One Shell Plaza

One Shell Plaza
General information
Location	910 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas, United States
Coordinates	29°45′33″N 95°22′03″W / 29.75909°N 95.36750°W / 29.75909; -95.36750Coordinates: 29°45′33″N 95°22′03″W / 29.75909°N 95.36750°W / 29.75909; -95.36750
Completed	1971
Height
Roof	714 ft (218 m)
Technical details
Floor count	50
Design and construction
Main contractor	W. S. Bellows Construction Corporation
Architect	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.

One Shell Plaza (OSP) is a 50 floor skyscraper at 910 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. At its completion in 1971, One Shell Plaza was the tallest building in Houston, Texas, standing 715 feet (218 m) tall. Including the antenna tower on its top, the height is 1,000 feet (304.8 m).

One Shell Plaza was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. Associate architects of One Shell Plaza were Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, and the landscape architects were Sasaki Associates.

Shell Oil Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is headquartered in this building.^[1][2][3] The law firm Baker Botts is also headquartered there.^[4][5]

The Plaza Club, on the 49th floor of the building, has dining, entertainment, and meeting facilities.^[6]

One Shell Square, in New Orleans, LA, was also designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, has a design very similar to One Shell Plaza's, and like One Shell Plaza has Shell Oil as a major tenant.

History

The building opened in 1971 and received a renovation in 1994.^[6]

Antennae

The 170 ft mast atop the building has carried various television and radio signals since the building's completion. The mast supported 1971 start up channel 26 KVRL (TV) (later KDOG, now KRIV) and a mast that simultaneously radiated signals for eight FM stations KYND (then 92.5, now KKBQ-FM on 92.9 MHz), 93.7 KRLY (now KKRW), 95.7 KIKK-FM (now KKHH), 99.1 KODA, 100.3 KILT-FM, 101.1 KLOL, 102.1 KLYX, and 104.1 KRBE. The combiner and antenna was supplied by Electronic Research Inc. One Shell was used until the completion of the then Texas Commerce Tower and Allied Bank Plaza in 1982–1983, creating a skyscraper canyon that causes multipath distortion, and necessitated the move to the Houston antenna farm in Harris County.

Gallery

• 

  Sign indicating the building

• 

  Houston skyline in 1971 shortly after completion of the building

See also

Houston portal

• List of tallest buildings in Texas

References

1. ^ "Shell Wind Energy offices." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
2. ^ "Request for a Grant from Shell." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
3. ^ "Privacy Policy." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
4. ^ "Baker Botts hires corporate partner." Austin Business Journal. Wednesday January 21, 2004. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.
5. ^ "Houston, Texas." Baker Botts. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. "One Shell Plaza 910 Louisiana Street | Houston | Texas..."
6. ^ ^{a b} "One Shell Plaza." Hines Interests Limited Partnership. Retrieved on January 17, 2009.

External links

• One Shell Plaza
• FCC-Entry, which gives 300.2 metres as height with antenna

Records
Preceded by Exxon Building	Tallest Building in Houston 1971—1980 218m	Succeeded by Enterprise Plaza