Shhh! Houston Has A Secret

Posted on: July 23, 2021
By: Alan O'Neill
Posted in: Press Releases

There are a lot of hidden gems in Texas. Hidden swimming holes in the hill country. Local artists and musicians. THE best spot to visit at the beach, Tiny corner coffee shops that only the neighborhood frequents and cherishes. Well, the Houston Chronicle is letting us in on another little secret hidden in plain sight.

How to find the secret cat hidden in Houston’s Williams Tower

Jay R. Jordan
July 19, 2021 Updated: July 19, 2021 12:16 p.m.

Don’t give me grief if you’ve heard this one before. I’ve lived here my whole life and only learned of the Williams Tower cats weeks ago. 

Yes, there is a hidden cat (four, actually) in the architecture of the Williams Tower, the looming art deco skyscraper that towers over the Galleria Mall and the rest of Uptown Houston. 

Don’t believe me? See for yourself: 

The angles that form the corners atop the tower create shadows that bring out a cat with a thousand-foot tail all the way to the street below. 

The building was designed by Philip Johnson, a world-renowned architect known for his modern and postmodern designs on buildings large and small throughout the globe. 

I grew up knowing the Williams Tower as the Transco Tower, as it was originally billed when Johnson designed it in 1983. When it was constructed, it was (and remains?) the tallest building outside of a central business district. 

As a lifelong Greater Houstonian, that was always the fun fact I spewed to my bemoaning friends. I thought it gave the building just a little more character than it already had. 

I feel robbed not knowing about the cats until my late 20s. What other secrets does the building hold? 

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