Williams Tower
Williams Tower at dusk Image File history File links Williams_Tower_Moon. ...
Information
Location	2800 Post Oak Boulevard Houston, Texas
Status	Complete
Constructed	1983
Roof	275 m (901 ft)
Floor count	64
Companies
Architect	Phillip Johnson and John Burgee Morris-Aubry Architects

Williams Tower from Street

The beacon of the Williams Tower

The Williams Tower (formerly the Transco Tower), is a skyscraper located in the Uptown District of Houston. It was designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, in association with Houston-based Morris-Aubry Architects, and erected in 1983. The tower is among Houston's most visible buildings and can be seen from as far away as Missouri City, a nearby suburb. The building is the 4th tallest in Texas and the 22nd tallest in the United States. Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ... Phillip, Philip, or Phil Johnson may refer to: Philip C. Johnson, Noted American architect. ... John Burgee is an American architect important in post-modern architecture. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 648 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 947 pixel, file size: 712 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 648 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 947 pixel, file size: 712 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Uptown Houston Uptown Houston, or the Uptown District, is mainly centered around the the Galleria, the largest and most prestigious shopping mall in Houston. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ... 1933 Portrait of Philip Johnson by Carl Van Vechten Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an influential American architect. ... John Burgee is an American architect important in post-modern architecture. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Missouri City is a city located in Texas, partially in Fort Bend County and partially in Harris County. ... The state of Texas is home to many of the tallest skyscrapers in the United States. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... The United States is home to many of the worlds tallest skyscrapers. ...

Major tenants

The building was originally named for its major tenant, Transco Energy corporation. The name stayed on the building until 1999 after Hines, the building's owner, agreed to change the name of the building some four years after Transco was bought by Williams in 1995. The building once again bears the name of its major tenant, the Williams energy company, which is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even after the name change, the building is often referred to as "the Transco" by long-time Houston residents. The Williams Companies, Inc. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Oklahoma Coordinates: , Country United States State Oklahoma Counties Tulsa, Osage, Wagoner, Rogers Government  - Mayor Kathy Taylor (D) Area  - City  186. ...

Significance

At 64 stories and 275 m (901 ft), the Williams Tower is the tallest building in Houston outside of the Downtown area. When it was constructed in 1983, it was also the world's tallest skyscraper outside of a city's central business district. Williams Tower was named "Skyscraper of the Century" in the December 1999 issue of Texas Monthly magazine. The metre (American English:meter) is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Skyline District of Downtown Downtown Houston is Houstons largest business district. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

The building is unique in that it was built to function as two separate towers stacked directly on top of one another, one comprising the first forty floors and the other the forty-first to sixty-fourth. The building has separate banks of elevators and lobbies for each of the two building sections. A majority of the bottom 40 floors are occupied by Williams. The remainder of the building is occupied by a variety of tenants. The building's stepback design suggests one of Johnson's earlier (and smaller) works, the IDS Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Opened in 1974, the IDS Center (or IDS Tower; in its first years its name was officially spelled IDS Centre; at the time the europeanism was supposed to reflect the towers role in catapulting Minneapolis into its present status as a world-class city) is the tallest building in... “Minneapolis” redirects here. ...

Features

On the 51st floor is a sky lobby and observation deck, which due to security reasons is no longer open to the public. ^{[citation needed]}

During the night-time hours, the building is defined by a 7,000 Watt beacon that sweeps across the sky and can be seen up to 65 km (40 mi) away on a clear night. Being topped by such a beacon, the tower harkens back to the Palmolive Building in Chicago, Illinois. The building, along with its beacon, is a Houston landmark that identifies the Uptown Houston district. This page discusses Beacons, fires designed to attract attention. ... The Palmolive Building is a 37 story Art Deco building in Chicago. ... Nickname: Motto: “Urbs in Horto” (Latin: “City in a Garden”), “I Will” Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Uptown Houston Uptown Houston, or the Uptown District, is mainly centered around the the Galleria, the largest and most prestigious shopping mall in Houston. ...

In a greenspace adjacent to the Williams Tower is another Houston landmark, the Williams Waterwall. Williams Waterwall is a multi-story sculptural fountain which sits at the south end of Williams Park in Houstons Galleria/Uptown district. ...

See also

• Tallest buildings in Texas
• Tallest buildings in the United States

The state of Texas is home to many of the tallest skyscrapers in the United States. ... The United States is home to many of the worlds tallest skyscrapers. ...

External links

• Williams Tower at Emporis.com
• Williams Tower at HoustonArchitecture.info

Coordinates: 29°44′14″N, 95°27′41″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...