What if Buildings Could Talk?

What if a building could talk?

What would it say? Would it say I was built in 1913 by skilled craftsmen who perfectly shaped me for all to see.
I housed the A.H. Harris department store on my lower floors for nearly 50 years. Every morning, I watched people walk to work past my foundation, head buried in the morning paper, reading about the Great War.

In 1947, my owners, in a bid to keep me warm, installed massive steam boilers in my penthouse. From my vantage point, I observed the broken men, scarred by war, struggling to readjust to daily life. I did my best to provide them with warmth and comfort, a small solace in their daily life.

In 1963, I watched a large crowd gather on either side of my street to greet the President as he rode by in his motorcade, only to hear that 5 blocks later, someone had shot him.

I got an update in 1970 to help replace my aging interior. Telephones are now common, and I hear people calling others about their son has to go to some conflict in a jungle far away.

I have seen owners come and go; men walk home from work for the last time, and young college students excited about their studies.

I have stood for over a century, yet my purpose remains unchanged. Towering and steadfast, I embody the vision of the men who built me.

In 1947 a Pacific Boiler being lifted to the penthouse of the Kirby Building in Dallas, TX.

2024 street view of the Kirby Building in Dallas, TX

The picture shows a Pacific Boiler being lifted to the penthouse of the Kirby Building in Dallas, TX, in 1947. In the background, you can see the gothic flat arches that line the lower part of the building.

The second picture shows what the building looks like today. So much has changed, yet those gothic flat arches are still there.

The boilers in the penthouse are likely still in place. They are probably abandoned at this point, but they could still be running.

Excerpt from the historical landmark application for the Kirby Building in Dallas, TX

The building is now apartments and is managed by Sentinel Corporation.