Mercantile National Bank Building
Encyclopedia
The Mercantile National Bank Building (known colloquially as The Merc) is the former home of the Mercantile National Bank, later MCorp Bank, located at 1700 Main Street in downtown
Dallas, Texas
(USA
). It is a contributing structure in the Main Street District. The design of the skyscraper features Moderne
styling from the Art Deco
era and was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager
. The building has a series of setbacks that is crowned by an ornamental four-sided clock along with a decorative weather spire. The Merc was the main element of a four-building complex that eventually spanned a full city block.
The Mercantile National Bank Building was completed in 1942 and was the only major skyscraper constructed during World War II
. The U.S. government had called for a halt of private construction to fuel supply materials for the war effort. However, most of the tower's steel had been prefabricated and was given a special waiver from the government. The bank lobby Art Deco wood murals were the largest in the world at the time. In addition to the bank and other offices, the federal government took 10 floors to hold offices for various war agencies. Mercantile Bank owner and founder Robert L. Thornton
constructed his own penthouse level in the upper floors.
In 1947, an illuminated tower was constructed, which KERA
used for radio broadcasts. In 1958, this tower was replaced by the current illumination tower and clock. In the 1960s, the original stone façade at the base of the building was covered by a modernist curtain wall facade.
At its completion, the Merc was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River
and it was the tallest building in Dallas until 1954, when Republic Bank Tower I
surpassed it. The building has 31 stories, and when the 115 feet (35 m) foot ornamental clock tower is included, is 545 feet (166 m) feet tall; making it the 19th-tallest building in Dallas. It also contains 359348 square feet (33,385 m²) of floor space.
The Merc was the main element of a four building complex that eventually spanned a full city block. The Mercantile Securities Building was constructed immediately east of the main tower in 1949 and was 14 stories tall, including 213270 square feet (19,813 m²) of space. The Mercantile Dallas Building was completed in 1954. It was 360 feet (110 m) and 22 stories tall with 347037 square feet (32,241 m²) inside. It was built behind the southern half of the Securities building and ran along Commerce Street to St Paul Street. The final addition to the block was the Securities Annex in 1972. It initially was five stories, and designed for vertical expansion at a later date. Its 116322 square feet (10,807 m²) of space was in the northeast corner of the block.
The bank also built and purchased other structures near the main tower. The Mercantile Continental Building
was built in 1948 across Commerce Street to serve the growing bank's parking and office space needs. The bank later built the Jackson Street Garage, which contained the bank's large motor bank, behind the Continental Building. An underground tunnel was built to connect the garage and Continental Building to the main complex via the Dallas Building.
In 1976, the bank bought the neighboring Vaughn Tower across Commerce Street. Prather Street divides the Continental and Vaughn Tower. The bank renamed the building the Mercantile Commerce Building.
The final building to be built by MCorp Bank was Momentum Place, completed in 1987 across Main Street. MCorp occupied 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) of the 1500000 square feet (139,354.6 m²) building. The building connected the original complex to the Dallas Pedestrian Network
to the north with a new underground walkway to the Securities Annex.
The economic downturn of the late 1980s along with the savings and loan crisis
would signal the end of MCorp Bank. It was dissolved by Bank One in the summer of 1989 after numerous quarters of earnings losses. The complex was still used occasionally until the building became vacant on February 5, 1993.
In 1985, Cadillac Fairview, developer of Toronto's Eaton Centre
, proposed renovating the complex into a 140000 square feet (13,006.4 m²) retail center, connecting adjacent anchors Neiman Marcus
and Joske's
. The plan included demolition of the various additions and preservation of the main tower, but the project was later abandoned.
With the increased demand in urban living downtown, there was interest in converting the structure to residential uses. However, the complex was awash with asbestos
, which would need to be removed before any remodeling could begin. The complex was also poorly configured for residential, as it had a lot of floor space without windows, requiring demolition of some buildings. The two combinations made for an expensive reconversion.
