A historic 20-story downtown Houston building has officially been renamed and dedicated after late U.S. Representative and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Dec. 17.

The gist

The Harris County Sylvester Turner Administration building is located at 1010 Lamar St., Houston, and houses Harris County’s Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity. The building will also be the future site for members of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, according to county officials.

The building formerly housed the clothing store chain Sakowitz that opened in the 1950s and was a fitting location to honor Turner, Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said. The building tributes Turner’s upbringing taking the local bus from north Houston to Downtown Houston.

The downtown building located at 1010 Lamar St., Houston, houses Harris County’s Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity and is the future site for members of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, according to county officials. The building formerly housed the clothing store chain Sakowitz that opened in the 1950's. (Courtesy Office of County Judge Lina Hidalgo)
The downtown building located at 1010 Lamar St., Houston, houses Harris County’s Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity and is the future site for members of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, according to county officials. The building formerly housed the clothing store chain Sakowitz that opened in the 1950s. (Courtesy Office of County Judge Lina Hidalgo)

"He grew up, as you know, on that [METRO] 44 bus coming into downtown and looking at these big buildings," Ellis said.

Members of Sylvester Turner’s family attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside both the city of Houston and Harris County officials. His daughter Ashley Turner Captain said her father took a lot of pride working with the county.

“Thank you all so much for voting unanimously to honor my dad in this way by naming a building after him,” Captain said. “You know, he took a lot of pride in working closely with the county. That wasn't by accident. He really did feel like we needed to work together as the city of Houston and Harris County.”

How we got here

Harris County commissioners unanimously approved the building renaming during the March 27 court meeting. Commissioners also approved a resolution at the March meeting honoring the life and legacy of Turner, who died March 5.

Turner attended Klein High School in north Houston where he was bused to the all-white school with other Black students during an era of desegregation, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. At Klein, he went on to become a debate champion, student body president and valedictorian of his graduating class.

Before becoming Houston mayor in 2016, Turner served in the Texas House of Representatives for 27 years and spent 21 years on the House Appropriations Committee. Turner served as Houston's mayor for two terms from 2016 to 2024.

“What makes Sylvester special was that he didn't just dream for himself, he dreamed for all of us,” Ellis said. “His values came from his community. He believed in giving people respect and opening doors that had been shut, and in widening the circle of opportunity so that every child could have a path forward.”