Wilson Building

The Wilson Building is an important example of early twentieth-century commercial architecture in Texas. Designed by the regionally prominent Fort Worth firm of Sanguinet and Staats, the Wilson Building was the first 8-story building in the state. It was built in 1903 by the Dallas rancher and investor J. B. Wilson to house Titche-Gottinger and provide office space for the medical profession. It was the first "large scale, sumptuous quarters for a major retail store in Dallas".

Architecturally, the building is an eclectic structure with elaborate and finely wrought classical detail. Descriptions published at the time it was built called the Wilson Building a "modern adaptation of French Renaissance". Its general ornamentation has been compared to that of the Paris Opera House and the arrangement of windows is similar to the patterns found in H. H. Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store and Adler and Sullivan's Chicago Auditorium Building. Although altered on the lower floors, the upper portion of the facade is in its original condition, and the structure remains as one of the most solidly built in Dallas. Today the buildings' offices are vacant, but the lower floors house H. L. Green Department Stores, as they have done since Titche-Gottinger moved to new quarters in the late 1920s.

The Wilson Building was first designed as a five-story structure but the office space was rented so rapidly that an additional three floors were added to the design. Members of the medical profession occupied most of the offices at first, but in later years the range of tenants' professions became much broader. A 1911 directory lists Sanguinet and Staats' Dallas office as tenants of the building.
Although the Wilson Building was a fairly early product of the partnership of Sanguinet and Staats, it has remained one of their best-known works. The firm eventually had major offices in Fort Worth, Houston, Wichita Falls, and San Antonio, and handled many major commercial and public commissions. Carl Staats studied in the San Antonio office of J. Reily Gordon in 1891 and in 1898 moved to Fort Worth to enter a partnership with the already established Marshall R. Sanguinet. The firm went on to design many structures already on the National Register, such as the Flatiron Building, Thistle Hill, and the Knights of Pythias Hall, all in Fort Worth.

J. B. Wilson, treasurer of Titche-Gottinger, was the owner and major figure in the development of the Wilson Building. Born in Dixie, Ontario in 1847, Wilson spent 48 years as a business and financial leader in Dallas. He made his first fortune in the lumber business in New Orleans but then moved to Dallas in 1872 to become involved with the cattle industry. He owned the 7D Ranch near San Angelo and became extremely wealthy dealing in the cattle export business. He was a major financial force in Dallas, sitting on the boards of several financial institutions.

His interest in the Wilson Building was the fulfillment of lifelong ambitions and was, in many ways, a monument to Wilson's determination and success. He personally negotiated with subcontractors for much of the work done and made sure that all materials were of the highest quality. The building was highly personalized, bearing his name on much of the interior and exterior decoration. Although he died in 1920, Wilson's memory is still closely associated with the building.

The facade of the Wilson Building is still one of the most exquisite historic. structures in downtown Dallas. Although the lower floors have undergone alterations, the building still retains its impressive appearance. A 1966 survey showed that the building's location at Main and Elm had the largest volume of pedestrian traffic in the downtown area. Thus it remains an important focal point of downtown Dallas's business potential, as well as an important structure in the history of Dallas' commercial activity.

The building remained in the Wilson estate for many years. It was sold in 1971 to the National Bank of Commerce which eventually planned to expand its bank operations to that location. The bank's plans never developed and the building was purchased in October of 1973 by Wilson Ltd., a real estate investment firm headed by Vincent A. Carrozza. Carrozza's company commissioned a restoration plan prepared by Arthur Z. Bronner of the Rhode Island School of Design. This plan included the removal of the modern marble facing and called for interior restoration involving the continued use of the structure as a store and office complex. The upper floors were vacated at that time in anticipation of restoration, but in a recent article, the owners indicated that no definite plans had yet been made for the building's restoration.