Western Union Bank At 917 Franklin St.

[DMac]

Citing my sourse as the 1940 Downtowner map & Morrison & Fourmy's '43-44 City Directory {pg. 1207}, is the Old historical Western Union {6 story} Bldg. located @ the S/E corner of Main & {915-919} Franklin {w/no Main str. address} standing today? It would have been adjacent to the old SP General office Bldg. {now known as the Bayou lofts}, on the south end of the bldg.

If anyone knows current status of bldg. may I request same. Also would love to see some photos of if, wheather or not it is still standing

[ChannelTwoNews]

Given the address, I think it's the old Commercial Bank Building. Here are some photos I took a couple of weeks ago.

[RedScare]

That threw me, as Commercial Bank is on the NW corner, as opposed to SE.

[DMac]

That threw me, as Commercial Bank is on the NW corner, as opposed to SE.

The reason I stated that the Bldg to be in the S/E corner of the quadrant: standing in the middle of that city block bordered by Commerce to the north, Franklin to the south, Travis to the west & Main to the East. By mentioning it was on the east side of the old SP Bldg. & @ the corner of Main/Franklin, that would place it in the 200 block of Main. & 900 block of Franklin. And looking @ the amazing photos you will note that the current address is 917 which is a Franklin address and matches the old records listing Western Union @ that corner & w/that adress. I can see that I have some mo research to do as the address & location I have for Commerical Nat'l Bank is 116 Main @ the N/E corner of main & Commerce.

It may be possible that @ some time in the past Commerical Nat'l Bank purchased the old WU bldg. & relocated from the 116 address. The Downtowner map reference in my initial inquiry does not have CNB listed nor does the '43-44 Morrison & Fourmy city directory.

[DMac]

Given the address, I think it's the old Commercial Bank Building. Here are some photos I took a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you for these beautiful photos. You couldn't have picked a more perfect day. So now I have to ask, did you by any chance happen to see a cornerstone?

[Dan the Man]

I remember reading that an old Western Union building was incorporated into Phillip Johnson's Bank of America Center (don't know what it's called now). Demolishing the old building was cost-prohibitive, due to the large amount of communication lines that would have to be relocated. Therefore, the structure was left in place and the skyscraper was framed around it.

[DMac]

Emporis does not have a listing for either name, Commerical National Bank or Western Union. However there is a developer http://www.kaldis.com/commercial.HTML listed as converting to lofts in 2K3 I believe.

[DMac]

I remember reading that an old Western Union building was incorporated into Phillip Johnson's Bank of America Center (don't know what it's called now). Demolishing the old building was cost-prohibitive, due to the large amount of communication lines that would have to be relocated. Therefore, the structure was left in place and the skyscraper was framed around it.

I too read that, so when I was in the city on Jan7-12 I made a delibirate effort to go in and look about the B of A Bldg. and did not find any such western union facility. So that speculation can be laid to rest.

[marmer]

I remember reading that an old Western Union building was incorporated into Phillip Johnson's Bank of America Center (don't know what it's called now). Demolishing the old building was cost-prohibitive, due to the large amount of communication lines that would have to be relocated. Therefore, the structure was left in place and the skyscraper was framed around it.

Yes, I remember hearing that too and I vaguely remember the building. It was 50's institutional as I recall. Like RepublicBank, though, it was catty-corner across from Jones Hall and across the street from Pennzoil on Louisiana at ?Capitol? I don't think that's what the OP means.

[Subdude]

The reason I stated that the Bldg to be in the S/E corner of the quadrant: standing in the middle of that city block bordered by Commerce to the north, Franklin to the south, Travis to the west & Main to the East. By mentioning it was on the east side of the old SP Bldg. & @ the corner of Main/Franklin, that would place it in the 200 block of Main. & 900 block of Franklin. And looking @ the amazing photos you will note that the current address is 917 which is a Franklin address and matches the old records listing Western Union @ that corner & w/that adress. I can see that I have some mo research to do as the address & location I have for Commerical Nat'l Bank is 116 Main @ the N/E corner of main & Commerce.

