Where the building information comes from
The records and reference works behind every profile
Each profile (year built, architect, style, designations, significance, and climate exposure) is assembled from the public records and reference works below. Where accounts differ, the official designation record is treated as authoritative.
Official designation records
Used for landmark status, listing dates, addresses, and construction dates.
- National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service
Nomination forms give the fullest documented history for federally listed buildings, including dates, architects, and period of significance.
- Texas Historical Commission, Historic Sites Atlas
State Antiquities Landmarks, Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, and official historical marker text.
- City of Houston Historic Preservation, Planning and Development
City of Houston Landmark, Protected Landmark, and historic district designations reviewed by the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission.
Architectural and local history
Used for style attribution, architect credits, and the significance write-ups.
- Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association
Peer-reviewed encyclopedia entries on Houston institutions, neighborhoods, and figures.
- Preservation Houston
The city's preservation advocacy nonprofit, and its published building histories and tour research.
- Houston Mod
Documentation of Houston's mid-century and modern architecture, including buildings not yet formally designated.
- Houston Architectural Guide, AIA Houston (Stephen Fox)
The standard printed reference on Houston buildings, used for style and architect attribution.
Archives, drawings, and photographs
Used for construction history, original appearance, and imagery.
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS/HAER), Library of Congress
Measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories in the public domain.
- Houston Public Library Digital Archives
The Houston Metropolitan Research Center's photographs, maps, and clipping files.
- Wikimedia Commons
Source of most exterior photographs on this site, each credited individually on the image credits page.
Climate risk and resilience guidance
Used for the flood, surge, heat, and storm exposure shown on each profile, and for retrofit guidance.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Flood zone and base flood elevation data for each landmark's location.
- Harris County Flood Control District
Bayou watershed studies and local flood history, including Hurricane Harvey inundation.
- NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Sea Level Rise Viewer
Storm surge and coastal inundation scenarios for the upper Texas coast.
- The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, NPS
The framework behind the character-preserving and requires-review labels on assistant suggestions.
- NPS Preservation Briefs
Technical guidance on moisture, masonry, windows, and roofing used for retrofit recommendations.
Profiles are summaries written for this site rather than quotations from these sources. If you spot an error in a date, architect, or designation, the designation records listed above are the right place to check first. Photographs are credited individually on the image credits page.