Patriot Tower
Encyclopedia
Patriot Tower is a modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 skyscraper located in the City Center District of downtown
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...

), completed in 1979. The building has 30 floors and rises 448 feet (137 meters). One Dallas Center is currently tied with the Adam's Mark Hotel North Tower as the 25th-tallest building in the city. The building was originally planned as part of a three-building complex designed by I.M. Pei & Partners, but only one tower was constructed.

History

One Dallas Centre was announced by developer Vince Carrozza in 1977 as the first phase of a US$200 million mixed-use development. Phase One included One Dallas Centre and the 500-space parking garage across Bryan Street. Two Dallas Centre, adjacent to the south of One Dallas Centre, was to include a 21-story, 500 room hotel above 30 floors of office space. The third phase would have consisted of a 400-unit luxury apartment complex across Harwood Street, on land now occupied by the Sheraton Dallas Hotel
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
The Sheraton Dallas Hotel, formerly the Adam's Mark Hotel and originally the Southland Center, is a complex of international style skyscrapers located in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The hotel is the tallest and largest hotel in Dallas and Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and ...

 convention facility. All parts were to be connected by the expanded 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...

 (Vincent Ponte
Vincent Ponte
Vincent Ponte was a Modernist urban planner in Montreal....

, land planner for Dallas Centre, was also a city planning consultant for the pedestrian network). During construction in 1977 a crane fell 27 stories from the roof and crashed to the ground, killing a worker, injuring others, and punching several holes in the side of the tower.

One Dallas Centre opened in 1979, but additional phases of the development were never completed (although the building was connected 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...

). In 1985 the building was purchased by Trammell Crow
Trammell Crow
F. Trammell Crow was an American real estate developer. Crow is credited for creating several famous real estate projects, including Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center , and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center.-Biography:Crow was born in Dallas, Texas...

, who owned a large share of adjacent office space at the time. It changed ownership again during the 1990s as nearby development made the building more attractive; adjacent Bryan Street was closed to auto traffic for DART's St. Paul Station, which opened in 1996. In 2007 Younan Properties Inc. purchased the building and changed the name to Patriot Tower. The company planned a $10 million renovation and addition of a war memorial museum in the building's lobby.

Design

One Dallas Centre was designed by architect Henry N. Cobb
Henry N. Cobb
Henry N. Cobb is an American architect and founding partner with I.M. Pei of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an international architectural firm based in New York City....

 of I.M. Pei & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an architectural firm that was founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei as I. M. Pei & Associates, in 1966 called I. M. Pei & Partners, and received its current name and organization in 1989. The founders were I. M. Pei, Henry N. Cobb, and Eason H. Leonard. Pei and Leonard retired...

 to play with the site rather than fill the entire block. The building's diamond shape relates to the geometry of the city's diagonally intersecting street grids, specifically where nearby Live Oak Street intersects downtown's grid at a 30-degree angle. Placement of the building was carefully considered to relate to nearby structures and provide green space around building entrances. Two Dallas Centre, never constructed, was to be a chevron-shaped building also integrating unique angles. The two triangular notches on the sides of One Dallas Centre create added interest and provide four additional corner offices on each floor. The exterior of the building was designed with two-thirds of the facade covered in aluminum instead of highly-reflective glass. This helps conserve energy while also complementing the style of the adjacent Republic Center
Republic Center
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...

.

Tenants

The headquarters for Greyhound Bus Lines is in Patriot Tower. Fourteen floors and 230000 square feet (21,367.7 m²) of the building housed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...

until 2002.

External links

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