It may be possible that @ some time in the past Commerical Nat'l Bank purchased the old WU bldg. & relocated from the 116 address. The Downtowner map reference in my initial inquiry does not have CNB listed nor does the '43-44 Morrison & Fourmy city directory.

Presumably the primary tenant wasn't always the bank, so there's no contradiction in its being shown as the Western Union building. The site that was later incorporated into the BoA building is shown as parking on the same map.

[tmariar]

I too read that, so when I was in the city on Jan7-12 I made a delibirate effort to go in and look about the B of A Bldg. and did not find any such western union facility. So that speculation can be laid to rest.

The two-story Western Union building that was incorporated into the Bank of America building was incorporated into the banking hall:

[DMac]

The two-story Western Union building that was incorporated into the Bank of America building was incorporated into the banking hall:

I am certain you are correct. However when I walked thru it twice on Wednesday the 9th of Jan. it is no longer there. But there is a really HUGE open area where one could visualize a smaller 2 story Bldg. occupying the space.

Further reseach has revealed that the WU facility {aka Commercial Nat'l. Bank} @ Franklin & Main now has 2 address's. 917 Franklin & 116 Main. Altho in the photos I can not see a doorway facing Main. The photos below show a doorway facing the corner of Franklin/Main and this may the the one that has the 116 Main address. And I have yet to locate name of lofts for this grand old Bldg., which by the way was built in 1909. Damned near 100 years ago. Now ain't that kool. 1 that was spared the tear it down metality.

[DMac]

Citing my sourse as the 1940 Downtowner map & Morrison & Fourmy's '43-44 City Directory {pg. 1207}, is the Old historical Western Union {6 story} Bldg. located @ the S/E corner of Main & {915-919} Franklin {w/no Main str. address} standing today? It would have been adjacent to the old SP General office Bldg. {now known as the Bayou lofts}, on the south end of the bldg.

If anyone knows current status of bldg. may I request same. Also would love to see some photos of if, wheather or not it is still standing

Finally confirmation. Found an old Bob Bailey street scene photos that shows Western Union sign. Now gotta figure out if the facility located on Louisiana {now B of A Bldg.} was the central cable bldg. Thanks for all the input from the several sources that provided comments & photos.

[tmariar]

I am certain you are correct. However when I walked thru it twice on Wednesday the 9th of Jan. it is no longer there. But there is a really HUGE open area where one could visualize a smaller 2 story Bldg. occupying the space.

Interesting... I haven't been in there recently and will have to take a look. I think the picture on the left below shows the tall interior wall that I always thought was hiding the old building.

As for the building at Main and Franklin, here are some newspaper snippets:

1886: "The Light Guard opened their new armory and club-room to-night. It is situated over the Commercial bank, on the corner of Franklin and Main streets."

1906, in an article about working telegraph operators being assaulted by striking telegraph workers: "The second attack was made last night upon the working operators by those who recently went out on a strike. The scene of the difficulty was the intersection of Franklin avenue and Main street, between the First National Bank and the offices of the Western Union Company."

1885: "The Western Union Telegraph company's office is to be moved about the 1st of May to No. 28 Main street, the building formerly occupied by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad as offices."

1885: "At 1 o'clock to-day Alexander Russel, in charge of the construction of the Gul, Colorado and Santa Fe telegraph lines, completed an additional wire from Galveston to Houston, connecting with the Baltimore and Ohio line on the corner of Main and Franklin streets."

1905: "This [fire] box is located on a corner [at the instersection of Main and Franklin] where stand the two biggest bank buildings in the city, the Southern Pacific and the Western Union Telegraph offices."

Don't know if any of that helps at all. But it does suggest there was a Commercial Bank building at or near the same location before 1909 - probably an earlier building.

[Ross]

Here's a link to an earlier discussion where the WU building inside the BoA building is mentioned, about half way down the page http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/l...x.php/t213.html

[Highrise Tower]

wow!!

Edwin Hobby. John H. Kirby.
Hobby & Kirby,
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Attorneys and Councellors at Law
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Office rooms 6 and 7 Commercial Bank building, Houston, Texas.