It was completed in 1913 on the site of the former Capitol building of the Republic of Texas, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eventually they chose property on the north side of Texas Avenue between Travis and Main streets.

After the Texas government left Houston again, Augustus Allen resumed leasing the building to various hotel operators.

Sam Houston, Anson Jones, and William Marsh Rice were all members of Holland Lodge.

[3] The building, then known as the Capitol Hotel, was designed by George E. Dickey, and represented his first major commission since relocating to Houston in 1878.

[3] Jessie H. Jones, who would later redevelop the site, resided at the original Rice Hotel when he first arrived in Houston around 1898.

[3] The hotel featured four restaurants, a banquet room, a small concert hall, and a rooftop deck.

In 1925, Jones hired Alfred C. Finn to design a new wing for the hotel, increasing the number of rooms to over 1,000 and creating the building's current E-shaped configuration.

Jones placed a large shed on the hotel roof before the Democratic Convention to serve as temporary accommodations.

[15] In 1940, Jones embarked on another major remodeling, transforming the cafeteria into the Skyline Room, replete with plastic upholstery and fluorescent lighting.

It had a variety of retail shops, including a lobby news stand, a hat store, and Bilton's Fine Jewelry.

[17] In 1962 the Rice Hotel was used for a meeting of NASA Astronaut Group 2 - The New Nine - all of whom booked in with the code name "Max Peck" as portrayed on the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

[18] United States President John F. Kennedy visited the Rice Hotel on September 12, 1962, following his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech, and on November 21, 1963, before traveling to Fort Worth, and then Dallas, where he was assassinated.

Kennedy used a suite at the Rice Hotel to hold meetings, which was supplied with caviar, champagne, and his favorite beer.

After a brief visit at a LULAC event and his speech at the Albert Thomas Convention Center, he returned to his suite for a change of clothes.

[19] He also delivered his famous speech on religion in politics there to the Greater Houston Ministerial Conference on September 12, 1960.

[21] Notable musicians who have performed at the Rice include Tommy Dorsey, Perry Como,[3] Xavier Cugat, Woody Herman, Lawrence Welk,[21] and a young Illinois Jacquet.

Portfolio Management of Texas bought the property early in 1978 for $3 million, much more than the $542,962 paid at the 1977 foreclosure auction.

The new owners secured a listing on the National Register of Historic Places and federal funding to convert the building into apartments.

In 1981, Rovi Texas Corporation purchased the property for $7.75 million and announced they would operate it as a luxury hotel.

The City of Houston planned a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), placing the Rice within its boundaries.

HHFC would recover its investment through selling federal tax credits for restoring historic buildings.

Columbus (later renamed Post Properties) also assumed all the municipal debt related to the project, but also gained the tax credits and the ground lease.

[3] Sambuca, a jazz club, opened in ground floor space at the Post Rice Lofts on October 28, 1998.

The plan includes installing appliances and remodeling each apartment, and moving a swimming pool and fitness center from the basement to the second floor.

Early in 2014 Post Properties claimed that average rent was almost $1,700 per month and the building had a vacancy rate of about five percent.

[29] The Petroleum Club of Houston, founded in 1946,[30] was originally located in the top area of the Rice Hotel.