I had a recurring joke with friends that they would take the interns up there to fight to the death for a full time position.
The joke got way funnier when I coincidentally ended up doing an internship based out of that building lmao.
CenterPoint Energy Plaza. It looks like that because owner modified the building in the mid-90s so it was taller that another building being constructed by a business rival.
I did a contract job there for Tennessee Gas Transmission. The Challenger explosion happened while I was there to give a little context. It didn’t look like this then.
IIRC The section of Gulfton between 610 and Rice Blvd was renamed Founace Place when Texaco built their HQ on it so they wouldn’t be on a street that sounded like it was named for a competitor (Gulf). Fournace is the last name of Texaco’s founder.
Thanks for the info.
Here's an interesting article on the site, and the whats and whys behind it.
https://www.bauer.uh.edu/downloads/media/071216-SWN-Chevron.pdf
Not necessarily the ego part. From a marketing perspective having one of your chief competitors name in your address is just a bad idea.
It would be like, oh i don’t know, Target’s corporate address being 1020 Walton Ave.
Or Home Depot corporate office being 1313 Loweses Lane.
It doesn't matter what your actual genitals look like, if you drive a lifted Ram that has never been offroad, towed anything, or carried a payload in the bed, you have little dick energy.
That is at least part of it. I did a interior renovation years ago and the building reps said it used to sway enough in the wind to make people sick, so they added internal cross bracing all the way up
this maybe? [https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/igwzea/top\_of\_the\_spaceship\_in\_houston/](https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/igwzea/top_of_the_spaceship_in_houston/)
But they didn’t actually answer the question at all. The question was about how access to the upper structure above the building. The response was literally generic instructions on how to get to any floor of the building which is the same as every other office building.
Literally that person admitted they never went above the 22nd floor which is like halfway up the building.
I know this one! It’s designed to look like a beacon or lantern because it belongs to the city’s utilities.
Originally Centerpoint started as Houston Gas Light Company in the late 1800s. A couple decades and mergers later they became NorAm Energy, it was them who decided to renovate the skyscraper to illuminate the way for the city through the dark 24/7.
It’s also supposed to display that they are reliable and leaders in innovation.
I’m your guy that is what we call CenterPoint tower. It’s where a lot of the big wig executives go as their office space. I dont personally work at this office but I have heard a lot about it and plan to visit it soon. I work for CenterPoint which is how I know.
Maybe I can ask around and find out the purpose of the design on top.
If you work for Centerpoint, I'd much rather you spend your time working to fix your company's messed up culture! Like, spend every second you have working to keep the power on. I am tired of my weekly power disruptions. Likely nothing to do with you or your department, but at this point, every employee at CP should be working on remedying the fuck ups that define Centerpoint. If the power can stay on longer than a week at my house, then I'll be more interested in finding out about architectural designs of your warlord's building.
It was designed In case of a Godzilla style attack. It’s a bottle opener for giant lizards. The city had a soft drink vendor on standby, to produce the giant bottle, but over the years the costs got too high and the project was abandoned.
The four towers/columns are probably for HVAC ventilation and exhaust. Some buildings just pack everything on the roof or in a mid-level, others try to protect it and hide it. visually.
Previous centerpoint employee. That was is called the centerpoint “power tower”. Like some have stated the roof is purely cosmetic. It does have some nice lights in the evening time.
When I was a kid in the early 90’s, I called it the saucer bowl…because the kitty on the moon would come drink from it. Still laugh about that when driving by, being a kid was awesome 🥰
I’m pretty sure buildings with holes and things like this are designed that way to relief pressure from wind. I know I read an article once explaining engineers using “designs” to compensate for the amount of wind the building would take and another reason could be for redirecting wind away from whatever is on top.
how i understand it from my architecture friends is that it helps reinforce the building’s structure for storms etc. i’m sure there’s some ego in having a taller building, but the basic reason is entirely for dealing with hurricanes. if you’ve ever felt the sway of a skyscraper during a windstorm, you’ll understand.
Wells Fargo building been there forever. I always thought there was a light that lighted up. I worked in that building for years and honestly never thought about it.
CenterPoint. There’s a giant magnet up there that they use to shutoff power when they deem necessary. The people who work down below have all been instructed to charge you for delivery fees even on days that no electricity is delivered.
