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Advance ticket purchase is required for this tour.
Houston is a big city, but at its heart is a feature shared with small towns across Texas: a courthouse square. The blocks surrounding the Harris County Courthouse hold some of downtown’s oldest buildings and stories that reach back to the city’s earliest years.
Join Preservation Houston at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, for a 90-minute, docent-guided walk through the Courthouse District. We’ll explore the architecture of this historic neighborhood and share stories of the people and institutions that shaped it.
The 1910 Harris County Courthouse stands at the center of a district that has served as a seat of government since Houston’s early days. Nearby are buildings that have witnessed generations of change, including the c. 1858 Pillot Building and Christ Church Cathedral, whose congregation has occupied its site on Texas Avenue since 1839.
Along the way, we’ll hear stories of county government and visit the area once known as Quality Hill, where some of Houston’s most prominent residents built their homes in the 19th century. We’ll also see how preservation has given new life to historic buildings around the square.
This is an exterior architecture tour. We will not go inside any buildings, and there are no public restrooms along the route.
Registration and pricing
Admission is $15 for the general public and $10 for Preservation Houston members and students. Children 11 and under are admitted free.
Advance tickets are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot accommodate walk-ups on the day of the tour. Tickets are nonrefundable.
About the tour
We’ll email parking and check-in details to registrants. Check-in begins at 1:30 p.m., and groups depart as they form. The last group will begin shortly after 2 p.m.
If inclement weather prevents us from offering the tour as planned, we’ll contact registrants as far in advance as possible with options to attend a rescheduled tour or transfer their reservations to another Preservation Houston tour.
Have an Architecture Walks pass?
If you received a pass for a free Architecture Walk when you joined Preservation Houston, you may redeem it for this tour. Email tours@preservationhouston.org, and we’ll be happy to help.
Passes are redeemable subject to ticket availability.