Three different proposals fell through before Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises
was able to make the financial numbers work. FCE announced a deal with the City of Dallas in June 2005 to receive US$
60.5 million dollars from the city to redo the building. The main tower was converted to 225 apartments with ground floor retail. The three additions, not considered historically significant, were demolished. The modernist curtain wall on the base was removed, revealing its original exterior and balconies were added to the east façade, although most of the interior design elements were lost during years of renovation.
On the site of the Securities Annex is a new fifteen-story apartment building, the Element, with parking constructed beneath. A pool and plaza were added for the residents of Mercantile Place, which also includes the historic Wilson Building in an adjacent block. The grand opening was held in April 2009.
Retail tenants have been slow to materialize due to economic conditions at the time of opening. Jean Michel’s, an upscale French restaurant, was scheduled to open in the base of the Element building, overlooking Main Street Garden Park
, which lies across St. Paul Street. These plans, however, fell through.
In June 2010, the yogurt chain Yogen Früz
opened a location in the building. They share the space with the Mercantile Coffee House. http://mchdallas.com that brought to the downtown area the Chicago based Intelligentsia coffee
Forest City Enterprises will receive US$5 million from the city to convert the neighboring Continental Building into 150 additional residential units. Also, in the deal between the City of Dallas and Forest City, FCE was to convert another complex of historic buildings that Atmos Energy
donated to the City for residential use. This project has since been transferred to Hamilton Properties.
. The Clock hands are lighted with LEDs which replaced the original neon. Above the clock a series of LED (originally neon) lights display weather information. White light rings flash upward when temperatures will rise and downward when they fall. A star-shaped light at the spire's top glows green when weather forecast is fair and red when it's inclement.
During the 1950s building expansions, substantial mosaics by artist Millard Sheets
were fabricated in Venice and installed throughout the lobbies, stairways, and executive offices. During the demolition and renovation process, historical preservationists called for the removal of dozens of mosaics, stained glass pieces, and enamel artwork. Dallas investor and developer Timothy Headington
stepped up with the estimated $270,000 needed to preserve and store the artwork. A local company, Studio van Enter, cut the mosaics free of the travertine and removed the artwork in 2006. Smaller decorative elements have been redisplayed in public areas of the renovated building while the larger pieces remain in storage. A similar mosaic exists on the exterior of the neighboring Mercantile Continental Building
.
.
Residents are zoned to City Park Elementary School, Dade Middle School, and Madison High School.
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). It is a contributing structure in the Main Street District. The design of the skyscraper features Moderne
Moderne architecture
Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as "Style Moderne" or simply "Moderne", a general United States landmarks term for styles of architecture that were popular from 1925 through the 1940s. It has expression in styles traditionally classified as Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and WPA...
styling from the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
era and was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager
Walter W. Ahlschlager
Walter W. Ahlschlager was a twentieth century American architect who had his offices in Chicago for many years. Later he established an office in Dallas, Texas...
. The building has a series of setbacks that is crowned by an ornamental four-sided clock along with a decorative weather spire. The Merc was the main element of a four-building complex that eventually spanned a full city block.
History
The site along Ervay Street between Main and Commerce previously housed the landmark Post Office Building (constructed in 1889) which featured a prominent clock tower and gingerbread architecture. After abandonment, it was the subject of rumors, plans, and schemes, but by 1936, it had been declared a liability by local business leaders and was razed.The Mercantile National Bank Building was completed in 1942 and was the only major skyscraper constructed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The U.S. government had called for a halt of private construction to fuel supply materials for the war effort. However, most of the tower's steel had been prefabricated and was given a special waiver from the government. The bank lobby Art Deco wood murals were the largest in the world at the time. In addition to the bank and other offices, the federal government took 10 floors to hold offices for various war agencies. Mercantile Bank owner and founder Robert L. Thornton
Robert L. Thornton
Robert Lee Thornton, Sr. was a Dallas, Texas businessman, philanthropist, and mayor of the city....
constructed his own penthouse level in the upper floors.