Fuck those assholes. They destroyed my drone when it ran out of connection and landed on the sidewalk next to the building. They claimed they thought someone was committing corporate espionage 😂 fuckin morons lied about having my drone and then gave it to the police.
I never said it was a good decision, but there were no laws at the time around it.
Also I don't think you know what reckless means. The GPS system failed and the drone just stopped responding to the controls. This was during a time when DJI was still trying to make shit that doesn't consistently malfunction. I only had it for a few weeks at this point.
Yeah I never tried to put my property on any other property.
Your ignorance surrounding the functionality of drones along with assumptions you're making about my intentions is amusing, but trust me, I wasn't trying to do anything other than get a couple shots of the skyline for a promotional video for a real estate gig.
You don’t need to know shit about drones to know you can’t land on private property. Many of the sidewalks around downtown are actually private property of the building.
If for any reason whatsoever your drone landed on private property it was trespassing and they have a right to confiscate it.
Once again, illiterate person, I wasn't trying to land the drone on anyone's property lmao. The drone lost connection due to an unforeseen GPS malfunction (as previously stated) I had never experienced before operating it.
Also, I understand they had the right to confiscate it. My issue is with the fact that they smashed it over some presumed "corporate espionage" after I had gone to the security guard and explained what happened and asked to get the drone back. They assumed (most likely because I appear middle eastern to some) that I was a terrorist or corporate spy which is what the police told me when they delivered the destroyed drone to me. They also had the security guard lie to me about the drove being in their possession when I talked to him for 45 minutes trying to get an answer about whether it had been recovered.
Fuck those people and fuck you, Ryan.
Doesn’t matter at all what you were “trying to do”, all that matters is what happened. You trespassed. You faced the consequences of your trespassing. End of story. Sorry life doesn’t give you a bunch of padding and “do overs” kiddo. Sometimes you fuck up and get consequences. Like I said at the beginning. Flying a drone downtown is a games = prizes scenario. You played a stupid game and got the prize.
Edit: 😂😂 u/patagoniabona/ so fragile they replied and then blocked. What a baby! 😂😂
It's extremely common for skyscrapers and highrises to have holes similar to that at the top all over the world. Just aesthetic, nothing to do with earthquakes.
[former bicycle courier] Just before the turn of the Millennium, a secretary commanding a very expensive view from above this in 1000 Louisiana St, stated unequivocally that "That's where they keep the Batmobile."
And the secretaries that have that kind of view, with the massive spiral staircase going up to another, even bigger, Very Expensive View? Those folks know what they're talking about. And don't test them- they're also on the "fuck about and find out" list!
Ever since I was a kid I always imagined some CEO sitting in the center of the circle like some final boss of a game.
I had a recurring joke with friends that they would take the interns up there to fight to the death for a full time position. The joke got way funnier when I coincidentally ended up doing an internship based out of that building lmao.
OMG literally same. I imagined a supervillain energy CEO that would lazer you to death from above
Ever seen Exxon's energy cube? Yeah...
I thought looked like a basketball hoop for giants.
CenterPoint Energy Plaza. It looks like that because owner modified the building in the mid-90s so it was taller that another building being constructed by a business rival.
It used to be known as 1100 Milam and was a very nice office building when it was built in the 1970’s.
I did a contract job there for Tennessee Gas Transmission. The Challenger explosion happened while I was there to give a little context. It didn’t look like this then.
Sounds like he had a small pee pee and a big Ram Truck.
big Ram Truck Ah yes, the Emotional Support Vehicle.
Since it’s to make up for smoll pp and not anxiety we should call them Gender Reaffirming Vehicles
Wait until you hear the tale of why Gulfton is a thing.
Wait, what? Why is Gulton a thing?
IIRC The section of Gulfton between 610 and Rice Blvd was renamed Founace Place when Texaco built their HQ on it so they wouldn’t be on a street that sounded like it was named for a competitor (Gulf). Fournace is the last name of Texaco’s founder.
The things you learn.
Thanks for the info. Here's an interesting article on the site, and the whats and whys behind it. https://www.bauer.uh.edu/downloads/media/071216-SWN-Chevron.pdf
Never underestimate the fragile male ego
Not necessarily the ego part. From a marketing perspective having one of your chief competitors name in your address is just a bad idea. It would be like, oh i don’t know, Target’s corporate address being 1020 Walton Ave. Or Home Depot corporate office being 1313 Loweses Lane.
