THEN & now

The 15-story Praetorian Building at 1607 Main Street, Dallas’ first steel-framed skyscraper, once stood out on the city’s skyline like a pine tree in a wheat field. When it was completed in 1909, the Praetorian was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River; tourists and locals paid 25 cents to visit the top floor and gaze at the surrounding plains. Then, in 1961 (when anything old was considered an embarrassment), the city’s movers and shakers added a yellow and white checkered facade which had the unfortunate distinction of looking like gift wrap for a graduate. The false siding has since been converted to more subdued shades of gray, but the historical charm of the building, now called Stone Place, is still well concealed.