Lang & Witchell

Lang & Witchell was a prominent architectural firm in Dallas, Texas, active from 1905 to 1942.

Lang & Witchell
Practice information
FoundersOtto H. Lang; Frank O. Witchell
Founded1905
Dissolved1942
LocationDallas, Texas
Harris County Courthouse, Houston, Texas. 1907.

History

Senior partner Otto H. Lang was born in Freiburg in 1864. He graduated in 1888 with a degree in structural engineering from the University of Karlsruhe, also studying architecture. He then relocated to the United States, eventually settling in Dallas, where he worked for the Texas and Pacific Railroad,[1] eventually becoming its senior architect and engineer.[2] Frank O. Witchell was born in South Wales in 1879. As a child, his family relocated to San Antonio, Texas. As a teenager he entered the office of J. Riely Gordon, one of the best-known architects in the state. In 1898 he began work as a designer with Sanguinet & Staats in Fort Worth.[1]

In 1905, the two men separated from their employers, founding the new firm of Lang & Witchell.[2] This firm would rise to become the most esteemed architectural firm in Dallas.[1]

The partnership was dissolved in 1938, when Witchell retired duo to failing health.[1] Lang continued to operate the firm until 1942, when he too retired. He continued on in an advisory capacity with architect Grayson Gill.[3] Lang would die in 1947, and Witchell in 1952.[1]

Legacy

The firm is credited with designing a number of buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