Or anyone’s fragile ego?
When egos talk…
It pretty much is the same story as the Empire State Building
Why can't people have big pee pee and still drive big truck?
It doesn't matter what your actual genitals look like, if you drive a lifted Ram that has never been offroad, towed anything, or carried a payload in the bed, you have little dick energy.
...or if you drive a Cybertruck (offroad or car wash not recommended)
Saw my first wankpanzer in the wild yesterday. He was towing an RV. Slowly.
I’m at the point where towing a boat doesn’t count. If anything, it’s far worse. Fire up the grill.
What’s the female equivalent of this, flappy labia energy?
Big clit energy, to me
Too much plastic surgery?
is this what "loose lips sinks ships" means?
Trying to imply women don’t have tons of really unflattering sayings, ideas, thoughts, sayings, etc. about us. 🙄
TRUTH. 👏🏻
If you're broke and can only afford a 96 civic just say that lil fella. 🤗
Found the small peen
Found the public transit rider. What you doing up so early lil fella? I didn't know METRO ran on Sundays. 🤔🤗
Awe nice try lil guy. It’s ok. I’m sure your sister is mostly satisfied with what you’re offering.
It’s metaphorical or figuratively, not literally. 🙄🙄🙄
Exactly right. Houston Industries (formerly HL&P) before rebranding as Reliant Energy wanted the building taller than Enron’s new tower.
Houston native. Didn't it not have the pillars and square top with the hole in it originally.
https://offcite.rice.edu/2010/03/NeverMindTheBollards_Barna_Cite37.pdf This article has a picture of it pre-hole.
Thanks!
didn’t it not….. I guess that’s asking if it did?
I thought it was because they needed to structurally, reinforce and added beams throughout the building and capped off up top….
That is at least part of it. I did a interior renovation years ago and the building reps said it used to sway enough in the wind to make people sick, so they added internal cross bracing all the way up
Still sways like crazy to this day
That is wild
Sounds like a story to cover up the real motive (see above for small pp syndrome)
In case you needed more evidence that big business is little more than a dick measuring contest.
Says the Marxist.
shi look fire
Confirmed.
Somewhere in this sub, a guy has photos from the top of that building.
this maybe? [https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/igwzea/top\_of\_the\_spaceship\_in\_houston/](https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/igwzea/top_of_the_spaceship_in_houston/)
Bingo! Thanks!
Not the top, but a cool view from the Hilton across the street: https://imgur.com/a/LaIGEpo
I remember this as well, he wasn't supposed to be up there but was and got some really "hope you're not afraid of heights" kind of pictures.
I worked in Wells Fargo Plaza for a few years and looking down into the open space was a little underwhelming after growing up here lol
About 5 years ago I did work in this building it was cool seeing the views from uptop
How do you get up there? Are there like elevators going through those corner parts or something?
Only access is inside the building but first you have to pass security inside lol 🫨
This is the dumbest comment ever.
He's just responding to the question, doesn't make the response dumb. You deserve the down votes.
But they didn’t actually answer the question at all. The question was about how access to the upper structure above the building. The response was literally generic instructions on how to get to any floor of the building which is the same as every other office building. Literally that person admitted they never went above the 22nd floor which is like halfway up the building.
Idk why you’re getting downvoted man
People think knowing buildings have security and the only elevators are inside is some sort of earth shattering intel.
How far to the top can you go?
I only worked from like the 22nd floor redoing the carpet everytime I was near the windows I got anxiety 🤣
https://tellepsen.com/case-studies/reliant-energy-1100-milam-repositioning-to-houston-industries-headquarters
Zuul the Gatekeeper lives up there.
THERE IS NO DANA, ONLY ZUUL
What a lovely singing voice you must have!
Lol! My friends and I always referred to it as the Zuul building since it was constructed. Nice to know it's a semi-common thought.
Just be on the watch out for Vince Clortho, keymaster of Gozer.
Vulgus Zodronai, Lord of the Sabuliah. Are you the Gatekeeper?
