Charles William Bulger was born in Indiana on August 3, 1857. He became a prolific architect who practiced over the years from offices in Trinidad, Colorado, Galveston, Texas (before and after the hurricane), and Dallas, Texas. He designed structures all over the United States. Bulger is known for having designed many churches, with various accounts numbering his church projects at 75 to 100.
In Dallas, three of his projects are usually noted: Praetorian Building (called the first steel reinforced concrete skyscraper in Dallas but now demolished), McKinney Avenue Baptist Church (now demolished, but a stately brick and stucco structure in what is now called Uptown) and Gaston Avenue Baptist Church (now part of the campus of Criswell College). The Praetorian Building stood until 2013. Until then it was reskinned and went by the name of Stone Plaza Tower. The McKinney Avenue Baptist building was most recently the home of the Hard Rock Cafe before it fell to redevelopment. The Gaston Avenue Baptist Church building still stands, although its entrance had to be redone because of the widening of Gaston Avenue.
Bulger’s last entity was C. W. Bulger and Son, which he operated with his son and fellow architect Clarence Castleman Bulger. C. W. Bulger died on June 17, 1922 at the age of 64. He is buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park along with his widow, son and daughter.
(Building since has been demolished)
Partial listing of projects credited to C. W. Bulger:
- Zion’s German Lutheran Church – Trinidad, Colorado
- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church – Shreveport, Louisiana
- Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd – Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Beach Street Baptist Church – Texarkana, Arkansas
- First Baptist Church – Welch, Virginia
- First Baptist Church – Trinidad, Colorado
- First Baptist Church – Austin, Texas
- McKinney Avenue Baptist Church – Dallas, Texas
- Nevada Baptist Church – McKinney, Texas
- Westminster College – Collin County, Texas
- Gaston Avenue Baptist Church – Dallas, Texas
- Praetorian Building – Dallas, Texas
- Praetorian Building – Waco, Texas
- First Baptist Church – Mexia, Texas
- First Presbyterian Church – Wichita Falls, Texas
- Water Works Pump Station – Galveston, Texas
- First Baptist Church – Galveston, Texas
- University Hall – Galveston, Texas
- YMCA Building – Galveston, Texas
- F. S. Levy Building – Galveston, Texas
- Christian Church – Galveston, Texas
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