Heritage Plaza, Houston

Heritage Plaza is a notable postmodern skyscraper situated in the Skyline District of downtown Houston. It has a height of 762 feet, making it the 5th-tallest building in Houston, the 8th-tallest in Texas, and the 60th-tallest in the United States. The building was designed by Houston-based M. Nasr & Partners P.C. and completed in 1987, with 53 floors and 1,150,000 square feet of leaseable space.

Interestingly, Heritage Plaza was constructed at a challenging time when the Texas real estate, banking, and oil industries were experiencing a collapse in the 1980s. However, despite the harsh economic conditions, the building was completed as the last major office building in downtown Houston. It served as the US headquarters of Texaco for 12 years before becoming the US headquarters of the ChevronTexaco corporation in 2001.

The unique architectural design of Heritage Plaza is also noteworthy. The building features a stepped granite crown that resembles a Mayan pyramid. This design was inspired by the architect's visit to the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula. The crown of the building is also said to resemble an image of a bald eagle spreading its wings.

Inside, the lobby of Heritage Plaza features Mexican influences, and the lower levels of the building contain a large food court with a distinctive multi-level marble waterfall that falls from the lobby. It is one of the few skyscrapers in downtown Houston that is not directly connected to the Houston tunnel network, but it is connected to the DoubleTree Hotel Houston-Allen Center through a skyway.