Dallas Municipal Building

The Dallas Municipal Building is a Dallas Landmark located along S. Harwood Street between Main and Commerce Street in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas that served as the city's fourth City Hall. The structure is also a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and a contributing property in the Harwood Street Historic District, located across the street from Main Street Garden Park.

Dallas Municipal Building
Dallas Municipal Building.
General information
Statusin use
TypeMunicipal Government
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
Address106 S. Harwood St.
Town or cityDallas, Texas
CountryUnited States
Coordinates32°46′53″N 96°47′37″W
Construction started1913 (1913)
OpeningOctober 17, 1914
OwnerCity of Dallas
Grounds22,000 square feet (2,000 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectC. D. Hill & Company; Mauran, Russell & Crowell
Dallas City Hall and Municipal Building
Part ofDallas Downtown Historic District (ID04000894[1])
RTHL No.6664
DLMK No.H/17
DLMKHD No.H/48 (Harwood HD)
Significant dates
Designated CPAugust 11, 2006
Designated RTHL1978
Designated DLMKMarch 17, 1982[2]
Designated DLMKHDFebruary 28, 1990[3]

History

The City purchased land for the fourth City Hall between 1911 and 1912 from Eliza Trice, Otto H. Lang and the Sweeney Family. Designed by C. D. Hill & Company in the Beaux-Arts style, plans were drawn up in 1913 and the Spring Fred A. Jones Building Company began construction. The building company filed for bankruptcy later that year, and the Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to accept the sale and transfer of materials to C. C. Street, Jr., who completed the building. The Municipal Building opened October 17, 1914.[4]

In 1956, the Municipal Building Annex was completed at 2014 Main St. and attached as a connected building to 106 S. Harwood and became the home to the Dallas Police Department.[5]

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and jailed in the Municipal Building on November 22, 1963. Two days later, he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby while being led out by police in the basement garage.

Dallas City Hall vacated the structure in 1978 when it moved to its current location at 1500 Marilla St. In 2003, the Dallas Police Department moved its offices to the new Jack Evans Police Headquarters at 1400 S. Lamar St, leaving only municipal courts in the building. The building suffered partial abandonment and neglect as the city tried to find a new use for the historic structure.[5]

On June 19, 2009, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed SB 956 into law, establishing the first public law school in North Texas. University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law planned to begin taking applications in the Fall of 2013 for classes that began in 2014. Initially, courses were to be held at the nearby Universities Center at Dallas while extensive renovations of the Municipal Building are made. The building was then chosen to serve as the law school's permanent home and the municipal courts moved into a renovated Municipal Building Annex.[6]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Lee E. Holt (March 17, 1982). "Ordinance No. 17339" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  3. Larry E. Casto (March 31, 2018). "Ordinance No. 30812" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  4. "Dallas City Hall". Archived from the original on 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  5. Dallas City Hall Dallas Morning News 11/24/08
  6. University of North Texas
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