The ALICO Building is a 22-story office building in downtown

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, located at the intersection of Austin and 5th Street. The building is currently owned and operated by the American-Amicable Life Insurance Company of Texas (a subsidiary of

Industrial Alliance iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States. It is one of the biggest public companies in Canada. The parent company, iA Financial Corporation Inc., is a port ...

). At tall, it is currently the tallest building in Waco.

History

Waco TX - Austin Street from 6th Street - Alico Building

The ALICO building was built in 1910 by the architectural firm

Sanguinet & Staats Sanguinet & Staats was an architectural firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, with as many as five branch offices in Texas. The firm specialized in steel-frame construction and built many skyscrapers in Texas. The firm also accepted commissions for res ...

for the Amicable Life Insurance Company at a cost of (equivalent to in ), and was completed in one year. It is the second oldest skyscraper built in Texas as well as the oldest skyscraper in Texas still standing, after the

Praetorian Building The Praetorian Building, also known as Stone Place Tower, was a 15-story, high-rise constructed in 1909 at Main Street and Stone Street in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It was regarded the first skyscraper in Texas and th ...

in Dallas, built in the year prior to ALICO, was demolished in 2013. The ALICO Building was not heavily damaged by the

1953 Waco tornado outbreak A deadly series of at least 33 tornadoes hit at least 10 different U.S. states on May 9–11, 1953. Tornadoes appeared daily from Minnesota in the north to Texas in the south. The strongest and deadliest tornado was a powerful F5 to ...

, unlike many buildings in downtown Waco. It swayed several feet when directly hit by the tornado, although the building escaped severe damage or collapse. In 1965, Amicable Life Insurance Company and American Life Insurance Company merged to become the American-Amicable Life Insurance Company, the current tenant of the building. In 1966, the building underwent renovations, including the addition of the large neon sign at the top of the building displaying the acronym "ALICO". In 1982, the ALICO building was designated a historical landmark by the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic L ...

. In 2012, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as part of the Waco Downtown Historic District.

History

References

Further reading