National Register Listing

Magnolia Building

108 S. Akard St., Dallas, TX

Since its completion in 1922, the Magnolia Building has been one of Dallas' most outstanding buildings, Designed by a well-known British architect, it has architectural, economic, and industrial significance. It housed the Magnolia (later Mobil) Oil Company, served as an early headquarters for the oil industry, and became a symbol of the city of Dallas, Pegasus, the flying red horse on the building's roof has become a landmark almost as well known as the building itself, Drury Blake Alexander assigns the Magnolia Building, and Pegasus, "First Priority" status in the city.

In 1922 the city of Dallas had a population of over 160,000, making it the second-largest city in the state of Texas, In later years, the city spread in all directions, but in the 1920s it was known as the skyscraper center of the Southwest, In 1922 it had 64 buildings from 6 to 29 stories in height, and there were two more scheduled for completion that year. One of these, the Magnolia Building, opened on August 14, 1922, and quickly became the outstanding landmark of the Dallas skyline.

Begun in 1921, the Magnolia Building was designed and built for the Magnolia Petroleum Company, producer of Socony and, later, Mobil petroleum products. The company itself, of course, was a pioneer in the nation's oil business. Starting as a series of smaller companies, it fed on the great Spindletop find in 1901, one of the greatest oil discoveries ever made, Located first in Corsicana, the company soon moved to Dallas, symbolizing the city's burgeoning importance in the oil industry.

When completed, the Magnolia Building, publicized as one of the most attractive office buildings in the country, also reflected the growing connection between Dallas and oil.

In 1922, the building was the sixteenth tallest building in the United States, and most of its rivals were located in one city, New York City. Outside of New York City, only three buildings in the country were taller: the City Hall, in Philadelphia; the Travelers' Insurance Building, in Hartford, Connecticut and the L.C. Smith Building, in Seattle, Washington.

As its architect proudly pointed out, the Magnolia Building was taller than any building in Europe. It remained Dallas' highest structure for almost twenty years. From the top, visitors and tenants could view a broad panorama of the city, the Trinity River bottoms, the surrounding residential areas, the Texas flatlands, and even (with binoculars, on a clear day) the skyline of Fort Worth. Seen from the countryside, the building dominated everything around it. It was, as a reporter said on opening day, "like a great peg driven into the ground holding Dallas in its place from no matter which direction the town is approached."

Renaissance revival in design, it cost $4,000,000 to build. It included innovative features that today are still unsurpassed. The heavy masonry construction provides excellent resistance to fire. The walls are approximately 24 inches thick, consisting of limestone, brick, plastic plaster, a 3-inch air space and a 4-inch hollow brick wall, encasing the steel frame. A recent renovation study found that the building would withstand any foreseeable fire without serious damage to its structural integrity.

The roof of the building is one of the early uses of green tile over concrete.

The building has its own well, a rarity in Dallas and the region.

It is heated by oil, but the designer also installed a system of coal tunnels and coal storage areas in case the oil gave out. The heaters for the building are also capable of conversion into coal burners.

In an era that doted on sizes and statistics, the new owners pointed proudly to the building's thousands of electric lights, the electric conduit that would stretch from Dallas to Fort Worth, the electric wiring that would stretch from Dallas to Austin, the 1700 telephones, the seven high-speed elevators, the 500 offices, and so on. To maintain the building's purity, the Magnolia Company forbade signs or displays in the windows.

Sir Alfred Charles Bossom, the building's designer, was an internationally-known architect, author, critic, and statesman. A baron in the British nobility, he served as a Conservative member of Parliament until his retirement in 1959.

Born in 1881, Bossom trained at St. Thomas School and the Architectural School of the Royal Academy of the Arts. He came to the United States in 1903, was already an architect of some reputation, and established offices in New York City, at 680 Fifth Avenue. In a long and successful career, he designed dozens of major buildings across the country, focusing particularly on skyscrapers, a design feature he felt was not suitable for his native England. As his son put it after his death: "He said the light was not right, the temperament of the people was not right and he didn't want to do up the historical buildings."

In the United States, conditions were clearly "right". After arrival, Bossom designed a number of skyscrapers, including the Magnolia Building; the Seaboard National Bank, in New York City; the First National Bank, in Jersey City, New Jersey; the American Exchange National Bank, in Dallas; and the Liberty Bank, in Buffalo, New York. He also designed housing for workers at United States Steel, in Pittsburgh, in 1904; headed the restoration planning at Ft. Ticonderoga, in 1908; planned industrial villages for American munitions plants during World War I; and became the supervising architect for the United States Shipping Board, in 1917-1918. England, he introduced prefabricated housing shortly before World War II.

In Bossom's designs often followed European patterns, especially Spanish and Italian models. He liked columns and ornate designs. He was particularly proud of the Magnolia Building, which he designed with the intent to establish Dallas as the center of the oil industry in the Southwest. When finished, he exclaimed in his exuberant style: "This is the tallest structure ever
built south of Washington, D.C., including the Aztecs!"

Toward the end of his career, Bossom was elected chairman of the Royal Society of the Arts (1957-1959).

He also established the Alfred C. Bossom Traveling Scholarship, awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects for architectural study in the United States; and the Bossom Lectures and Scholarship, for investigating new processes in building. The latter indicated his interest in modern technological processes, which he often tried to combine with classical forms. In 1952 Bossom received an honorary degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He published widely, including Building to the Skies; An Architectural Pilgrimage in Old Mexico; A Bird's Eye View of Europe; Some Reminiscences; and numerous articles on architectural and political subjects.

He died in 1965, at age 83.

The Magnolia Building has remained Dallas' prime landmark until the present day. In June 1934, the Magnolia Oil Company placed a 40-foot long by a 30-foot high, red neon sign on top of the building, for the meeting of the American Petroleum Institute Convention in Dallas. (Wags immediately said Dallas was no longer a one-horse town.) The double-horse sign was patterned after Pegasus, the flying stallion of classical mythology. Originally white, Pegasus became red as the emblem of Socony gasoline stations in the 1930s. The sign stood on a 50-foot tower, revolved at 11/3 times a minute, and contained 1,162 feet of neon tubing.

For many years "The Flying Red Horse" remained Mobil Oil's chief advertising vehicle. For seven years, the sign was Dallas' tallest point, and for decades thereafter it remained its a most famous landmark.

By day, the sign, bright red against the blue Texas sky, was the most impressive feature of the Dallas skyline. By night, its lights were visible for 75 miles around the city. Pilots could see the horse as far away as Hillsboro, and some claimed to see it as far away as Waco.
In 1973, the lights, at last, were turned off, to conserve energy.

In March 1976, the Dallas Historic Landmark Commission gave first priority status to the Magnolia Building and "The Flying Red Horse."

For more than a half-century, the Magnolia Building and its emblem have been the outstanding architectural landmarks of the city of Dallas.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.