The Knights of Pythias Temple is an historic

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

building located at 2551 Elm Street in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. Also known as the Union Bankers Building for a later owner, it was designed by African-American architect

William Sidney Pittman William Sidney Pittman (April 21, 1875 – March 14, 1958) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings, such as the Zion Baptist Church and the nearby Deanwood Chess House in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, DC. He w ...

and opened in 1916.

Construction and original use

The Knights of Pythias Temple was designed by

. The primary tenant was the state headquarters of the Grand Lodge of the Colored Knights of Pythias, and was first occupied in 1916. The building was designed for multiple purposes. There were storefronts for a barber shop and a drug store, second floor offices serving African-American physicians and other professionals, with life insurance companies and other institutions filling out the space on the third floor. The fourth floor featured a ballroom and other public space. The overall design was neoclassical, but with red brick cladding, and tall arched windows looking out from the top floor. The Knights of Pythias Temple was the first major commercial structure in Dallas built for African-Americans, by African-Americans, and with African-American money. From 1916 to 1939 it served as the social, professional and cultural center of the center of the city's African-American community. The ballroom hosted the performing arts and lectures, with some notable appearances by the

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American ''a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditiona ...

, Marcus Garvey, and

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...

Later uses

Due to financial difficulties, the

were forced to sell the temple to Ben Ackerman in 1946. In turn, a lawsuit forced Ackerman to sell the temple for $100,000 in 1956. Meanwhile, the local Pythians relocated to a second floor office facing their former temple. In 1959 the building was purchased by the Union Bankers Insurance Company, which turned it into a standard office building. The old lettering for the Knights of Pythias still adorned the building into the early 1980s, when Union Bankers obscured the old name. Local preservationists secured an injunction to force Union Bankers to uncover the old name displayed on the facade. The city designated the site as a

Dallas Landmark Dallas Landmark is a designation by the City of Dallas and the Dallas Landmark Commission for historic buildings and districts in Dallas, Texas, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historica ...

in 1989. Union Bankers abandoned the site in the 1990s. Though various restoration projects and redevelopment have been proposed over the last two decades, it has been unoccupied through 2017. In 2017, a consortium of developers announced a plan to redevelop the block, including a restoration of the red brick cladding of the Knights of Pythias Temple.

Gallery

File:Sidney Pittman.jpg, William Sidney Pittman, designing architect, circa 1916 File:Dyson dentist pythias temple.png, Advertisement for dentist office at the Knights of Pythias Temple, 1919 File:Fisk jubilee singers dallas.png, Advertisement for performance at the Knights of Pythias Temple, 1919 File:Eagle mutual benefit dallas.png, Advertisement for insurance company at the Knights of Pythias Temple, 1921 File:Kn pyth dallas2.png, Image from The Dallas Express of the Knights of Pythias Temple, Elm Street, Dallas, Texas

References

External links

* * {{coord, 32.7842, -96.7871, type:landmark_region:US-TX, display=title Knights of Pythias buildings Buildings and structures in Dallas Buildings and structures completed in 1916 Clubhouses in Texas African-American architects Dallas Landmarks