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7. Description
Condition Check one Check one
X excellent ___ deteriorated ___ unaltered _X.. original site
good ruins _x2 altered ___ moved date
fair unexposed
Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance
The Merchants and Manufacturers Building was designed in the middle 1920's
by the architectural firm of Giesecke and Harris, which later became
Giesecke, Kuehne, and Brooks, of Austin, Texas. At the time of its com-
pletion in 1930, the building was considered of great importance and,
according to the Houston Press, was the largest building of its kind in
the south and southwest part of the nation. In addition, it contained
unique structural and architectural design features necessary to accomo-
date unusual functional ents. Today the building exemplifies
the beautiful and elaborate Art Deco decoration of the period~
The original concept was a co mercal hi h-rise building designed to house
the actiies--of merchants and manufacturers, loca e a the intersection
-of=-Buffa1-~ a-~White Oak bayous on Houston' s most important downtown avenue,
Main Street. The site provided the building direct integrated accessibility
to water,'rail, an r ,at ri of goods. The design criteria,
aTliig Tor the unusual requirement of bringing railroad tracks, shipping,
and trucking directly into the building while providing the uncommon feature
of indoor parking for 400 cars, was very satisfactorily met. Separate ver-
tical and horizontal transportation requirements for these four elements
represented a formidable articulation of circulation patterns.
The building is a ten-story structure of over 700,000 square feet. The
over-all shape is rectangular, approximately 250 feet by 250 feet, with
twin towers also rectangular in shape rising from the third floor. The
towers are joined on the east side by connecting lengths at the ninth and
tenth floor levels which frame a four and one-half story main entry por-
tal, a significant design feature. A horizontal band between the third
and fourth floors emphasizes a base effect for the structure. The band
was placed at this level because the view of the building on three sides
is interrupted. A bridge on the east and parking decks on the north and
south make the third floor level the effective base appearance.
Another significant feature is the horizontal covered drive on the front,
or east, side of the building. Twelve open bays with strong columns at
the third floor level with a vertical portal emphasize the main entry and
elevation.
The building is reinforced concrete structure system with a design load
of 250 psf. This was an unusual design load for most buildings in the
1930's; however, the activity of handling vehicular loads within the
structure required this strong structural system. The building has
brick enclosing walls with cast concrete ornamentation at entries, base,
and on the terminus of the vertical elements at the ninth floor, around
the tenth floor walls, and at the elevator and stair towers on the east
face. The roof is flat and hidden behind a beautiful decorative parapet.
The original window frames, which are steel with operative awning-type
swings, are in place.
The twin towers from the third floor up are separated by 22 feet, pro-
viding light and wind tunnel effects to capture the prevailing southeast