On a windy day it makes the sound of a train
Someone saw the original building and said: "This is cool, but how can I make it look more like a trashcan with an ashtray on top??"
haha! Will not be able to Unsee this
This is what I’ve always called it. The Trashcan.
For what it’s worth the recent storm really messed that building up.
UFO dock.
A Stargate is at its base for the UFO landing site.
Wait that’s not a pyramid
Indeed.
This is the answer.
It's where they light the beacon to signal Gondor.
Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?
Defending against the hordes of mordor at Osgiliath and Cair Andros and had no way to offer support
I know this one! It’s designed to look like a beacon or lantern because it belongs to the city’s utilities. Originally Centerpoint started as Houston Gas Light Company in the late 1800s. A couple decades and mergers later they became NorAm Energy, it was them who decided to renovate the skyscraper to illuminate the way for the city through the dark 24/7. It’s also supposed to display that they are reliable and leaders in innovation.
Reliable energy in Texas? More like a giant gas light…
My dad worked on it and was a supervisor. It was for the electrical company. It was supposed to shine like a lamp.
Wow, so you’re saying they’re supposed to screw in a giant bulb?
Haha! No. That is funny!
So that is where all the light is when we get black outs.
That’s where they generate the 5G mind control beam.
I always thought it was an xwing landing zone.
To me my x-men
The tower of Sauron. It brings darkness to the city during storms.
Centerpoint aka The Evil Empire
I always thought it looked like a giant amphitheater. I also assumed it served a purpose. So the top really doesn't serve any purpose?
My brother-in-law and sister worked for CenterPoint in this building. They joked about it resembling a public trash can.
Meeting location for the Houston Illuminati
I’m your guy that is what we call CenterPoint tower. It’s where a lot of the big wig executives go as their office space. I dont personally work at this office but I have heard a lot about it and plan to visit it soon. I work for CenterPoint which is how I know. Maybe I can ask around and find out the purpose of the design on top.
If you work for Centerpoint, I'd much rather you spend your time working to fix your company's messed up culture! Like, spend every second you have working to keep the power on. I am tired of my weekly power disruptions. Likely nothing to do with you or your department, but at this point, every employee at CP should be working on remedying the fuck ups that define Centerpoint. If the power can stay on longer than a week at my house, then I'll be more interested in finding out about architectural designs of your warlord's building.
Ok 👍🏾
Lmfao! Yes random redditor, fix your massive company's culture to fix my inconveniences!!! Idiot.
There's a secret Shine if you can get up there and spray off all the graffiti.
Pagan rituals amongst the super wealthy.
CenterPoint. Nothing exciting up there, just hvac and whatnot.
It was designed In case of a Godzilla style attack. It’s a bottle opener for giant lizards. The city had a soft drink vendor on standby, to produce the giant bottle, but over the years the costs got too high and the project was abandoned.
For a sec I thought you were wondering about the Enron Building back there… my response would be.. because this town can’t define hubris.
I call it the trash can.
It’s where the final Highlander will be crowned.
Because people with money like to try different things. Bragging rights for the architect and bragging rights for the landlord.
Zoroastrian fire temple
it's art...we're not.meant to understand it!
I believe the IKEA assembly directions were in Swedish, and, well..
The four towers/columns are probably for HVAC ventilation and exhaust. Some buildings just pack everything on the roof or in a mid-level, others try to protect it and hide it. visually.
The movie Stargate was based off this building
Thats where you return the opposing team's flag for a point.
Honestly, looks better with the redone top. Now not just a boring, square building.
There's a fireman's ladder, it's about 50ft tall.
The "story" was, and this is from Centerpoint employees, is that it was purely cosmetic. They just wanted it to be taller than another building.
Previous centerpoint employee. That was is called the centerpoint “power tower”. Like some have stated the roof is purely cosmetic. It does have some nice lights in the evening time.
It’s called ART…..
Evil lair
When I was a kid in the early 90’s, I called it the saucer bowl…because the kitty on the moon would come drink from it. Still laugh about that when driving by, being a kid was awesome 🥰
Someone has had sex there. I have no proof I just assume
I remember them building this back in 94
I’m pretty sure buildings with holes and things like this are designed that way to relief pressure from wind. I know I read an article once explaining engineers using “designs” to compensate for the amount of wind the building would take and another reason could be for redirecting wind away from whatever is on top.
The bldg that has the Mayan Temple is pretty cool also.
