Tall & Urban News

Landmark Dallas Building For Sale

The iconic Magnolia Building is for sale in Dallas.
The iconic Magnolia Building is for sale in Dallas.
17 September 2020 | Dallas, United States

An almost century-old high-rise that has become Dallas' signature building is up for sale.

The 29-story Magnolia Building—topped by the iconic flying red horse sign—is on the market.

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The landmark downtown tower has been home to the 329-room Magnolia Hotel since the late 1990s. Now the treasured tower—the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it opened in 1922—is being offered for sale by its Denver owners.

Designed by a British lord as the headquarters for a Texas oil company, the Magnolia Building became symbolic of Dallas' booming early 20th-century economy.

In 1934, the skyscraper’s position on the city skyline was cemented forever when the 11-foot-tall (3.3 meter), red-neon-outlined Pegasus sign was added.

The revolving display was an advertisement for building owner Magnolia Oil Company and was an instant hit with Dallas residents.

The building was designed by Sir Alfred Bossom, the English architect who also did Uptown’s landmark Maple Terrace apartment building.

The Magnolia Hotel was put on watch lists by lenders earlier this year who were concerned about the owners' ability to pay the debt with the loss of business during the pandemic.

Holtze Magnolia LLP, a unit of Denver developer Steven Holtze and the Magnolia Hotel Company, owns the building.

Once vacant for many years, the downtown tower is prized by local preservationists and has landmark status.

“The Magnolia is one of the most beloved buildings in downtown,” said David Preziosi, executive director of Preservation Dallas. "In the late 1970s, the city wanted to demolish it, and we did a study on its reuse that helped convince them to not do that.

“Could you imagine Dallas without it and the Pegasus? I certainly can’t.”

The hotel sector has been one of the areas of the U.S. economy hardest hit by COVID-19, and analysts warn that a recovery likely is a year or two away.

The Magnolia Building is the third downtown Dallas historic property to be put up for sale since the start of the pandemic.

For more on this story, go to The Dallas Morning News.