Join Apra Greater Houston for a
Houston Civic Center and Theater District
Walking Tour with Preservation Houston
Join us for a 90-minute walking tour of of the Houston Civic Center and Theater District. In the late 1920s, landscape architects Hare & Hare imagined a Spanish-inspired civic complex for Houston. The Depression derailed those plans, and over the next five decades the city’s civic and cultural core was built up in an eclectic showcase of styles. This 90-minute, docent-led tour traces that evolution through landmarks such as Ralph Adams Cram’s Julia Ideson Library, Joseph Finger’s Art Deco City Hall, Tranquility Park commemorating the 1969 moon landing, and Ulrich Franzen’s boldly modern Alley Theatre. Along the way, we’ll explore how shifting tastes, ambitions and priorities shaped the Civic Center and Theater District into the layered architectural landscape we see today.
Please register so that we can plan accordingly!
Date: Friday, October 24, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Price: $15 for both members and nonmembers
Meet at: Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza (between the HPL Central Library and the Julia Ideson Library buildings at 500 McKinney)
Questions?: aprahouston@gmail.com
