Containing one of the largest skylines in the United States, downtown Houston is also considered to be the main business hub of the Houston area. Some of the more famous buildings in this Texas city that feature a unique exterior design include the Sweeney, Coombs and Fredericks building that includes a three-story corner turret and was designed by George Dickey in 1889. Attractions in downtown Houston include the Verizon Wireless Theater that showcases nationally touring musicals and plays on a monthly basis.
Featuring two separate stages that can hold more than 1,100 patrons at any one time, downtown Houston's Alley Theater was founded in 1947. This unique-looking theater is also the recipient of 1996's regional theater Tony award and hosted the premiere opening night of the famous play entitled "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" in 1964. Eleven separate musical productions and plays are showcased at the Alley Theater every year, and the production facility uses state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment that allows this theater to display its actors and scenery in the most modern fashion possible.
The Alley Theater
615 Texas Ave.
Houston, TX 77002
713-220-5700
alleytheatre.org
Situated in the heart of downtown, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts contains more than 56,000 works of art that span 6,000 years of world history and is the fifth largest museum in the United States. This prestigious Houston museum was first opened to the public in 1924 and features five individual buildings that contain exhibits that showcase famous painters like American Impressionist Maurice Prendergast, modern painter John Singer Sargent and 20th-century artist Alice Neel. This museum is closed on Mondays.
Houston Museum of Fine Arts
1001 Bissonnet St.
Houston, TX 77005
713-639-7300
mfah.org
First opened in September of 1922 and located in the downtown section of the city in Sam Houston Park, the Houston Zoo houses more than 4,500 exotic animals on its premises, including African monkeys, Asian bull elephants, pygmy marmosets and lemurs from Madagascar. This very large Houston attraction includes a separate children's zoo area that allows kids to pet a large variety of goats and sheep. The playground area that is contained in this section of the zoo includes 11 water features like the three foaming fountains that kids can play around in as well. This zoo is open every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Houston Zoo
6200 Hermann Park Dr.
Houston, TX 77030
713-533-6500
houstonzoo.org