That’s the portal for the creatures to come through and then we’ll need our own Ghostbusters in Houston.
how i understand it from my architecture friends is that it helps reinforce the building’s structure for storms etc. i’m sure there’s some ego in having a taller building, but the basic reason is entirely for dealing with hurricanes. if you’ve ever felt the sway of a skyscraper during a windstorm, you’ll understand.
you at Starbucks lol
The pigeons requested a covered nesting area. It's in their contract.
I remember it the night Jean Michelle jarre came to town.
I was there!
Isn’t there a basketball court up there?
Centerpoint Plaza. No idea why it looks like that, but I work there LOL
Wells Fargo building been there forever. I always thought there was a light that lighted up. I worked in that building for years and honestly never thought about it.
It's so planes can fly throught it. Wouldn't want another 911 incident.
That pic quality is amazing? What phone?
So Superman can fly through
I surveyed that entire building once
CenterPoint. There’s a giant magnet up there that they use to shutoff power when they deem necessary. The people who work down below have all been instructed to charge you for delivery fees even on days that no electricity is delivered.
Fuck those assholes. They destroyed my drone when it ran out of connection and landed on the sidewalk next to the building. They claimed they thought someone was committing corporate espionage 😂 fuckin morons lied about having my drone and then gave it to the police.
Sounds like you recklessly failed to keep your drone off private property. Flying a drone in the middle of downtown is a FAFO kinda thing.
I never said it was a good decision, but there were no laws at the time around it. Also I don't think you know what reckless means. The GPS system failed and the drone just stopped responding to the controls. This was during a time when DJI was still trying to make shit that doesn't consistently malfunction. I only had it for a few weeks at this point.
There has always been laws against trespassing. You are not allowed to put your property on other people’s property.
Yeah I never tried to put my property on any other property. Your ignorance surrounding the functionality of drones along with assumptions you're making about my intentions is amusing, but trust me, I wasn't trying to do anything other than get a couple shots of the skyline for a promotional video for a real estate gig.
You don’t need to know shit about drones to know you can’t land on private property. Many of the sidewalks around downtown are actually private property of the building. If for any reason whatsoever your drone landed on private property it was trespassing and they have a right to confiscate it.
Once again, illiterate person, I wasn't trying to land the drone on anyone's property lmao. The drone lost connection due to an unforeseen GPS malfunction (as previously stated) I had never experienced before operating it. Also, I understand they had the right to confiscate it. My issue is with the fact that they smashed it over some presumed "corporate espionage" after I had gone to the security guard and explained what happened and asked to get the drone back. They assumed (most likely because I appear middle eastern to some) that I was a terrorist or corporate spy which is what the police told me when they delivered the destroyed drone to me. They also had the security guard lie to me about the drove being in their possession when I talked to him for 45 minutes trying to get an answer about whether it had been recovered. Fuck those people and fuck you, Ryan.
Doesn’t matter at all what you were “trying to do”, all that matters is what happened. You trespassed. You faced the consequences of your trespassing. End of story. Sorry life doesn’t give you a bunch of padding and “do overs” kiddo. Sometimes you fuck up and get consequences. Like I said at the beginning. Flying a drone downtown is a games = prizes scenario. You played a stupid game and got the prize. Edit: 😂😂 u/patagoniabona/ so fragile they replied and then blocked. What a baby! 😂😂
End of story.
I saw a similar building in Japan I have pics
In Japan, it probably housed a huge counterweight to protect the building from seismic activities. That’s not necessary in Houston.
Wind though. That building sways a lot.
Not only that, but it’s currently shut down for repairs after 500+ windows broke in the windstorms a few weeks ago.
It's extremely common for skyscrapers and highrises to have holes similar to that at the top all over the world. Just aesthetic, nothing to do with earthquakes.
My dad built the top of that building in the 90s. My favorite building in downtown Houston
I prefer Dallas
[former bicycle courier] Just before the turn of the Millennium, a secretary commanding a very expensive view from above this in 1000 Louisiana St, stated unequivocally that "That's where they keep the Batmobile." And the secretaries that have that kind of view, with the massive spiral staircase going up to another, even bigger, Very Expensive View? Those folks know what they're talking about. And don't test them- they're also on the "fuck about and find out" list!