C. C. Slaughter had experienced some reverses in the family ranching operations in the early 1900s and had sold a ranch in West Texas. He turned his attention to downtown Dallas, took some of the proceeds and in 1902, Slaughter acquired the National Exchange Bank Building (construction date unknown), adjacent to his company offices which had formerly occupied a three story building on Main Street. After the acquisition, he added two floors to the former office building and renamed the whole structure the Slaughter Building. The final major expansion occurred in 1909 when three floors were added to the building, as designed by architect Clarence Bulger in Romanesque style.
– George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image Collection (dated 1908)
Earliest known photo of Slaughter Building:
The Albertype Company book “Dallas, Texas” – Page 8 (likely around 1908)
The City of Dallas instituted a massive renumbering system for downtown streets which took effect in January of 1911. The 1911 City Directory for the City of Dallas had both the old and new numbers side by side. The Slaughter Building prior to the renumbering had an address that began with 247 and ended with 253 Main Street. After the change, its street numbers began at 1015 and ended with 1021 Main Street.
Building is believed to have been demolished around 1942. The structure known as One Main Place currently stands at the location.
Sources include David J. Murrah, “C. C. Slaughter: Rancher, Banker, Baptist,” University of Oklahoma Press, 1981.
By Mike Magers
