Most of the Sunset Limited’s stops are short, at most you’ll have time to walk the length of the train a couple times. But Houston was different, and we had 90 minutes of wandering time, so the staff told us to head into town and look around.
Most people headed for the shaved ice truck in the parking lot, but our sleeping car attendant tipped us off to the fact that there was a food court nearby with a garden on the roof. Well that sounds intriguing.
The food court turned out to be an impressive mixed-use space that did include a food court, but also had event space, coworking space, and a couple rooms that looked like museum/art galleries. It had fancy staircases and felt like a recently converted warehouse. (We entered through doors on a loading dock.)

It’s called POST, and it used to be Houston’s USPS headquarters. When the post office originally opened to the public in 1961, it was up to FBI security standards with nuclear bomb shelters, and it even had unobtrusive lookout points that allowed supervisors to monitor workers on the floor. We didn’t end up buying any food (because Amtrak does a good job of feeding you), but the food looked delightful (boba, cotton candy, Mexican street corn, etc.).
Plus there’s a five-acre park on the roof (called the Skylawn). The park includes an eating area, a one-acre organic farm, and several event venues. Overall it was an impressive introduction to Houston.
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