Historic Designation:
National Register of Historic Places
Formerly:
Oncor Building
Electric Service Building
Fort Worth National Bank Building
In the 1950's, Fort Worth was experiencing a small building boom with the Fort Worth National Bank outgrowing its old headquarters in what is now called 714 Main, across 7th Street. The Dundee Building was demolished around 1950 in order to construct this building. In 1952, they completed a 16 story tower fronting 7th Street between Houston and Main Streets. In 1961, a 25 foot wide, 4 story addition was built on Main Street, squaring off the south side of the building. At the same time, a 4th floor was added to the 3 story base on Main. Also, in 1961, a matching addition was constructed across Main Street that housed a drive thru bank on the ground floor and a ballroom for the Hotel Texas above. This addition also had a basement and was connected to the main bank by a tunnel under Main Street. By 1974, the bank had constructed a new home on Throckmorton Streets and they vacated the building. In 1975, Texas Electric Service Company relocated to this building and it was renamed the Electric Service Building. Through a series of name changes and mergers, Texas Electric became TESCO, then TXU Energy, and finally they spun their electric transmission and distribution services into Oncor, the primary tenant in the building. Preston M. Geren & Associates of Fort Worth were the architects for the building with Shreve, Lamb, & Harmon as Consulting Architects. That firm designed the Empire State Building in New York. The building has a "T" shaped office tower rising out of a three story rectangular base. The exterior building materials are a brown brick with granite spandrel panels. In 2012, a remodeling of the old bank lobby converted the ground floor into several multi-tenant spaces. The base of the building was also remodeled at that time. Oncor vacated the building in 2021, and the building then took the name of the address. Ground floor tenants include The Capital Grille, Little Red Wasp, PlainsCapital Bank, and a Subway Restaurant.
Historic Photograph from the Jack White Collection:
The Dundee Building around 1950
Architectural Style:
Mid-Century Modern
Architect:
Preston M. Geren & Associates, Fort Worth
Consulting Architect:
Shreve, Lamb, & Harmon, New York
Category:
Office Building