Houston Architecture Tours
- Address:
varies (see specific tours)
Houston, TX 77002 - Phone:
713-520-0155
See the architecture and design that have shaped the look of Houston through the decades on a walking tour led by the Architecture Center of Houston. Tours of Montrose, the Museum District and Rice University are offered on specific Saturdays of each month from 10 a.m. to noon (departure is prompt).The cost is $10 per person and reservations are encouraged.
Examples of tours include:
Montrose Walking Tour
One of the most diverse and interesting neighborhoods in Houston, Montrose offers some of the city’s best architecture including spectacular mansions, charming bungalows, the campus of the University of St. Thomas, Rothko Chapel, and the Menil Collection. ArCH tour guides will present an overview of the architectural and social history of the area. Tours meet outside the Menil Bookstore, 1520 Sul Ross.
Museum District Walking Tour
The Houston Museum District is one of the few areas in the country with such a dense population of museums, public art, contemporary architecture, and landscape design. On this 2-hour walking tour you will experience the quintessential Modernism of Mies van der Rohe, the structuralist view point of Gunnar Birkert, and the simplicity and craft of Isamu Noguchi. Meets outside the MFAH Sculpture Garden, 5101 Montrose Blvd.
Rice University Walking Tour
Rice University and Rice School of Architecture both celebrate their Centennial in 2012. A treasure trove of great architecture, the timeless campus features designs by Cram, Goodhue, & Ferguson; John Staub; William Ward Watkin; Michael Graves; Kieren Timberlake; Ricardo Bofill; Cesar Pelli; Lake/Flato Architects; and many other local and internationally renowned architects. Also on the tour are large scale art works by James Turrell and Michael Heizer. From Lovett Hall to Brochstein Pavilion, this tour will look at some of the more unique, hidden, important and historical features of Rice University’s Campus. In addition to the architecture we will explore the context surrounding each building, the quads, courts and axes, how these elements work together to shape collegiate space.