Downtown H-Town
The Niels Esperson building on a foggy November morning in downtown Houston. At 411 feet (125 m) tall, it was the tallest building in downtown Houston when it opened in 1927.
A native of Denmark, Neils Esperson moved to the U.S. in 1872 at age fifteen and bounced around for several years in an effort to make his fortune. He tried gold mining before moving to Houston and drilling for oil in 1904. He found some 200 producing wells in Harris County and eventually developed other oil fields in the area.
He died of a heart attack at age 65 in 1922, and his wife, Melli Esperson, had this building, which is named for him, built as a memorial to him. She had an apartment just below the cupola on top of the building and later built a 19-story annex onto the building. It opened in 1941 and is named for her, so they are known collectively as the Esperson buildings.
Downtown H-Town
The Niels Esperson building on a foggy November morning in downtown Houston. At 411 feet (125 m) tall, it was the tallest building in downtown Houston when it opened in 1927.
A native of Denmark, Neils Esperson moved to the U.S. in 1872 at age fifteen and bounced around for several years in an effort to make his fortune. He tried gold mining before moving to Houston and drilling for oil in 1904. He found some 200 producing wells in Harris County and eventually developed other oil fields in the area.
He died of a heart attack at age 65 in 1922, and his wife, Melli Esperson, had this building, which is named for him, built as a memorial to him. She had an apartment just below the cupola on top of the building and later built a 19-story annex onto the building. It opened in 1941 and is named for her, so they are known collectively as the Esperson buildings.