Comments on: Not Preston Hard Enough: A Shade Loose Downtown

By: Harold Mandell

Harold Mandell — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:36:29 +0000

That building, the good old grey glum Admin Bldg, is well known to those of us who would go downtown to do our own title checking on the fourth floor. Property Records have since moved to the new Palace of Law several blocks east.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:00:13 +0000

The DA’s office is in 1201 Franklin. 1001 Preston was completed in 1978. According to Houston Architecture Info it is “Not exactly offensive, but not very pretty either. But what do you expect from a building that is home to mid-level government offices? Horizontal louvers on the south-facing windows add to the sense that it’s a giant milk crate sitting on a concrete table.”

By: kjb434

kjb434 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:24:31 +0000

That’s probably what the county thought and will use to justify the expense.

This is definitely not a structural failure.

By: biggerintexas

biggerintexas — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:22:04 +0000

I’m pretty sure $4.5M to replace the facade is a whole lot cheaper than a lawsuit from someone walking on the sidewalk who took a piece of falling cement on the noggin.

By: kjb434

kjb434 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:19:02 +0000

I don’t think this is that building. I know the Harris County Engineering group is on the 7th floor since I’ve been there many of times for meetings or to get information for work.

At least it’s just some crumbling non-structural concrete. It’s still a steel structure building underneath.

By: EMME

EMME — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:07:17 +0000

Didn’t this building flood during Tropical Storm Alison? If it is the one, it was a brand new building that they had just moved into and all the DAs had to work out of home for quite awhile.