American General Center

The American General Center is a complex of several office buildings in Neartown Houston, Texas located along Allen Parkway.[1][2] It is owned by AIG American General.

America Tower
General information
Location2929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas
Coordinates29°45′39″N 95°23′51″W
Completed1983
OwnerAIG American General
Height
Roof590 ft (180 m)
Technical details
Floor count42
Design and construction
ArchitectLloyd Jones Brewer and Associates
Main contractorW.S. Bellows Construction Corporation

The America Tower is a 590 ft (180m) tall skyscraper. It was completed in 1983 and has 42 floors. It is the 19th tallest building in the city. It serves as the headquarters of Baker Hughes.[3] It served as the former headquarters of Continental Airlines; it now houses AIG American General and BDO USA, LLP. The other buildings include the Life Building, the Wortham Tower, the Woodson Tower (a.k.a. the Liberty Tower), and the Riviana Building.[4]

History

On July 1, 1983 Continental Airlines's headquarters were located at the America Tower, and would remain there until relocation to Downtown Houston in 1998 and 1999.[1][5][6][7][8] Stephen M. Wolf, the president of Continental said that the company moved its headquarters because Houston became the largest hub for Continental.[9] During the existence of Texas Air Corporation in the 1980s, it had its headquarters in the America Tower.[10] In September 1997 Continental announced that it would move its headquarters to Continental Center I.[11] Continental had occupied around 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) in space in the America Tower before its lease expired in July 1998.[12]

In 1998 Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, announced that it would consolidate its existing Downtown Houston and suburban workforces into 153,000 square feet (14,200 m2) in the America Tower, with more than 1,100 employees based in the space. Lynn Cook of the Houston Business Journal described this as "an astonishing number for the size of Andersen Consulting's lease."[2] In 1999 Cushman & Wakefield, a realty firm, moved its Houston office into the America Tower from the Wells Fargo Tower of Four Oaks Place in Uptown Houston. As of 1999 the building was 99% leased.[13]

Tenants

American General Life Companies has offices in the America Tower.[14]

American General Life Insurance Company is headquartered in the Life Building.[15]

Ebro Foods North America Riviana & New World Pasta is in the Riviana Building.[16][17] The Consulate-General of Norway in Houston was in Suite 1185 in the Riviana Building.[4][18] It is now located in another location in Neartown.[19]

  • Four of the towers of the American General Center

See also

References
  1. Neartown Super Neighborhood; the Neartown Association now shows the super neighborhood boundaries as of 06/04/2019 and previously had its own boundaries circa 2008 to 2018 (Retrieved October 20, 2008)
  2. Cook, Lynn. "Andersen Consulting sets up new `hoteling' headquarters." Houston Business Journal. Friday February 19, 1999. Retrieved on August 22, 2009.
  3. "Contact Us - Baker Hughes Global Headquarters Offices." Baker Hughes. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.
  4. "American General Center." Drillinginfo. Retrieved on August 23, 2009.
  5. "Insurer to Buy Continental Stock." Associated Press at Toledo Blade. Wednesday March 16, 1983. Page 4. Google News 3 of 52. Retrieved on August 22, 2009.
  6. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 71." Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
  7. World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 22–28, 1995. 64.
  8. "Company History 1978 to 1990 Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine." Continental Airlines. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  9. "Continental Moving Offices to Houston." Associated Press at The Blade. Saturday February 12, 1983. Page 15. Google News 8 of 16. Retrieved on February 15, 2010.
  10. "TEXAS AIR PLAYS ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE GAME OF TAKEOVER." Miami Herald. March 2, 1986. 1A Front. Retrieved on November 13, 2009.
  11. "Company History 1991 to 2000 Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine." Continental Airlines. Retrieved on February 11, 2009.
  12. Rutledge, Tanya. "Continental picks Cullen Center as destination for downtown HQ." Houston Business Journal. Friday January 31, 1997. Retrieved on August 23, 2009.
  13. Bivins, Ralph. "Ex-mayor Lanier relocating real estate office downtown." Houston Chronicle. Sunday November 14, 1999. Business 8. Retrieved on November 12, 2009.
  14. "Cancellation/Full Surrender Information." American General Life Companies. Retrieved on February 20, 2010.
  15. "Whole Life Insurance." American General Life Insurance Company. Retrieved on February 20, 2010.
  16. "United States." Ebro Foods. Retrieved on February 11, 2012. "Ebro North America Riviana & New World Pasta HOUSTON 2777 Allen Parkway Houston, Texas 77019-2141"
  17. "Contact Us Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine." Riviana Foods. Retrieved on February 11, 2012. "Headquarters: Riviana Foods Inc. 2777 Allen Parkway Houston, Texas 77019-2141"
  18. "Welcome to the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Houston." Consulate-General of Norway in Houston. April 25, 2008. Retrieved on February 20, 2009.
  19. "About the Consulate General in Houston." Norway in the United States. Retrieved on February 20, 2010.
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