[2] Prior to the 2017 cessation of the print edition, the Press was found in restaurants, coffee houses, and local retail stores.

The alt-weekly Houston Press was founded in 1989[3] by John Wilburn, Chris Hearne[4] (founder of Austin's Third Coast Magazine) and Kirk Cypel (a vice president of a Houston-based investment group) conceived of this news and entertainment weekly after rejecting a business plan to relaunch Texas Business Magazine.

Although the paper faced early challenges, the landscape changed when Hearne and Cypel engineered a buyout of 713 Magazine, a key competitor.

[citation needed] Prior to the establishment of the Houston Press, the city did not have a major alternative weekly publication.

The paper's fortunes improved due to the dot-com bubble of 1997–2001 and the increase in advertising;[5] it was one of the first alternative weeklies in the United States to establish a website.

[5] On November 3, 2017, Voice Media Group announced that it would cease printing of the Press, moving to online-only publication,[12][13] and that the paper would only use freelance journalists.

[12][14] Voice Media Group cited Hurricane Harvey as the final factor behind the cessation, and Downing stated that a recession in the oil industry and the decline of revenue from advertising contributed to the decision.

"[5] He added that "The Press established a reputation for punching above its weight" in regards to investigative journalism, citing how an article led to the exoneration of Roy Criner.

[25] On the weekend after Friday October 25, 2013 the Houston Press was scheduled to move to its new offices in Midtown,[18] then on 2603 LaBranch Street.

[5] Awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies: 2007 2005 2004 2003 2001 2000 1999 1998 Other awards of note include Todd Spivak's 2006 first place win[28] in the Investigative Reporters and Editors Association under 100,000 circulation weekly category, and Rich Connelly's first place in the humor category of the under 100,000 circulation bracket of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.