The Praetorian Building, also known as Stone Place Tower, was a 15-story,
high-rise constructed in 1909 at Main Street and Stone Street in the
Main Street District of
downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. It was regarded the first skyscraper in Texas and the first skyscraper in the
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
. It was among the first skyscrapers built in the entire
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau.
As American settlement i ...
, following the 1885
Lumber Exchange Building in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
and other taller towers in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, and
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
.
However, the Praetorian Building remained the tallest building in Dallas only until 1912.
It was tall with 15 floors of office space. Plans for its redevelopment were eventually disbanded and the building's deconstruction was completed in the summer of 2013.
History
The Praetorian Tower was conceived as the national headquarters of the
Praetorian Order, a fraternal insurance company based in Dallas.
The mostly empty plot of land at Main Street and Stone Street had previously hosted the circus, medicine shows and college football events. In 1905 the Order announced a six-story, fireproof building capable of expanding eight additional floors. Months later, plans were changed to the construction of a 15-story building—the first skyscraper in Dallas. Construction began in late 1905 and after several delays the frame of the $800,000 building was complete in 1907 and it finally opened to visitors on February 28, 1909. Designed by
C.W. Bulger & Son, its unique neoclassical exterior was fitted with gray granite pillars, gold ornamentation, and terra cotta columns on a brick and steel structural frame, while the interior was finished with African mahogany, tile and marble.
The building was heated by steam, featured three modern elevators of the time and contained 2 artesian wells. Each office featured electricity, telegraph and telephone connections and hot and cold running water. A rooftop observatory provided views over the growing city and up to over rural landscape.
The building remained a center of business activity even as taller skyscrapers opened in following years. The building was air conditioned in 1948. The Order also requested that Stone Street, named after a Dallas Civil War hero, be changed to Praetorian Lane; this was denied by the City in 1952. The Praetorian Order transformed into the Praetorian Mutual Life Insurance Company and in 1958 announced an adjacent 15 story addition and $1.5 million face-lift for the 50-year-old structure. Months later, what had been planned as a general modernization changed to a complete overhaul of the building. The width of the building along Main Street was doubled with the addition, increasing the building tract to . The historic exterior was stripped down to the steel frame and replaced with a brightly colored "Praetorian Yellow" porcelain steel exterior. The new building, opened in 1961, was designed by Grayson Gill, Inc. and contained of office space.
Tandy Corp. occupied the building's basement and first two levels with the 21-department "Tandy Craft & Hobby Mart" in the 1960s, but success of the new building was short-lived. The building was sold to off-shore investors in 1970, and Praetorian Mutual Life vacated the building in 1987 for a new location in
Las Colinas
Las Colinas is a mixed-use planned community development in Irving, Texas governed by The Las Colinas Association, a Texas nonprofit corporation. Due to its central location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and proximity to Dallas/Fort Wor ...
. The yellow porcelain exterior was painted gray during a 1990s renovation by
Corgan. The structure changed hands over successive years and fell into foreclosure; by 1993 low occupancy forced the building to close. It became the 10th office building in a five-block stretch to close its doors during the five-year period of economic hardship for the downtown business district.
Redevelopment and demolition
As the
Main Street District, Dallas and downtown Dallas began a revival and many surrounding buildings were rehabilitated, the Praetorian Building was also eyed for renovation. In 2005, the tower was purchased by the
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
-based 3J Development. The company decided to remodel the tower and restore it to its original 1909
façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
. Due to financial problems the renovation was delayed and the building sold in 2007 to Lockey Capital.
The building's office floors were planned to be converted into loft apartments.
In 2010 the building was one of several in the Main Street District to be purchased by
Timothy Headington, developer of
The Joule Hotel, with plans for redevelopment. Soon after, the city of Dallas confirmed plans to demolish the building.
The building was fully demolished by the summer of 2013, being replaced by
a sculpture of an eye.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Dallas
*
Wilson Building
References
External links
Photo from 2007Photo from 2009*
{{Dallas skyscrapers
1909 establishments in Texas
2013 disestablishments in Texas
Office buildings completed in 1909
Buildings and structures demolished in 2013
Charles William Bulger buildings
Skyscraper office buildings in Dallas
Demolished buildings and structures in Texas