Points of View (Surls)

Market Square Park is a public park in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is bounded by Travis, Milam, Congress and Preston streets. It has remained a geographic centerpiece of Downtown Houston since the arrival of the city's founders, John Kirby and Augustus Chapman Allen in 1836.The square was donated to the city in 1854 by Augustus Allen and used as an open air produce market. Very near Allen's Landing, the original port of Houston, the downtown business district grew around the square. Early city landmarks included the briefly used Texas Capitol and White House. In addition, several City Halls rose and fell at Market Square, each destroyed by fire.The historic square is surrounded by 19th century architecture, housing a variety of businesses, entertainment venues, nightclubs and dining establishments. Market Square is located directly between Allen's Landing and the Theater District.It is a central feature of the Main Street/Market Square Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Main Street Market Square Historic District is a historic district in Houston, Texas that includes the Market Square Park. It includes buildings nearby, as well as the square itself. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Kennedy Bakery, located at 813 Congress Street in Houston, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 1979. The historic property in downtown Houston faces Market Square and lies within the Main Street Market Square Historic District. It is probably the "oldest Houston building existing on its original site.": 2 

The W. L. Foley Building at 214-218 Travis St. in Houston, Texas was originally built in 1860 and reconstructed after a fire in 1889. The reconstruction was designed by architect Eugene T. Heiner. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It burned a second time in 1989 and was reconstructed by artist and architect Lee Benner in 1994.

Market Square Tower is a residential high rise in downtown Houston, Texas, USA. It is 502 feet (153 m) with 40 floors and 463 apartments. The building began construction in 2014 and was completed in early 2017. At the time of groundbreaking, the building was the largest residential building in downtown in number of units and floors. The building is noted for a glass bottom pool that protrudes from the side of the building near the top, known as the Sky Pool. The pool, which cantilevers about 10 feet (3.0 m) over the edge, is the highest pool in Texas.

Sky Pool is a swimming pool in Houston, Texas, United States. Constructed on top of the Market Square Tower apartment complex, it is billed as the "tallest" pool in Texas. The pool extends out 10 feet (3.0 m) past the building into the air; this portion is made of 8-inch (20 cm) thick plexiglas so swimmers can view the city below from 500 feet (150 m) above the ground. It is supported by two concrete cantilevers, one on each side. The tower and pool, finished in November 2016, were designed by Jackson and Ryan Architects.

The Cotton Exchange Building is a historic building located in downtown Houston. Built in 1884, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Houston Cotton Exchange and Board of Trade commissioned local architect Eugene Heiner to design a three-story building on Travis Street at the corner of Franklin in Houston. In 1907, the building was remodeled and a fourth floor added. The Houston Cotton Exchange continued to use the building until it moved its operations to a new building several blocks away at Prairie and Caroline in 1924.John Hannah and Jesse Edmundson, III purchased the Cotton Exchange Building in 1973. They restored the building and sold it in 1983. Preservation Houston acknowledged Hannah's restoration work in 1979 with a Good Brick Award.

Preston is a station on the METRORail Red Line in Houston, Texas (USA). The station is located at Main Street and Preston Street in Downtown Houston. This was the 2nd station heading south along the rail line, but the rail has expanded further north as of spring, 2014. This station is located in the Northern, Historic part of Downtown Houston.

The State National Bank Building is a high-rise office building located at 412 Main Street in downtown Houston, Texas. Designed by architect Alfred Charles Finn, the building was built in 1923 in the Spanish colonial style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 1982.

The Texas Company Building, located at 1111 Rusk (720 Jacinto) in Houston, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 2, 2003.The 13-story structure opened in 1915 as home of the Texas Company. The New York firm of Warren and Wetmore designed the building in the Renaissance Revival style with Beaux-Arts accents. The exterior is faced with brick, terra cotta and Bedford limestone and features vaulted arcades supported by Tuscan columns along its Rusk and San Jacinto Street façades. The Texas Company became Texaco in 1959 and continued to occupy the building until 1989 when it moved to another facility. To accommodate growth, the company expanded the structure three times between 1936 and 1975.Since the building became vacant, developers proposed several plans to reuse it, however none were successful. In 2011, a development consortium created a plan for approximately 300 apartments with retail space and parking. They began work in 2013 and have demolished part of the structure but kept the 13-story section, the 1936 annex and the 16-story expansion added in 1958. Eventual plans call for a 38-story tower behind the historic structure.The management expects to open the completed building at the end of 2015.

Hotel ICON is a boutique hotel located in downtown Houston, Texas, USA. The hotel is part of Marriott International's Autograph Collection Hotels. Located in the former Union National Bank building that was constructed in 1911, the hotel was designed by San Francisco design firm Candra Scott & Anderson at the cost of $35 million. The 12-story hotel features 135 guest rooms and nine individually designed signature suites that include custom-designed period furnishings and décor with original artwork.

The Henry Brashear Building is a Victorian-era commercial building at 910 Prairie Avenue in downtown Houston. The building was completed in 1882 under the direction of architect, Eugene T. Heiner. It was restored in 1990 and designated as a Houston landmark in 2009.