When Algur Hurtle Meadows built his headquarters for the General American Oil Company of Texas, he spared no expense. The Meadows Building has long been regarded as one of the most beautifully designed Midcentury Modern commercial buildings in the Southwest.
The Meadows Building is also a testament to historic preservation, earning it one of the coveted Preservation Dallas 2021 Achievement Awards.
Meadows was best known for his philanthropy. The Meadows Foundation was established in 1948 with the mission of “assisting the people and institutions of Texas to improve the quality and circumstances of life for themselves and future generations and to ensure philanthropy would continue in perpetuity.”
What most people do not know is that Meadows was also an innovator, art collector, and appreciated good design more than most, so this office building was never destined to be anything less than spectacular.
A Marvel of Its Time
In 1955 Central Expressway, north of Mockingbird Lane was still under construction. What we call Upper Greenville Avenue was the suburbs then and a perfect location for the tallest building between downtown Dallas and the Oklahoma border. Meadows hired architects J.N. McCammon and Jack Morgan to design the building and the Cowdin Brothers Construction Company to ensure it would last for generations.
Mark Lamster, the architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News, described the exterior of the building better than anyone in 2016 when it was first considered for landmark designation:
Every inch of it is considered: from the colorful material palette—pink Georgian marble, turquoise terra cotta ( a ribbon between the windows and on the entrance side of the building,(red brick, white terrazzo—to the unique typography that appears not just on its rooftop signature but throughout. Entry beneath its curvaceous canopy is a pleasure, and so is a day at the office, as the planning of the Meadows was well ahead of its time. Twelve long balconies shield the sun on the south façade. Windows are operable to allow for natural ventilation. There are terraces for breaks in the shade. This was green architecture before there was “green” architecture.
Meadows hired Joe Lambert Sr., the founder of Lambert Landscaping Company, to create what was said to be the largest hanging garden in America on top of the parking garage.
Interior improvements included the design of a period-appropriate security desk and electronic building directory. Elevators, restrooms, and elevator lobbies were updated with finishes compatible with the historic design.
What will surprise almost everyone is that Lambert was also engaged to create the interiors.
Lambert designed the glamorous green marble lobby with those edgy bubble light fixtures, a yellow-and-white basement cafeteria, and the eighth-floor coffee room was a pink, green, and black confection. The curtains were green-and-pink striped denim, and the floor was black-and-pink checked rubber tile. There were black tables with white Formica tops and chairs upholstered in green-and-pink plastic. We have it on good authority the color scheme came from a painting of Alice in Wonderland.
Chipped Away Over The Years
The coffee room is gone, and the elaborate Far East-themed penthouse executive suite has long been stripped of its silk wallpaper, brass accents, teak furniture, and giant Indian Mogul’s safe.
However, so much excellent architecture and decor remained that any good shepherd of Midcentury Modern architecture would be foolish to consider demolition. Yet bits and pieces were chipped away over the years. The hanging gardens and a second-floor balcony were removed in 1984, and the worst alteration was the demolition of the southwest wing in 1985.
Over the years, the building was not kept in the best of condition. When a new buyer, Glenstar Properties, entered the picture in 2015, things got off to a rocky start. They wanted to remove the remaining two-story wing that faces Greenville Avenue. I’m going to go with lack of education here as I don’t think they really got it. That is until a tenant was booted out and made some noise to the right folks, and landmark designation was initiated.
From what I understand, the idea was to open up access to the Davaco Tower (the eyesore replacing the original southwest wing). The tower was under-leased, and the thought process was to create easier access, and tenants will come.
Yeah, that does not work.
But to give credit where credit is due, once the good folks at Glenstar did get on board, they understood in a big way what was involved and brought in global architecture, design, and planning firm Gensler, as well as preservation-oriented firm Architexas, to consult on historical aspects of the process.
A Stunning Restoration
That second-floor balcony was fully reconstructed, and the original decorative marble ballast roof of the two-story Greenville Avenue building was recreated. The Georgian pink marble pieces were removed, cleaned, and replaced, and the damaged marble was sourced from the original quarry. There were myriad structural challenges in the project, and they were met with determination and innovation.
This is a success story on so many levels. Despite not going forward with landmark designation, Glenstar has proven to be the best steward for the iconic Meadows Building. It’s now home to not only Gensler but a variety of creative professionals.
I think the answer is always if you preserve it, they will come.
The Preservation Dallas 2021 Achievement Awards will be held at 6 p.m., June 30. You can register here.
