505 North Ervay
Encyclopedia
505 North Ervay, also known as the Reserve Loan Life Building, is a mid-rise skyscraper
located in the City Center District of downtown
Dallas
, Texas
(USA
). Originally an office building, today it is part of the First Baptist Church of Dallas campus.
, whose testimony served a role in the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassination's
Warren Commission
. The building was sold to InsurOmedic Life Insurance Company in 1955, which installed a 35 feet (10.7 m) sign at the top of the building.
In 1972 investor Bill Gaynier bought and renovated the structure—painting the exterior, adding entrance canopies and opening the ground floor to pedestrian traffic. The improvement resulted in a near 100 percent occupancy rate by 1975, and the building was renamed and re-signed the Mutual of Omaha
Building after the new lead tenant. By the late 1980s, after Gaynier's death and a resulting lawsuit over ownership, the building had become mostly vacant. First Baptist Church of Dallas, which owned several adjoining structures, purchased the building in 1990 for $1.1 million. Today it is partially used for education space.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
located in the City Center District of downtown
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). Originally an office building, today it is part of the First Baptist Church of Dallas campus.
History
Originally planned as an 8-story structure, construction began in 1945 on a square site at the corner of Federal Street and North Ervay Street. After a delay, developer Monroe Building Corporation revised the design and the structure was expanded to include three additional floors. The building was constructed of steel, brick and glass; the use of 5 feet (1.5 m) exterior floor separations gave the building a horizontal emphasis. Upon completion in 1948, the building was sold to the Reserve Loan Life Insurance Company, which occupied the building's first four floors. The remainder of the office space was leased to various companies including insurance and advertising firms. It was also home to offices for the United States Secret ServiceUnited States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, whose testimony served a role in the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassination's
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
. The building was sold to InsurOmedic Life Insurance Company in 1955, which installed a 35 feet (10.7 m) sign at the top of the building.
In 1972 investor Bill Gaynier bought and renovated the structure—painting the exterior, adding entrance canopies and opening the ground floor to pedestrian traffic. The improvement resulted in a near 100 percent occupancy rate by 1975, and the building was renamed and re-signed the Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association.- History :...
Building after the new lead tenant. By the late 1980s, after Gaynier's death and a resulting lawsuit over ownership, the building had become mostly vacant. First Baptist Church of Dallas, which owned several adjoining structures, purchased the building in 1990 for $1.1 million. Today it is partially used for education space.