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 Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

(

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), adjacent to

Thanks-giving Square Thanks-Giving Square is a private park and public facility anchoring the Thanksgiving Commercial Center district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. Dedicated in 1976, the complex consists of three components: a landscaped garden and non-de ...

. The complex is located diagonally across the street from DART's St. Paul Station, which serves its , , , and light rail lines. It also contains part of the

Dallas Pedestrian Network The Dallas Pedestrian Network or Dallas Pedway is a system of grade-separated walkways covering thirty-six city blocks of Downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The system connects buildings, garages and parks through tunnels and above-ground sky ...

, with shops and restaurants in the lower levels of the building and is connected to the Bullington Truck Terminal.

History

The Republic National Bank Building (later known as Republic Center Tower I and now Gables Republic Tower) was constructed as a 36-story skyscraper for the headquarters of Republic National Bank, which had previously been located at the Davis Building. Seeking to build higher than their rival's

Mercantile National Bank Building The Mercantile National Bank Building (known colloquially as The Merc) is a 31-story, skyscraper at 1800 Main Street in the Main Street district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the former home of the Mercantile National Bank, which later beca ...

, the Republic National Bank Building became the tallest building in

and west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

at its completion in 1954. The skyscraper included an elaborate banking pavilion that stretched to Pacific Avenue. It remained the tallest building on the Dallas skyline until it was surpassed by the Southland Center in 1959. As the bank expanded, in 1964 it sought to reclaim the tallest-in-Dallas title. The bank hired architects Harrell & Hamilton to achieve this by designing a taller companion to adjacent Republic Center I. However, height limit was restricted by the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. Upon completion in 1964, Republic Center Tower II was only tallest-in-Dallas on some lists. The spire on the original 1954 Republic Center gave that structure a edge in terms of spire height. Less than a year later, the building was surpassed by Elm Place as the tallest building in Dallas. Republic Center Tower III, an 8-story building with a

retail concourse below, was added in 1980. It replaced the historic 20-story Medical Arts Building which was razed in 1978. With the completion of the third phase, the Republic Center consisted of an entire city block bounded by Ervay, Bryan, St. Paul and Pacific Streets.http://www.dallassky.com/bldg11.htm Dallas Skyscrapers, Republic Center In 1985 RepublicBank Corp., now one of the largest banks in the Southwest, announced plans to construct a 60-story, building across the street on land now designated for

Pacific Plaza Park Pacific Plaza Park is a public park located in downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The park is located between St. Paul Street and Harwood Street, north of Pacific Avenue in the City Center District, and opened to the public Oct. 14, 2019. ...

. Plans were terminated in 1987 when rival InterFirst Corp. acquired the company, and Republic Center lost most of its tenants during the ensuing savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. The building complex was listed on 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 ...

in 2005.

Renovation

In 1997 new owners acquired the block and the complex was renovated. Republic Center Tower I was renovated in 2005 to house 229 residential units. The first units opened in January 2007 and the building's name changed to Gables Republic Tower. Republic Center Towers II & III remain active office buildings, while the old banking lobbies and ground floors are leased as office and retail space.

Architecture and design

The complex is a prime example of mid century

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

skyscraper design. The buildings are clad in interlocking

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

plates which incorporate Republic National Bank's four-pointed star symbol. The building was designed by architects

Harrison & Abramovitz Harrison & Abramovitz (also known as Harrison, Fouilhoux & Abramovitz; Harrison, Abramovitz, & Abbe; and Harrison, Abramovitz, & Harris) was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976. The firm was a partner ...

, who in 1953 had just completed the thirty story Alcoa Building in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. The design of Republic Center integrated the use of aluminum with a structural steel frame resulting in a lighter and energy efficient building. The banking lobby featured new techniques in engineering to create a column-free lobby where upper floors had to be hung from above. The lobby was finished with exquisite marble, inlaid wood and of pure gold leaf. Also incorporated within the building were innovations such as underground drive-through banking and valet parking. The elevators inside the complex speed at a rate of a minute, making them among the fastest in the nation.http://republiccenter.com/culture_history.html Republic Center History At the time of completion, the spire atop Gables Republic Tower (an abstraction of the four-pointed star and referred to as the "rocket") contained a rotating beacon of light. This was later turned off due to taller surrounding buildings, but today the spire is floodlit from below. Republic Center Dallas

The following words by

Karl Hoblitzelle Karl Hoblitzelle (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967) was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville theaters (later movie theaters), now a s ...

, chairman of the board for Republic National Bank from 1945 to 1965, are set in bronze at the Ervay Street entrance:

"This building is dedicated to the principle that no institution can long endure unless it serves faithfully and unselfishly its country, its state and community."

Rank in the Dallas skyline

Gables Republic Tower is 36-stories and has a roof height of , but when its spire is included, the building reaches a height of . Currently, it is the 11th-tallest building in the city when the spire is included. Without the spire, it is the 21st-tallest. Republic Center Tower II is 50-stories and has a roof height of , making it the 11th-tallest building in Dallas by roof-height (the building is 12th-tallest with regards to adjacent Gables Republic Tower's spire).

Gallery

Dallas Republic Center Tower II 2.jpg, South view on St. Paul Street Republic II.jpg, Southeast View ElmPlaceConstruction01.jpg, Republic Center II and Elm Place both under construction

References

External links

Republic CenterGables Republic Center
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Gables Residential
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DallasArchitecture.infoOriginal rendering of Republic Bank Building
{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Office buildings completed in 1954 Office buildings completed in 1964 Residential skyscrapers in Dallas Skyscraper office buildings in Dallas Harrison & Abramovitz buildings National Register of Historic Places in Dallas