On the second Sunday of every month at 2 p.m. (6 p.m. June through September; there is no tour in December), GHPA presents a docent-guided walking tour of an architecturally and/or historically significant area of Houston. The cost is $10 per person ($7 for GHPA members and students), with a $2 discount if you walk, bike or ride public transportation to the tour. Reservations are not required unless otherwise noted. See our list of tour topics >

We also offer private tours for groups of almost any size. Please e-mail us for more information.

Up next | March 14: Downtown's Evolving Skyline

When the Binz Building opened in 1895, Houstonians flocked there to see what the world looked like from the top floor — six stories above the street. And although the city's skyline has changed a great deal since then, Houston’s fascination with the skyscraper hasn't.

This new walking tour explores the changes in downtown Houston’s skyline during the past 100 years. Among our stops will be 806 Main, called "Carter's Folly" when it was completed in 1911 because some locals thought a 16-story building couldn't possibly be safe; the stately Post-Dispatch Building (pictured), which has found new life as the Magnolia Hotel; the towers of Houston Center, part of a radical (and failed) redevelopment plan for the east side of downtown; and Philip Johnson's groundbreaking Pennzoil Place, which set the stage for the postmodern skyscrapers of the 1980s. Along the way, we'll discuss the engineering, architectural and cultural changes that make these buildings a fascinating record of the city’s growth.

Tickets will be sold beginning at 1:30 p.m. on the northwest corner of Main Street and Texas Avenue. Street parking is free downtown on Sundays, and paid parking is available in nearby lots and garages. The tour starting point is also a short walk from the Preston and Main Street Square MetroRail stations. Please note that this tour will not visit the interiors of any buildings and that restrooms will not be available along the tour route.

Photo: Post-Dispatch Building (1926, Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick & Gottlieb; photo by Jim Parsons)

If inclement weather threatens on the day of the tour, watch this page for up-to-the-minute updates of any tour changes. You can also follow GHPA on Twitter to receive tour updates.

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