The tunnels are only open on Monday through Friday. They are closed on weekends and holidays. We begin the tour with: 1. a 30-minute introduction that tells the history and reasons for the creation of the tunnels and of the City Hall building, from where we begin. This include the appearances of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism. We will have maps and and where there is an interest, photographs to share. City Hall opened in 1939. 2. The second half-hour is walking from City Hall to where we will enter the tunnels. Along the way, I will point out over 1 dozen other buildings and talk about the architecture, architects, histories, and building uses. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, we enter the 1924 Julia B. Ideson Library and look at its beautiful Spanish motif interior. 3. The rest of the tour goes through 4 tunnels and into 8 to 10 buildings. Tourists have the option of stopping for lunch at a food court. Dress appropriately for the weather.

The Julia B. Ideson Library is named for the head librarian of the Houston Public Library from 1903 to 1945 when she passed away. The architect was Ralph Adams Cram. Built in 1924, it has had multiple wings added over the years. Today, this is an archival library, where nothing is checked out. It has a beautiful Spanish terracotta roof. In the inside, a number of local New Deal female painters have murals that adorn the walls. I usually take guests to the second and sometimes to the third floors to look details in the ceiling and at a copy of the Venus de Milo on the second floor and to the cornerstone of the former 1904 library. On the ground level, we will study a 1924 photo of downtown Houston to see what is still standing, what is altered, and what is missing, and streetcars and vehicles.