Architectural works
Caption
YearBuildingAddressCityStateNotesImageReference
1905Columbian ClubS Ervay St and Griffin St EDallasTexasDemolished.[5]
1906Y. M. C. A. BuildingCommerce and S St Paul StsDallasTexasDemolished.[6]
1907Dallas High School2218 Bryan StDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 1996.[7]
1907First National Bank BuildingS Main and W 3rd StsMcGregorTexas[8]
1907Harris County Courthouse301 Fannin StHoustonTexasListed on the NRHP in 1981.[9]
1908Howard County Courthouse300 S Main StBig SpringTexasDemolished.[10]
1909Hotel Grace102 Cypress StAbileneTexas[11]
1909Scurry County Courthouse1806 25th StSnyderTexasExtant, but altered almost beyond recognition.[12]
1910Cooke County Courthouse101 S Dixon StGainesvilleTexasDesigned in association with Garrett & Collins of Gainesville. Listed on the NRHP in 1991.[13][14]
1910Sanger Brothers Department Store716 Elm StDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 1975.[15][16]
1910Sears, Roebuck & Company Warehouse1601 S Lamar StDallasTexas[16]
1910Southland Life Insurance Company Building1416-1422 Commerce StDallasTexasDemolished.[16]
1910Wichita Falls Union Depot500 9th StWichita FallsTexasDemolished.[16]
1911Dallas Cotton Exchange Building401 S Akard StDallasTexasDemolished.[17]
1911House1766 Pasadena AveHoustonTexas[18]
1911Nacogdoches County Courthouse101 W Main StNacogdochesTexasDemolished.[19]
1911Southwestern Life Insurance Company Building1500 Main StDallasTexasDemolished in 1972.[20]
1912Didaco and Ida Bianchi House4503 Reiger AveDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 1995.[21]
1912Busch Building1509 Main StDallasTexasDesigned in association with Barnett, Haynes & Barnett of St. Louis. Now known as the Kirby Building, and listed on the NRHP in 1980.[22]
1912Johnson County Courthouse1 Public SqCleburneTexasListed on the NRHP in 1988.[23][24]
1912Sears, Roebuck & Company Store1401 S Lamar StDallasTexasPresently a mixed-use development known as Southside on Lamar.[25]
1913Riggins Hotel801 Austin AveWacoTexasLater known as the Raleigh Hotel and Raleigh Building.[26]
1913Rufus W. Higginbotham House5002 Swiss AveDallasTexasConsidered to be one of the purest examples of Prairie School architecture in Dallas, this house is a contributing property to the Swiss Avenue Historic District, listed on the NRHP in 1974.[27]
1913Tannehill (Western Union) Building2030 Main StDallasTexas[1]
1914Higginbotham-Bailey-Logan Company Building900 Jackson StDallasTexasPresently a mixed-use development known as Founders Square.[1]
1914Sally Salzenstein House2419 South BlvdDallasTexas[1]
1915James W. Fannin Elementary School4800 Ross AveDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 1995.[28]
1916American Exchange National Bank Building1407 Main StDallasTexasDesigned in association with Alfred C. Bossom of New York, demolished.[29]
1916Belford Apartments260 S Main StParisTexasDesigned in association with Curtis, Broad & Lightfoot of Paris.[30]
1916Fire Station No. 21011 Pine Bluff StParisTexasDesigned in association with Curtis, Broad & Lightfoot of Paris.[31]
1916First Baptist Church207 S Church StParisTexas[32]
1916First National Bank Building104 Bonham StParisTexasDesigned in association with Curtis, Broad & Lightfoot of Paris.[30]
1916Gibraltar Hotel265 S Main StParisTexasDesigned in association with Curtis, Broad & Lightfoot of Paris.[30]
1917Jefferson HotelWood and Houston StsDallasTexasDemolished in 1975.[33]
1917Majestic Theatre1925 Elm StDallasTexasDesigned in association with John Eberson of Chicago.[34]
1917Y. W. C. A. Building315 E Franklin AveEl PasoTexas[35]
1919Magnolia Petroleum Company Building108 S Akard StDallasTexasDesigned in association with Alfred C. Bossom of New York as the tallest building in Texas. Listed on the NRHP in 1978.[36][37]
1922Amarillo Municipal Auditorium600 S Buchanan StAmarilloTexasDesigned in association with Smith & Townes of Amarillo, demolished in 1968.[38]
1922Booker T. Washington High School2501 Flora StDallasTexas[1]
1922Paul N. Dunbar Elementary School4200 Metropolitan AveDallasTexas[39]
1923Chevrolet Motor Company Building3221 Commerce StDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 2003.[40]
1923Dallas Athletic ClubN St Paul and Elm StsDallasTexasDemolished in 1981.[41]
1923Highland Park Town Hall4700 Drexel DrHighland ParkTexas[42]
1923Lone Star Gas Company South Building301 S Harwood StDallasTexas[43]
1924Hilton Hotel1933 Main StDallasTexasListed on the NRHP in 1985.[44]
1924Nurses' Home708 S College StMcKinneyTexasA contributing property to the Old McKinney Hospital, listed on the NRHP in 1987.[45]
1925Dallas Cotton Exchange Building608 N St Paul StDallasTexasDesigned in association with Thomson & Swaine of Dallas. Demolished in 1994.[46]
1926Clarence R. Miller House5112 Swiss AveDallasTexasA contributing property to the Swiss Avenue Historic District, listed on the NRHP in 1974.[27]
1926Crazy Water Hotel401 N Oak AveMineral WellsTexasDesigned in association with Withers & Morrell of Dallas.[47]
1926Dallas County Records Building509 Main StDallasTexas[48]
1926Episcopal Church of the Incarnation3966 McKinney AveDallasTexas[49]
1927San Angelo Telephone Company Building14 W Twohig AveSan AngeloTexasListed on the NRHP in 1988.[50]
1927Southwestern Bell Telephone Company Building308 S Akard StDallasTexasDesigned in association with company architect Irving R. Timlin. Now known as Three AT&T Plaza.[51]
1928Eastland County Courthouse100 W Main StEastlandTexas[12]
1928Gulf States Insurance Company Building1415 Main StDallasTexasNow known as Third Rail Lofts.[1]
1928University Park Elementary School3505 Amherst AveUniversity ParkTexasDemolished in 2017.[52]
1928Waco HallBaylor UniversityWacoTexasDesigned in association with Harry L. Spicer of Waco.[53]
1928Wichita Falls City Hall and Memorial Auditorium1300 7th StWichita FallsTexasDesigned in association with Voelcker & Dixon of Wichita Falls.[54]
1929Dallas Power and Light Company Building1506 Commerce StDallasTexas[55]
1929Waco City Hall300 Austin AveWacoTexasDesigned in association with Harry L. Spicer of Waco.[12]
1930First State Bank and Trust Company Building100 W 25th StBryanTexasListed on the NRHP in 1987.[56]
1931Lone Star Gas Company North Building301 S Harwood StDallasTexas[57]
1933State Highway Building125 E 11th StAustinTexasDesigned in association with Adams & Adams of Austin. Listed on the NRHP in 1998.[58][59]
1936U. S. Post Office Terminal Annex207 S Houston StDallasTexas[60]

