When the Greater Houston CVB (GHCVB) debuted its celebrity-voiced “My Houston” destination image campaign in 2008, Carol Colletta, then president of the nonprofit group CEOs for Cities, remarked, “Cities are the hardest branding assignment anyone will ever get. They’re very complex and they have a lot of moving parts.”
Sprawling over 620 square miles, multidimensional Houston is the model for this challenge. On the one hand, its scale means major drawing power, handling capacity and options. Yet, just how do you effectively tell Houston’s story, which is further multiplied by surrounding group-ready locales such as The Woodlands and Lake Conroe to the north, and Bay Area Houston, League City and Galveston to the south?
Launched this February, the bureau’s new campaign, “Houston Is,” seeks to answer this question by calling on chefs, artists and other local talent to express their personal views on what makes the city tick.
Another way to digest Houston is to focus on its individual districts, each distinctly different from the next.
“Only by exploring Houston’s diverse neighborhoods can you truly know this remarkable city,” says Greg Ortale, president and CEO of the GHCVB, adding that in some cases, “you can walk into entirely different surroundings just by crossing the street.”
Houston’s group orbit has several satellite centers, such as the multivenue Reliant Park convention and sports complex, 7.5 miles southwest of downtown via the expanding METRO light rail, or West Houston’s multiuse, conference-capable CityCentre development. Getting your arms around H-Town, however, starts in these primary locales, where good things await in dynamic and diverse ways. PageBreak
Downtown
Houston has two distinct downtown areas, the convention district and the historic district. While not connected, the concentrated footprint in each offers convenience and accessibility for delegates.
Resplendent in red, white and blue and evoking a huge steamship with its curving rooftop pipes, the 1.8 million-square-foot George R. Brown Convention Center anchors downtown’s eastern edge. Connected to its south side via pedestrian skybridge is Houston’s official convention hotel, the 1,200-room Hilton Americas-Houston.
A second headquarters hotel, the 1,000-room Marriott Marquis, is slated for completion in 2016. Connected to the center’s north side, the new property is part of a master plan to eventually expand the center itself and add more hotels.
Fronting the center is the 12-acre Discovery Green urban park, with two major sporting venues: Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park. Across the street from the latter, the 200-room Inn at the Ballpark will be rebranded as the Westin Houston Downtown this summer.
The Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage, a heritage tourism center, will break ground across from the convention center in late 2013.
The convention area also includes East Downtown Houston, or EaDo. Marketed as the “Art & Soul of the City,” this still-active warehouse district was Houston’s original Chinatown, from the 1930s. Forming a triangle directly behind the convention center, still-evolving EaDo features an eclectic mix of restaurants, bars, shops and event-capable venues such as Warehouse Live!
EaDo got a major boost with the May 2012 opening of the 22,000-seat, soccer-specific BBVA Compass Stadium. Home of the popular Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, the Silver LEED-certified venue offers event spaces such as Heineken Terrace, accommodating groups from 150 to 300 people.
On downtown’s north side, the historic district is buzzing with new developments. Anchoring the area is the luxurious 135-room Hotel Icon, which recently became part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection following a $5 million renovation. Originally built in 1911 as the Union National Bank Building, this top-ranked business hotel features versatile space, including a three-level penthouse suite with a rooftop terrace.
Housed in a historic 1905 building across the street, the Corinthian is one of Houston’s most prestigious event venues, accommodating 1,000 guests for dinner and close to 2,000 guests for receptions.
Anchored by the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, the 17-block Theater District features the rare combination of year-round resident companies for symphony, opera, drama and ballet.
