You face the Humble Oil Building at 1212 Main Street. This historic office building at 1212 Main Street is an Italian Renaissance–style structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by Humble Oil and Refining Company in 1921, it began as a nine‑story block occupying half a city block between Main Street and Travis Street, its front facing Polk Street.
Designed by New York architects Clinton and Russell, it cost approximately $1.2 million and was the largest office building in Houston at the time, with roughly 196,000 square feet of space. In 1932 the building received a central air conditioning system, the first in any Houston office building, and a tower section was added in 1936. The complex served as Humble Oil's headquarters from 1921 until 1963, when the company moved into what is now the ExxonMobil Building at 800 Bell Street.
In 2003 the complex was renovated for use as a combination hotel and apartments, and the apartment section was converted to additional hotel rooms in 2015. Notice that this block once held Houston's first central air conditioning system, installed in 1932, facing Polk Street between Main and Travis.