Petroleum Club of Houston

History

The club was founded in 1946. Several oil businesspersons who met at the Rice Hotel had established the club. It was originally housed on the top area of the Rice Hotel but it moved to the ExxonMobil Building in 1963 after an increase of membership. Previously the club occupied the top two floors of that building, numbers 43 and 44. The club was accessible through elevators on Bell Street. Because of the sale and scheduled renovation of the ExxonMobil Building, the club was forced to find a new location. In 2014 the club was selling much of its possessions in an auction as part of the moving process. The club's ExxonMobil space was scheduled to close after January 10, 2015, and its new quarters in the Total Plaza were scheduled to open two weeks later.

Facilities

The club space at the Total Plaza has an energy industry theme as it uses gold, bronze, and metallic colors. Younger club members had requested a bar, so the new club has a bar with the view of the skyline of Houston. Kirksey, an architecture company based in Houston, designed the club space. Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Chronicle wrote that the space has a "more modern look" compared to the previous space at the ExxonMobil Building.

Events

Events hosted by the club include the Young Professionals Organization birthday party, as well as bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, wedding receptions, other social events, and business events.