Houston City Hall and Market House

The city block bordered by Congress, Milam, Preston, and Travis streets has been known as “Market Square” since 1839. In 1841 the very first City Hall was built on the block.

In 1873, the original 1841 City Hall + market house was replaced by a new building. This version, number 2, only only stood for 3 years until it was consumed by fire in 1876. The same year, a 3rd City and Market House was built.

The 1876 City Hall and Market House occupied the block until yet another fire destroyed it in 1901. Three market houses, three fires.

The fourth and final City Hall & Market House was constructed in 1904. This one stood for the longest amount of time, surviving until 1960, and is the one seen in the photo directly above. I’ll give you one hot, flamin‘ guess as to what caused #4 to meet its demise in 1960. 😉

Afterwards, the city of Houston gave up on Market Houses and the property sat as a parking lot until it was turned into a park in 1976. The version of Market Square Park that Houstonians are familiar with today was constructed in three phases between 1987 and 2010.