doesn't dominate the skyline. I have to admit though, I have never noticed the Bank of America building and I wouldn't necessarily "know" the Houston skyline myself but for the tell-tale black angles of the Pennzoil building. That's how I recognize it's Houston. I think it is well-known to long-time Houstonians and architecture buffs.

[waterdamaged]

Originally Posted by bu2

Pennzoil not well known??????

Its the most distinctive building(s) in Houston and quite well known. Its one of the few buildings you can name and everyone knows what it is (part of that is that the rest have changed names so many times).

I know a sample size of one means absolutely nothing, but I had to look it up today.

[LocalPlanner]

If by "iconic" you mean "supertall", it almost never makes economic sense to do those anymore in the U.S. Anymore, it smacks of egotism and insecurity, brashness and silly statement-making - think of Dubai and Saudi cities. Not to say that such structures aren't interesting, but without more substance in the city to back them up, they can have a limited or even negative effect - why is so much money being spent to create a fancy super tower when the rest of the city sucks?

Having a series of moderate height buildings set against a great public space can be just as effective, and more meaningful from a personal experience level. Think of the wall of buildings surrounding Central Park in Manhattan or along Michigan Avenue in Chicago across from Grant and Millennium parks - extremely effective advertisements for those cities.

[trbstang]

Originally Posted by fnh

I understand what they mean about it not being well-known. It isn't as tall as the newer surrounding towers so it doesn't dominate the skyline. I have to admit though, I have never noticed the Bank of America building and I wouldn't necessarily "know" the Houston skyline myself but for the tell-tale black angles of the Pennzoil building. That's how I recognize it's Houston. I think it is well-known to long-time Houstonians and architecture buffs.

This, exactly! When the Pennzoil building is included in the Houston skyline, I immediately know it is Houston. It is a very unusual building. I really did not like it when they built the BOA building in front of it, blocking most of it in many skyline views.

[SouthernBoy205]

International Tower? It's still getting built?

[JJG]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

International Tower? It's still getting built?

It's just proposed at the moment and the 3rd of the Exxon buildings is on hold.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by philopower

For all the prosperity that this city claims to have, Houston still doesn't have an iconic tower that distinguishes it from every other city. Will we ever have one?

... I actually just caught this.

That's a lie.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by JJG

... I actually just caught this.

That's a lie.

True, the Williams (formerly Transco) Tower has been a distinguishing landmark of Houston since 1984. No other tower like it in a non-CBD location in the U.S. Plus the nighttime beacon.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

True, the Williams (formerly Transco) Tower has been a distinguishing landmark of Houston since 1984. No other tower like it in a non-CBD location in the U.S. Plus the nighttime beacon.

There's also the BoA Plaza and Heritage Tower. Both of those were even features in SimCity games, for crying out loud...