Tower Petroleum Building

The Tower Petroleum Building (also known as The Tower Building) is a historic Art Deco Skyscraper located at 1907 Elm Street in the City Center District of Downtown Dallas. The tower, a contributing property in the Dallas Downtown Historic District and the Harwood Street Historic District, features Zig-zag Moderne styling and was designed by architect Mark Lemmon.

Tower Petroleum Building
Tower Petroleum Building in 2009
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General information
StatusCompleted
TypeOffice
Architectural styleZig-Zag Moderne
Address1907 Elm St., Dallas, Texas
CountryUnited States
Coordinates32°46′51″N 96°47′49″W / 32.780843°N 96.796808°W / 32.780843; -96.796808
Opening1931 (1931)
Height
Roof315 ft (96 m)
Technical details
Floor count23
Design and construction
Architect(s)Mark Lemmon
Tower Petroleum Building
Part ofDallas Downtown Historic District (ID04000894[1])
DLMKHD No.H/48 (Harwood HD)
Significant dates
Designated CPAugust 11, 2006
Designated DLMKHDFebruary 28, 1990[2]

Design

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The Tower Petroleum Building features Zig-zag Moderne motifs, one of the few buildings left in Downtown Dallas which features such designs. The building's facade is clad in limestone and has green spandrels panels between the windows.[3] The upper floors of the building are set back twice from the shaft of the building starting with a three-story set back from the 19th floor. At the 22nd floor, the top sets back again and this section is 2 stories in height. These setbacks occur on three sides of the building.[3]

History

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  • The Tower Petroleum Building is located in the city's historic entertainment district, Theater Row; the adjacent Majestic Theatre is the only surviving theater. At one time, the Tower Theater was located behind the building and the lobby to that theater was located inside the office building. In 1951, the Corrigan Tower was constructed over and around the Tower Theater.
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation had offices on the 12th floor of the Tower Petroleum Building from 1937 to 1943.[4]

Adaptive reuse

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In June 2007, the Dallas City Council approved a $15 million plan by a local developer to renovate and convert the Tower Petroleum Building into a luxury high-rise hotel.[5] In 2018, Developer John Kirtland completed a 52 million dollar substantial renovation of the tower Petroleum. The Saint Elm Hotel (Marriott) is a 177 Key Hotel operating in the Petroleum Tower.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Larry E. Casto (March 31, 2018). "Ordinance No. 30812" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Tower Petroleum Building - Dallas Architecture
  4. ^ "Dallas".
  5. ^ Dallas Council approves downtown condominium project, Tower Petroleum Building renovation - Pegasus News wire
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