Welcome

Welcome to the Julia Ideson Building, the home of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, part of the Special Collections for the Houston Public Library System.

Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Texas Room, the self-guided, Julia Ideson Building Tour, walks you through the history of the Julia Ideson Building and its place in the Houston Public Library System. This tour can be taken in any order. If you follow the listed order, you will see all of the first floor before moving onto the second and third.

The scavenger hunt is a kid-friendly, fun way to challenge yourself while exploring the building.

The Julia Ideson Building, Then and Now tour can be taken in the building, or offsite in the comfort of your own home. This tour allows you to see what the building looked like in the past as well as today. Just click on the glasses icons to explore the various parts of the building.

Begin by choosing your tour below. To see a list of stops, press the "Sites" button on the navigator bar.