{"nrhp_refnum":"78002947","name":"Rice Hotel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St. and Texas Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.760662757000034,"lon":-95.36291637899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Politics/Government","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An 18-story, E-shaped masonry hotel with a five-story annex and motor lobby at Main Street and Texas Avenue in downtown Houston, Texas. The original portion was built in 1912-13, with later additions in 1925-26, 1951 and 1958.","why_significant":"The hotel was one of the best known Texas hotels from its 1913 opening and stands on the site of the first Capitol of the Republic of Texas. It was one of the first two multi-story buildings in Houston built with a skeletal steel or cast iron frame. It is tied to developer Jesse H. Jones and to notable events and architects, including Alfred C. Finn and John Staub.","narrative":"Rising eighteen stories at Main Street and Texas Avenue in downtown Houston, this E-shaped masonry hotel occupies most of a city block. Its core was designed by the St. Louis firm Mauran, Russell, and Crowell and opened in 1913 for developer Jesse H. Jones. A west wing by Houston architect Alfred C. Finn followed in 1925-26, an eighteenth floor by Staub and Rather was added in 1951, and a concrete and masonry annex by J. Russ Baty came in 1958. The site carries earlier weight: it held the first Capitol of the Republic of Texas from 1837 to 1839 and has hosted hotels since 1841. The 1913 building was among the first two in Houston with a skeletal steel or cast iron frame. Over decades it hosted political conventions, space program conferences, dances and cattlemen's gatherings. Interiors were remodeled repeatedly, leaving little original fabric. The hotel closed in 1977, and new owners were planning reuse when it was listed.","period_of_significance":"1912-13 (specific dates given; 1800-1899 and 1900- also marked)","architect_builder":"Mauran, Russell, and Crowell (St. Louis); Alfred C. Finn (1925-26 west wing); Staub and Rather (1951 eighteenth floor); J. Russ Baty (1958 annex)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed as a hotel in 1977 and listed as unoccupied; a new owner planned reuse of the building.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.601058-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/9723/40972376/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002947.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002947/adef0ae68d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002947/adef0ae68d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RiceHotel-1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RiceHotel-1.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83004471","name":"Main Street/Market Square Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/main-street-market-square-historic-district-83004471/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972376","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rice_(Houston)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7233713"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/rice-hotel-78002947/"}