Post Rice Lofts (former Rice Hotel) (Houston)

The Post Rice Lofts, formerly the Rice Hotel, is an historic building located at 909 Texas Avenue in Downtown Houston, Texas. It was constructed in 1912 on the site of the former Capitol building of the Republic of Texas, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The old Capitol building was razed in 1881 by Colonel A. Groesbeck, who subsequently erected a five-story hotel, which he also named the Capitol Hotel. William Marsh Rice, (the founder of Rice University) purchased the building in 1883, added a five-story annex, and renamed it the Rice Hotel.

Rice University then sold the building in 1911 to Jesse Jones, who demolished it and built the present 17-story structure on the site. The "new" Rice Hotel building opened on May 17, 1913.

For many years, the Rice Hotel was one of Houston's grandest, and a downtown landmark.
The hotel featured fine dining in the Flag Room, a casual first-floor coffee shop, and the underground Rice Hotel Cafeteria, known for its signature dish, Rice Pudding. It had a variety of retail shops, including a lobby news stand, a hat store, and Bilton's Fine Jewelry.

The Rice Hotel has had numerous famous guests, including President John F. Kennedy, who spent the night at the hotel before traveling to Fort Worth, and then Dallas, in November 1963.

The hotel was shuttered in the mid 1970s, and briefly reopened under the Rice Rittenhouse name; it saw its last hotel guests in 1977.

After being vacant for years, the lobby and ballroom in the Rice Hotel have been restored to their original 1913 design by Houston real estate developer Randall Davis. The ballroom, with its 30-foot ceiling, restored mural, crystal chandeliers and outdoor terrace with views of downtown, has a colorful history of wedding parties, society balls and grand receptions.

The original "Rice Roof" dance pavilion(where the likes of Tommy Dorsey once performed) has been transformed into a resident social area. The indoor pool, once hidden under concrete, has been completely restored, and the old Capital Club, once a favorite watering hole for Houston powerbrokers, is now a richly paneled lounge with an adjacent terrace overlooking the city.

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