The Magnolia Building, Pre-Pegasus — 1920s

by Paula Bosse

magnolia-bldg_pre-pegasus_RPPC_smBeautiful! (Click for very impressive large image!)

by Paula Bosse

This is such a wonderful photo of the Magnolia Petroleum Building — even without Pegasus on top of it! When it opened in 1922, it was the tallest building in the state — all 29 stories of it. (It was so tall, apparently, that the photographer couldn’t get the whole building in the shot!) It certainly looks impressive — and impressively ominous — in this photograph. An added bonus is the beer stein-shaped turret of the Adolphus Hotel peeking around at the left. Fantastic photo!

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Photograph from a postcard found on eBay; written on the back is this message to folks back home in Oklahoma City: “Arrived at 11:30 PM. in this burg. It’s some big place, believe me.”

Brief history of what is now the Magnolia Hotel, is here. (Pegasus was not placed on top of the building until 1934.)

Some more Flashback Dallas posts featuring my favorite views of the Magnolia Building (with and without Pegasus):

  • here — photos showing the major change in the skyline between 1929 and 1939
  • here — incredible photo of the skyline taken from The Cedars, by Alfred Eisenstaedt
  • here — the Magnolia Bldg. lit up at night, with the Mercantile Bank Bldg. in the background
  • here — one of my favorite postcards of Dallas, showing the city at night, with Pegasus the highest point on the horizon

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Copyright © 2015 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

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