Office Buildings and Early Skyscrapers

The Neils Esperson Building was constructed in 1927. It was the tallest building in Houston for two years until the Gulf Building was constructed. With its rounded top, the Neils Esperson Building remains one of Houston's most famous structures. It is perhaps Houston's best example of the 1920s sky scraper.

The Gulf Building, constructed in 1929, remained Houston's tallest building until well after World War II. Although its builder, Jesse Jones, was not in favor of sky scrapers--he favored a height limit of ten stories--he seemed determined for his building to be the tallest in the city. It remained so until after his death.

This white border card was produced by E.C. Kropp Co. of Milwaukee.
This HTML page is copyright ©1998, 1999 Leslie Carl Seiler. All rights reserved. This page was updated 23 May 1999.