References
  1. Marcel Quimby, "Shaping the Dallas Skyline," Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas 9, no. 2 (Fall 1997): 13-20.
  2. "In General," Brickbuilder, September 1905, 213.
  3. "Lang Honored," Pencil Points, 1942, 48.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. Mark Doty, Lost Dallas (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012)
  6. Engineering News, July 26, 1906, 30.
  7. Dallas High School Historic District NRHP Nomination (1996)
  8. Manufacturers' Record, March 21, 1907, 293.
  9. Harris County Courthouse of 1910 NRHP Nomination (1981)
  10. American Architect, January 25, 1908, 17.
  11. St. Louis Lumberman, June 1, 1909, 58.
  12. Willard B. Robinson, The People's Architecture: Texas Courthouses, Jails, and Municipal Buildings (Texas State Historical Association, 1983)
  13. Cooke County Courthouse NRHP Nomination (1991)
  14. American Contractor, April 30, 1910, 65.
  15. Sanger Brothers Complex NRHP Nomination (1975)
  16. American Contractor, April 9, 1910, 50.
  17. Engineering Record, March 25, 1911, 66.
  18. Nancy Hadley, Houston Architectural Guide (1990)
  19. Tradesman, August 31, 1911, 54.
  20. Indicator, September 1911, 71.
  21. Didaco and Ida Bianchi House NRHP Nomination (1995)
  22. Busch Building NRHP Nomination (1980)
  23. Johnson County Courthouse NRHP Nomination (1988)
  24. American Architect, October 16, 1912, 15.
  25. Tradesman, May 2, 1912, 55.
  26. American Contractor, July 12, 1913, 79.
  27. Swiss Avenue Historic District NRHP Nomination (1974)
  28. James W. Fannin Elementary School NRHP Nomination (1995)
  29. American Contractor, June 24, 1916, 106.
  30. Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record, June 15, 1916, 14.
  31. Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record, June 15, 1916, 13.
  32. Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record, June 1, 1916, 15.
  33. Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record, January 15, 1917, 14.
  34. American Contractor, September 1, 1917, 50.
  35. Texas Trade Review and Industrial Record, May 1, 1917, 15.
  36. Magnolia Building NRHP Nomination (1978)
  37. "Magnolia Petroleum Co. Is Building 'Skyscraper' In Dallas," Oil Trade Journal, May 1920, 121.
  38. "$250,000 Auditorium and Library," Manufacturers' Record, April 27, 1922, 61.
  39. Manufacturers' Record, July 20, 1922, 84.
  40. Chevrolet Motor Company Building NRHP Nomination (2003)
  41. "Dallas Athletic Club to Erect $1,500,000 Building," Manufacturers' Record, March 15, 1923, 75.
  42. Manufacturers' Record, July 5, 1923, 41.
  43. "Lone Star Gas Company to Erect Office Building," Manufacturers' Record, July 5, 1923, 104.
  44. Hilton Hotel NRHP Nomination (1985)
  45. Old McKinney Hospital NRHP Nomination (1987)
  46. Domestic Engineering, November 7, 1925, 88.
  47. Power, 1926, 38.
  48. Domestic Engineering, October 23, 1926, 103.
  49. Domestic Engineering, October 23, 1926, 104.
  50. San Angelo Telephone Company Building NRHP Nomination (1988)
  51. "Contract for $2,750,000 Unit of $4,500,000 Building," Manufacturers' Record, September 22, 1927, 78.
  52. Cheryl Caldwell Ferguson, Highland Park and River Oaks: The Origins of Garden Suburban Community Planning in Texas (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2014)
  53. "$350,000 Chapel and Auditorium for Baylor University," Manufacturers' Record, September 15, 1928.
  54. Jack County Courthouse NRHP Nomination (2012)
  55. Engineering News-record, November 7, 1929, 1325.
  56. First State Bank and Trust Building NRHP Nomination (1987)
  57. Preservation Dallas. Dallas Landmarks (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008) 30.
  58. 1918 State Office Building and 1933 State Highway Building NRHP Nomination (1998)
  59. Kirby Keahey and Allen McCree, Austin and Its Architecture, (Austin, TX: Austin Chapter, American Institute of Architects, 1976): 10.
  60. Manufacturers' Record, 1936.


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