The flattened Y-shape of the Statler, constructed with an unusual cantilevered flat concrete slab system that reduced the number of interior columns, cups the open space of Main Street Garden Park (2008, Thomas Balsley and Associates) to the north and, along with the monumental old Dallas City Hall (DS19), terminates the east side of downtown. A heavy projecting slab two stories above the street carries the sixteen-story curtain wall in a Scots-plaid of three colors of glass divided into vertical bays by slender marble-clad piers. A multiple gull-wing canopy shelters the west end of the sidewalk, while a floating concrete box extends out from under the west end of the heavy slab. The subtle patterns of glazing, effortless structure, and dynamic forms made the Statler a sensation in Dallas. The hotel was vacated in 2001. Potential sales in 2011 and 2013 fell through before a purchase closed in 2014. The property was redeveloped with 159 guest rooms on the first five floors operated by Hilton Hotels and 219 rental apartments on the upper eleven floors.
The Old Dallas Central Library (1955, George Dahl) at 1954 Commerce, vacated in 1982, occupies the west corner of the block and was renovated as a part of the new Statler. The modernist design, with deep brise soleil on the east elevation and a thin floating slab at the roof terrace, replaced the Carnegie Library (1901, Sanguinet and Staats) on this site. The Carnegie, with a perimeter of monumental Ionic columns, was a classical complement to the City Hall across the street.