Williams Tower

Real estate developer Gerald D. Hines hired New York–based John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson to design the building, in association with Houston-based Morris-Aubry Architects (now known as Morris Architects). At the time of its completion, it was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River, standing at 64 stories (901 feet). The building was originally named for its first major tenant and the company that commissioned it, Transco Energy Corporation. In 1995, the building was sold to Williams Companies, and, in 1999, became Williams Tower. In 2008, Hines REIT Properties LP, an affiliate of Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., purchased the Williams Tower for $271.5 million from Transco Tower Ltd., a partnership consisting of Kuwaiti investors represented by Atlanta-based Fosterlane Management Corp. The building was offered along with a parking garage, a tract across the street from the Williams Tower, and a 48% stake in the Williams Waterwall (now named the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park) and the surrounding park; prior to this transaction Hines had already owned the other 52% of the waterwall. On the morning of September 13, 2008, during Hurricane Ike, the top of the tower was damaged near the rotating beacon, and many windows were blown out. The skyscraper suffered over $3.5 million in wind damage. Twelve of the 49 elevators were damaged, most by water damage. Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. put the Williams Tower up for sale in August 2012, selling it to Invesco Ltd. subsidiary Invesco Advisers Inc. for $412 million in March 2013. ==Major tenants==

The building was originally named for its major tenant, Transco Energy corporation, now part of the Williams Companies, the tower's current namesake. Other major tenants include Quanta Services, and the Consulate General of Denmark. The tower also served as the headquarters for the Hines companies until mid-2022. ==Significance==

At 64 stories and above the ground level, the Williams Tower is the tallest building in Houston outside of Downtown Houston. The building was built to function as two separate towers stacked directly on top of one another, one comprising the first forty floors and the other the forty-first to sixty-fourth. The building has separate banks of elevators and lobbies for each of the two building sections. Williams Tower was named "Skyscraper of the Century" in the December 1999 issue of Texas Monthly magazine. Paul Gapp of the Chicago Tribune said that the building became an "instant classic" when it opened. Paul Goldberger of The New York Times said that the tower gave Post Oak Boulevard "a center, an anchor, which most out-towns lack". ==Features==

game. Six elevators take tenants to the 51st floor, where they can transfer to other elevators to get to the 49th through 64th floor of the building. There is no public observation deck. During the nighttime hours, the building is defined by a 7,000 watt beacon that sweeps across the sky and can be seen up to 40 miles (65 km) away on a clear night. Topped by such a beacon, the tower hearkens back to the Palmolive Building in Chicago, Illinois. The building, along with its beacon, is a Houston landmark that identifies the Uptown Houston district. The building is connected to a 10 level, 3,208 car parking garage by a sky bridge. The bridge also connects the building to retail outlets, like The Galleria, and two Federal Aviation Administration-licensed helipads. In a grass field adjacent to the Williams Tower is the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park. ==See also==