In 1947, an illuminated tower was constructed, which KERA
Kera
Kera or KERA may refer to:* Kera language, a language spoken in Southwest Chad and North Cameroon* kera, means coconut palms in Malayalam language spoken in Kerala, India* kera, a word for monkey in the Malay language...
used for radio broadcasts. In 1958, this tower was replaced by the current illumination tower and clock. In the 1960s, the original stone façade at the base of the building was covered by a modernist curtain wall facade.
At its completion, the Merc was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and it was the tallest building in Dallas until 1954, when Republic Bank Tower I
Gables Republic Tower
Republic Center is a mixed-use complex at 300 N. Ervay Street and 325 N. St. Paul Street in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas , adjacent to Thanks-giving Square. The complex is located diagonally across the street from DART's St. Paul Station, which serves its , and light rail...
surpassed it. The building has 31 stories, and when the 115 feet (35 m) foot ornamental clock tower is included, is 545 feet (166 m) feet tall; making it the 19th-tallest building in Dallas. It also contains 359348 square feet (33,385 m²) of floor space.
Expansion
The bank also built and purchased other structures near the main tower. The Mercantile Continental Building
Mercantile Continental Building
The Mercantile Continental Building is located at 1810 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas . It is a contributing structure at the edge of the Government District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park...
was built in 1948 across Commerce Street to serve the growing bank's parking and office space needs. The bank later built the Jackson Street Garage, which contained the bank's large motor bank, behind the Continental Building. An underground tunnel was built to connect the garage and Continental Building to the main complex via the Dallas Building.
In 1976, the bank bought the neighboring Vaughn Tower across Commerce Street. Prather Street divides the Continental and Vaughn Tower. The bank renamed the building the Mercantile Commerce Building.
The final building to be built by MCorp Bank was Momentum Place, completed in 1987 across Main Street. MCorp occupied 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) of the 1500000 square feet (139,354.6 m²) building. The building connected the original complex to the Dallas Pedestrian Network
Dallas Pedestrian Network
The Dallas Pedestrian Network is a system of grade-separated walkways covering thirty-six city blocks of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA. The system connects buildings, garages and parks through underground tunnels and above-ground skybridges...
to the north with a new underground walkway to the Securities Annex.
The economic downturn of the late 1980s along with the savings and loan crisis
Savings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
would signal the end of MCorp Bank. It was dissolved by Bank One in the summer of 1989 after numerous quarters of earnings losses. The complex was still used occasionally until the building became vacant on February 5, 1993.
Adaptive Reuse
Eaton Centre
Eaton Centre is a name associated with shopping malls in Canada, originating with Eaton's, one of Canada's largest department store chains at the time that these malls were developed. Eaton's partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in...
, proposed renovating the complex into a 140000 square feet (13,006.4 m²) retail center, connecting adjacent anchors Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus Building
The Neiman Marcus Building is a historic commercial structure located in the Main Street District in downtown Dallas, Texas . The structure, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, is the corporate headquarters and flagship store of Neiman Marcus...
and Joske's
Titche-Goettinger Building
The Titche-Goettinger Building is one of Dallas' original broad-front department stores located along St. Paul Street between Main and Elm Street in downtown Dallas, Texas . The structure currently houses apartments, retail space, and the Universities Center at Dallas...
. The plan included demolition of the various additions and preservation of the main tower, but the project was later abandoned.
With the increased demand in urban living downtown, there was interest in converting the structure to residential uses. However, the complex was awash with asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, which would need to be removed before any remodeling could begin. The complex was also poorly configured for residential, as it had a lot of floor space without windows, requiring demolition of some buildings. The two combinations made for an expensive reconversion.
Three different proposals fell through before Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
was able to make the financial numbers work. FCE announced a deal with the City of Dallas in June 2005 to receive US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
60.5 million dollars from the city to redo the building. The main tower was converted to 225 apartments with ground floor retail. The three additions, not considered historically significant, were demolished. The modernist curtain wall on the base was removed, revealing its original exterior and balconies were added to the east façade, although most of the interior design elements were lost during years of renovation.
