POST Houston (Barbara Jordan Post Office)

Significance

The Downtown Houston Post Office, Processing, and Distribution Center, later known as the Barbara Jordan Post Office, was completed in 1962 on the north side of Buffalo Bayou, on ground once occupied by Houston's Grand Central Station and its rail successors. Designed by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson in the New Formalist style, with concrete, marble, glass, and aluminum, the complex sorted mail for a fast-growing region and was used by the U.S. Postal Service until 2015. It is listed on the National Register for its role in government and its architecture. Beginning in 2019, developer Lovett Commercial and architects OMA / Jason Long transformed the 500,000 square foot mail sorting warehouse into POST Houston, which opened to the public in November 2021. Paths carved through the massive concrete building now lead to a food hall, a concert venue, shops, workspaces, and a large rooftop park and farm overlooking downtown.

Climate risks tracked

The site sits near Buffalo Bayou and the confluence with White Oak Bayou, close to areas that flood when the bayous rise during major storms. Keeping electrical, mechanical, and food service equipment above flood levels and protecting lower openings help the building recover quickly after high water. The five acre rooftop park and farm is one of the building's most important climate features, absorbing rainfall and cooling a vast concrete roof that would otherwise trap heat. Maintaining the roof's waterproofing beneath the plantings protects the historic structure. The long New Formalist facades and large openings need periodic inspection for hurricane wind loads, and repairs should match the original concrete and marble materials.

Use the preservation assistant to talk through retrofit strategies for these specific threats.

Location

Nearby landmarks

• 1913 · Beaux-Arts

  Rice Hotel

• 1926 · Spanish Renaissance Revival

  Julia Ideson Building

• 1927 · Italian Renaissance Revival

  Niels Esperson Building

• 1924 · Commercial / Chicago School

  Sam Houston Hotel