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Tower Petroleum Building

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1931, Mark Lemmon. 1907 Elm St.

Another example of the influence of Eliel Saarinen’s 1922 Chicago Tribune design, the twenty-two-story Moderne office tower rises unbroken, with two setbacks at the top five floors. Between solid corner bays, slender piers rise uninterrupted, with spandrels and windows recessed to emphasize verticality, all clad in terra-cotta from Atlanta. Dallas architect Mark Lemmon (1889–1975), known for his schools and churches in various revival styles, here shows command of new modern styling in his first high-rise project. After the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1930, Dallas became the financial center and regional headquarters for oil companies and service industries, with the Tower Petroleum Building providing office space to fill a rapidly growing need.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Gerald Moorhead et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Majestic Theater
Comerica Bank Tower (Bank One Center, Chase Center, Momentum Place)
Dallas Municipal Court Building (Dallas City Hall/Municipal Building)
The Statler Hotel and Residences (Statler Hilton Dallas)
Gables Republic Tower (Republic Center Tower I, Republic National Bank Building)

Citation

Gerald Moorhead et al., "Tower Petroleum Building", [Dallas, Texas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TX-02-DS21.

Print Source

Buildings of Texas

Buildings of Texas: East, North Central, Panhandle and South Plains, and West, Gerald Moorhead and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019, 149-149.

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