On the site of the Securities Annex is a new fifteen-story apartment building, the Element, with parking constructed beneath. A pool and plaza were added for the residents of Mercantile Place, which also includes the historic Wilson Building in an adjacent block. The grand opening was held in April 2009.
Retail tenants have been slow to materialize due to economic conditions at the time of opening. Jean Michel’s, an upscale French restaurant, was scheduled to open in the base of the Element building, overlooking Main Street Garden Park
Main Street Garden Park
Main Street Garden Park is a public park located in downtown Dallas, Texas, USA The $17.4 million park was primarily funded through the City of Dallas’ 2003 and 2006 bond programs and is the first of several planned downtown core parks, including Pacific Plaza Park and Belo Garden Park...
, which lies across St. Paul Street. These plans, however, fell through.
In June 2010, the yogurt chain Yogen Früz
Yogen Früz
Yogen Früz is an international chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. Through company-owned, franchised, and non traditional partnerships, Yogen Früz is the largest franchisor and licensor of stores and other locations that serve primarily...
opened a location in the building. They share the space with the Mercantile Coffee House. http://mchdallas.com that brought to the downtown area the Chicago based Intelligentsia coffee
Forest City Enterprises will receive US$5 million from the city to convert the neighboring Continental Building into 150 additional residential units. Also, in the deal between the City of Dallas and Forest City, FCE was to convert another complex of historic buildings that Atmos Energy
Atmos Energy
Atmos Energy Corporation , headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the largest distributor of natural gas in the United States, serving 3.2 million customers nationwide. Atmos acquired TXU's natural gas and pipeline holdings in 2004. The company began as Energas in 1983, a spinoff of the natural gas...
donated to the City for residential use. This project has since been transferred to Hamilton Properties.
Tower clock
The clock tower and 115 feet (35.1 m)-tall ornamental spire is a local landmark and reference point in downtown Dallas. There are (4) 20 ft (9.4meter) diameter tower clocks. New tower clock movements and hands were manufactured in 2007 by Electric Time CompanyElectric Time Company
-History:Electric Time Company, a worldwide manufacturer of Tower and Street clocks, was founded in 1928 and incorporated in the state of Massachusetts in 1932. Founded by a salesman for the Self Winding Clock Company and Telechron of Ashland, Massachusetts...
. The Clock hands are lighted with LEDs which replaced the original neon. Above the clock a series of LED (originally neon) lights display weather information. White light rings flash upward when temperatures will rise and downward when they fall. A star-shaped light at the spire's top glows green when weather forecast is fair and red when it's inclement.
Artwork
Millard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
were fabricated in Venice and installed throughout the lobbies, stairways, and executive offices. During the demolition and renovation process, historical preservationists called for the removal of dozens of mosaics, stained glass pieces, and enamel artwork. Dallas investor and developer Timothy Headington
Timothy Headington
Timothy Headington is the CEO of Headington Oil, a film producer, and real estate developer.-Biography:Timothy Headington was born in Dallas, Texas in 1950. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma...
stepped up with the estimated $270,000 needed to preserve and store the artwork. A local company, Studio van Enter, cut the mosaics free of the travertine and removed the artwork in 2006. Smaller decorative elements have been redisplayed in public areas of the renovated building while the larger pieces remain in storage. A similar mosaic exists on the exterior of the neighboring Mercantile Continental Building
Mercantile Continental Building
The Mercantile Continental Building is located at 1810 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas . It is a contributing structure at the edge of the Government District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park...
.
Pop culture
- Local radio host Mike Rhyner from Sportsradio 1310 The TicketKTCKKTCK , is a sports talk radio station based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station, currently owned by Cumulus Media, has been made popular by the incorporation of humor alongside the sports talk....
opens the Hardline show with a time check "according to the Tower of the Friendly Mercan-teel."
Zoned schools
The Mercantile National Bank Building is within the Dallas Independent School DistrictDallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
.
Residents are zoned to City Park Elementary School, Dade Middle School, and Madison High School.