Also creating excitement is the ongoing $58 million enhancement of Buffalo Bayou Park. The project includes the revival of the International Coffee Building (1910) at Allen’s Landing, Houston’s birthplace in 1836. Once complete in mid-2014, the $8 million renovation will feature canoe and kayak rentals and rooftop event space. PageBreak
Museum District
Art and culture are focal points of the “Houston Is” campaign, influenced by a research-based finding that visitors want to experience Houston’s “cuisine and the arts above everything else.” To be sure, the city’s creative economy is booming. According to a study from the Houston Arts Alliance and Americans for the Arts, cultural tourism contributed $977.7 million to Houston’s economy in 2011, with $563.1 million coming from audience spending on artistic and cultural events.
Joining the Theater District in a powerhouse cultural double act, Houston’s Museum District offers group resources beyond compare. Planners “curating” gatherings here will find a master collection of spaces, artistic interactions and creative interludes.
Located southwest of downtown, the pedestrian-friendly district comprises 19 museums and the Houston Zoo. Along with event facilities at the zoo, the adjacent 445-acre Hermann Park also offers facility rentals.
The admission-free Menil Collection is a singular temple for enjoying 20th century art. The Museum of Natural Science is also a hot event ticket, with stellar space including the Hall of Paleontology.
Founded in 1900, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is the state’s oldest museum. MFAH’s event spaces include Bayou Bend, a house museum for American decorative arts and paintings, and a sculpture garden.
Last fall, the event-capable Buffalo Soldiers National Museum relocated to the historic Houston Light Guard Armory, increasing space seven-fold for exhibitions, programming and its singular repository of African-American military history.
The Museum District’s newest member, the Asia Society Texas Center, also opened last year. The striking 40,000-square-foot, event-ready center showcases Asian art, film and performance. PageBreak
Galleria/Uptown
With a dozen shopping districts, Houston has plenty of retail therapy in store for groups. Anchoring Uptown’s lively entertainment district, the mighty Galleria crowns them all. Spanning 2.4 million square feet of space, it’s the largest shopping mall in Texas.
The Galleria includes 400 fine stores and restaurants and two sister AAA Four Diamond hotels. Amid a sweeping multimillion-dollar renovation, the 406-room Westin Oaks Hotel features more than 26,000 square feet of refreshed space, while the Westin Galleria Hotel, with 487 rooms and 20 suites, offers more than 71,100 square feet of versatile space.
Distinctly apart from Houston’s skyscraper core, Galleria/Uptown is also home to the classic Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa. Situated on 18 wooded acres about a half-mile from splendid Memorial Park, this 289-room sanctuary offers 32,000 square feet of first-class meeting space. Another regal enclave is the Tuscan villa-inspired 122-room Hotel Granduca, offering 5,000 square feet of estate-like space.
Reflagged in July 2012, the 485-room InterContinental Houston by The Galleria, featuring 50,000 square feet of function space, is now the Royal Sonesta Houston. Meanwhile, the 312-room Hotel Derek, with 10,000 square feet of meeting space, is completing a multimillion-dollar renovation.
Montrose
Just west of downtown, funky, eccentric Montrose, the center of Houston’s LGBT community, offers a diverse mix of art galleries, cafes, antique shops and off-beat attractions.
Named “one of the 10 most mind-blowing, energizing, unorthodox and flat-out cool places to experience art in America” by GQ, Rothko Chapel uniquely functions as an art museum and gathering place for people of all religious beliefs.
Gastronomes, meanwhile, have a choice of culinary temples. Chef Hugo Ortega has twice earned James Beard finalist honors for Best Chef in the Southwest for his rave-reviewed regional Mexican fare at Hugo’s. Another Beard finalist is chef Chris Shepherd, whose nationally celebrated Underbelly is one of the hottest draws in town.
Hailing from Tulsa, Okla., Shepherd, has created a menu inspired by his passionate embrace of Houston’s cultural diversity and locally sourced food and wine. Contributing his voice to the “Houston Is” campaign, he says this of his new hometown: “Houston’s diversity is what makes it so strong.” And that, in a neighborhood nutshell, is Houston.
Regular contributor Jeff Heilman has covered Houston for Meetings Focus since 2008.
