Cotton Exchange Building: then and now

1907 vs 2010 · Houston, TX

NowThen

Then, 1907A hand-colored postcard of the building after its 1907 remodel, with a street and shops beside it.Photo: Rotograph Co. · Public domain · Source · resized, cropped

Today, 2010The red-brick building with its decorative brick and big trees beside it.Photo: Ed Uthman · CC BY 3.0 · Source · resized

The story

The Houston Cotton Exchange and Board of Trade hired local architect Eugene Heiner to design a three-story building at the corner of Travis and Franklin. It was built in 1884.

In 1907 the building was remodeled and a fourth floor was added. The Houston Cotton Exchange kept using it until 1924, when it moved to a new building at Prairie and Caroline.

In 1973 John Hannah and Jesse Edmundson III bought the building and restored it. They sold it in 1983. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Did you know? The exchange moved out in 1924.

Historians argue about this. Many people think the building has always had four floors. Wikipedia says it began with three.

Fact or tall tale?

SolidThe Cotton Exchange Building was built in 1884.
Wikipedia: built in 1884.
Not trueThe building has always had four floors.
The fourth floor was added in 1907.

Sources

More: Look for historic photos at the Library of Congress

Stamp it in person

Go there, answer the question that only someone standing at Cotton Exchange Building can answer, and add the stamp to your passport. Free, no sign-up.

Play Houston

More in Houston

Next: The Rice (Rice Hotel). Written from the cited sources, not yet walked on site unless noted.