Wilson Building

The story

John B. Wilson came to Dallas from Canada with his brother Frederick, and the brothers made their fortune in cattle. John had this building constructed, and it was completed in 1904, though the infobox says 1903. Sanguinet & Staats of Fort Worth designed it with an E-shaped plan and rounded corners. It had nine elevators, a 1,500-foot artesian well and two telegraph offices. It was the tallest structure in Dallas from 1904 to 1909, and a 12-story addition along Elm Street was finished in 1911.

Titche-Goettinger occupied the basement and first two floors and was the largest tenant until it moved in 1929. W. A. Green took the tower space that year, and H. L. Green Variety Store held the lower floors and took over W. A. Green's space in 1961. H. L. Green closed in 1997. The city bought the building for $3.4 million in 1999 and Post Properties converted it into 143 loft apartments with a rooftop sky terrace.

What's There Now

Loft apartments, part of the Mercantile Place on Main complex.

Everything that was here

• 1904–present

  Wilson BuildingStore

  A cattle fortune built Dallas's tallest building of 1904 to 1909, later home to a department store, a variety store and loft apartments.

  See the map in 1905 →
• 1929–1997

  H. L. Green Variety StoreStore

  A variety store on the lower floors that closed in 1997.

  See the map in 1930 →
• 1904–1929

  Titche-Goettinger Department StoreStore

  Occupied the basement and first two floors until moving to its own building in 1929.

  See the map in 1905 →

Did you know?

Nearby history