Art and About

A sneak peek at the hidden gem of Houston's Downtown Home Tour

The custom stairs at the Cash Register Building have thick glass embedded in thesteps to allow the light through.
The mosaic frieze was reconstructed by a graphic artist, taking inspiration froman old photograph
After raising the ceilings and strengthening the structure, an outdoor livingarea and rooftop garden was added, along with an open period-style elevator.

Downtown is strictly a place for business, right?

Wrong. It's more than just a destination to shake hands, make deals and capitalize on our networks. It's a neighborhood, in some ways like any other, in other ways quite unique with one-of-a-kind historic buildings, showing off fabulous renovations and supporting sophisticated living.

A lot of attention has been paid to its gentrification, taking care to retain Houston's urban architectural style. While Discovery Green, on its third anniversary, has received national accolades, more Market Square-type green places are popping up around new restaurants, shopping and yes, residential buildings.

The Downtown Home Tour is this Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m., allowing design and real estate curious guests an opportunity to explore the fab abodes of real Houstonians including the homes of artists Nicola Parente and Olga Porter. The Bayou Lofts, Four Seasons Residences, Franklin Lofts, One Park Place, Commerce Towers and Post Rice Lofts are also featured.

But it was the newly renovated and award-winning historic Cash Register Building that piqued our attention and inspired an "Art and About" adventure.

Designed by the late Joseph Finger — he worked in Houston from 1910-40 and designed the Houston City Hall, Jeff Davis Hospital and the Harris County Courthouse — in Italian renaissance revival style, the building was dedicated on April 8, 1929, the 59th anniversary of the invention of the cash register. It sits between the second Houston Cotton Exchange Building and the Federal Reserve Branch Bank.

Since then, it has gone through many transient stages. It served as a storage facility for the FDIC, held a wine collection and was used as office space, before later morphing into the home of a bail bonds company.

Owner Deborah Keyser had different plans when she purchased it in 2006. With the help of designer Andra White, the building evolved into a multi-use space in a modernized vintage aesthetic, repurposing many materials including countertops, cabinets and windows.

All exterior signage was removed and the control display window was restored to its original size and design. The mosaic frieze under the eves was reconstructed according to an old photograph.

Ceilings were raised, the structure was strengthened, a period-style open elevator was added and original hardwoods refinished. Today, it houses Keyser's law practice on the first floor, her residence on the second and an expansive outdoor living area and roof garden with exquisite outdoor views on the third.

Curious? Watch our video tour with realty powerhouse Paige Martin:

unspecified

on the trail

Celebrate spring's arrival at these 2 Houston garden tours

Courtesy of Bayou Bend

The tour includes Bayou Bend's impressive gardens.

The Azalea Trail, one of Houston’s most enduring seasonal traditions, returns this weekend. Once an annual event, the now biennial tour is a do-not-miss affair offering the opportunity for Houstonians to experience some of the best gardens and architecture the city has to offer — all before the Bayou City gets too balmy. Additionally, the newly opened Ismaili Center will offer complimentary tours of their nine acres of gardens in conjunction with the Azalea Trail.

Now in its 88th year, the River Oaks Garden Club’s Azalea Trail has long served as something of Houston’s unofficial kickoff to spring — that moment when azaleas, camellias, dogwoods, and early bulbs begin peaking across the city and residents head outdoors again. The event blends horticulture, history, architecture, and philanthropy into a weekend experience that consistently draws both dedicated gardeners and design-minded visitors from around the city and the region.

“Throughout the 88-year history of the Azalea Trail, select homeowners have generously offered an intimate look at their beautifully-curated private home gardens. In 2026, Azalea Trail goers will be able to tour four private home gardens featuring unique, breathtaking designs,” Emily Bolin and Hilary Purcel, chairs of this year’s River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail, tell CultureMap.

“Each location, which also includes Bayou Bend, Rienzi and the River Oaks Garden Club’s Forum, will offer an abundance of inspiration, including enticing planting combinations, creative concepts, emerging trends, and stunning floral displays. We hope to see everyone this weekend as we kick off the spring season in Houston.”

This year’s Trail runs March 6-8 and includes access to seven gardens for $35, spanning four private residential landscapes in the Tanglewood and close-in Memorial areas plus the aforementioned established cultural sites including Bayou Bend, Rienzi and the River Oaks Garden Club’s own Forum of Civics garden.

The private gardens — always a highlight — offer rare behind-the-gates access to curated residential landscapes showcasing planting combinations, emerging design ideas and seasonal floral displays that often influence Houston gardening trends. Meanwhile, the institutional stops provide historical context:

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens: a 1926 River Oaks estate, now stewarded by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and surrounded by formal gardens and natural woodland landscapes, including azaleas, camellias, redbuds, and seasonal bulb displays planted by Garden Club members. Also, it is their 60th anniversary this year (opened to the public on March 5, 1966).

Rienzi: a former River Oaks residence turned MFAH house museum, where formal European-inspired gardens meet native Texas plantings.

Forum of Civics: the Garden Club’s historic River Oaks area headquarters, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Importantly, Trail proceeds directly fund local beautification, conservation, and horticultural education efforts, including historic garden preservation and environmental programming across Houston.

Tour the Ismaili Center

Just minutes away, the newly opened Ismaili Center, Houston — already earning international architectural attention — will offer complimentary public tours on March 7 and 8 from 8 am to 4 pm. The Center’s landscape makes it a compelling add-on to an Azalea Trail itinerary.

Designed by Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects — also responsible for recent projects at Rice University, Rothko Chapel, and Memorial Park — the more than nine acres of gardens reinterpret historic Islamic garden traditions through a contemporary Texas lens.

The design incorporates terraced lawns, shaded promenades, water features, and resilient plantings arranged as a symbolic ecological “transect of Texas,” moving from desert species to prairie and Gulf Coast plant communities. The landscape also doubles as environmental infrastructure, engineered to withstand major storm events while creating a calm, civic sanctuary overlooking Buffalo Bayou Park. Visitors that weekend can choose:

Full architectural/property tours
Focused garden introductions
Self-guided QR-enabled exploration

Together, the Azalea Trail and the Ismaili Center present a compelling narrative about Houston’s garden culture — where historic private landscapes and philanthropic garden traditions intersect with a globally-influenced new civic landscape designed for reflection, dialogue and public access.

The Azalea Trail will offer a free shuttle service between Rienzi and Bayou Bend. The locations of the four private homes on the tour will be sent via email with ticket purchase confirmations — street parking is available at all private home locations. The event will take place rain or shine, so keep an umbrella handy this weekend.

Courtesy of Bayou Bend

The tour includes Bayou Bend's impressive gardens.