The Dallas West End has a bevy of activity going on every day including new construction, construction on historic buildings and several of our buildings getting some much needed love with some new paint. Our good friend, and former West End Association Chairman Joe Piwetz of ECOM shared some of the happenings and history with me this week so I could share with y’all.  All the building names, with the exception of the Howell Building, have their original name on the building and were originally painted back in 1984. ECOM is repainting all of them to match their original appearance, and bring them back to their former glory. The project is expected to take 10 days.
Here’s the lowdown:
- Market~Ross Place:  This is the current name of the gorgeous red brick building seen above. The ECOM team came up with the name as an homage to the area when the building was renovated in 1984. It reflects the proximity to the Market St. and Ross Ave. intersection, and is actually 3 separate buildings that were joined together in the renovation.
- Higginbotham Pearlstone: The Higginbotham Pearlstone building was built in 1909 and originally housed the Hobson Electric Company. The warehouse was next leased to the Maroney Hardware Company, which was bought in 1926 by Rufus W. Higginbotham and Hyman Pearlstone. The 4 story Market~Ross Place has Texas Historical Markers that acknowledge the history of the Higginbotham-Pearlstone Building as an important and vital anchor in Dallas’s West End.
- The Howell Building: Â The Howell building was built and used by wholesale furniture dealers in 1912. In later years, it also housed offices for the industrial companies located in the area.
- Fairbanks Morse:  This beautiful 3 story building located between Market and Corbin was also build in 1912. Fairbanks Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, farm tractors, feed mills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958. The West End building held the offices for the railroad car manufacturing company and now houses TGIFridays. In September, we cannot wait for the opening of the new Ellen’s Southern Kitchen location. ESK will be on the West Side of the building at Record St and Corbin.
Please let us know if you have any historical pictures of the Dallas West End, any of these amazing buildings or fun pictures of the present day! Please visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to follow, tag or share any photos you may have!! We appreciate you coming down and being a part of the new history. Remember #BehindEveryBrickLiesAStory.
aka #MinervaOnMarket
