AKA: Tenneco Building, Downtown, Houston, TX; 1010 Milam Street, Downtown, Houston, TX

Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - office buildings

Designers: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), San Francisco, CA (firm); Edward Charles Bassett (architect); Lawrence S. Doane (architect)

Dates: constructed 1963

33 stories

1010 Milam Street
Houston, TX 77002-5312

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Building History

The Tennessee Gas Transmission Company commissioned the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to design its corporate offices in Downtown Houston, TX. SOM operated various branch offices across the US, and frequently reassigned key designers to work on projects in distant locations. SOM cross-fertilized its corporate culture by assigning designers to new regional offices. Myron Goldsmith (1918-1996), of the Chicago office, worked periodically on West Coast projects through the San Francisco office. In this case, SOM San Francisco's Edward Charles "Chuck" Bassett (1921-1999) was called in to lead the design of this elegant, 33-story High Modern box. Bassett worked with Lawrence S. Doane, among others, on the Tenneco Building.

The Tennessee Gas Transmission Company changed its name to "Tenneco" in 1966, and the building became known as this thereafter.

Building Notes

This building later became known as the El Paso Energy Building;

PCAD id: 2157