Here are closer looks up at the details of five buildings in the central business district:
The building that now houses the Star-Telegram was designed by architect Wyatt Hedrick in 1930 for The Fair department store, which closed in 1963. Later the building was known as the “Commerce Building.” It’s one of Hedrick’s less-celebrated designs, but look up nineteen stories, to the top story, where architects, like bakers frosting a cake, often apply their flourishes. Note the quatrefoils.
Lone Star Gas Building (1929). Hedrick again. This building is off the beaten path behind City Hall. From a block away, it appears as just another big box. But up close and overhead, . . .
Hotel Texas (Sanguinet and Staats, 1921).
Flatiron Building (1907). Sanguinet and Staats again.
Texas Electric Service Company Building (1930). Hedrick again. Note the fistful of electric bolts.
Tomorrow: Remember the Alamo: The Fall (Part 1)
