City: Houston, TX

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (713) 529-4755

Address: 1441 W. Alabama, at Mulberry St.

Insider Pick:

Description: Since opening in 1981, the Houston Center for Photography—aka HCP—has displayed the work of some 3,200 established and emerging photographers and educated thousands more. The center doesn’t have a permanent collection, but its exhibits are both timely and culturally significant. One recent show highlighted 60 years of photos produced by Magnum Photos, the world’s most acclaimed photography cooperative. Another looked at how conflict in the Middle East affects life in the US. And often exhibits here feature work from some of the area’s most promising high school–age photographers, as well as participants in the center’s outreach programs. One of the biggest draws is the annual Print Auction Exhibition, a free-­to-­attend auction of prints donated by some of the world’s finest photographers.Admission is free. Parking is available on the street and in the free HCP parking lot. Closed Monday and Tuesday.