{"nrhp_refnum":"75001967","name":"Sanger Brothers Complex","other_names":["El Centro College"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Block 32, bounded by Elm, Lamar, Main and Austin Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dallas","county":"Dallas County","state":"TX","lat":32.779841859000044,"lon":-96.80454514999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A downtown Dallas block (Block 32, bounded by Elm, Lamar, Main and Austin Streets) holding four commercial buildings built between 1884 and 1910, formerly the Sanger Brothers department store complex and later used by El Centro College.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the block contains four of the most significant buildings in Dallas, showing High Victorian Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque and Commercial-Sullivanesque styles. Together they represent a twenty-six year progression of the Chicago School of Design. The Security Mortgage and Trust Building is called the finest commercial Richardsonian Romanesque example in Dallas, and the 1910 store the best Commercial-Sullivanesque example.","narrative":"Block 32 in downtown Dallas, bounded by Elm, Lamar, Main and Austin Streets, holds four commercial buildings erected between 1884 and 1910 for or near the Sanger Brothers dry goods business. A five-story 1884 Italianate building with a cast iron storefront sits in the center of the block. Beside it, the Sanger Building shows Romanesque character in red brick and sandstone. The Security Mortgage and Trust Company Building, built about 1888, is described as the best commercial Richardsonian Romanesque building in Dallas, and Sanger Brothers later added two floors. The eastern half of the block is an eight-story 1910 department store designed by Lang and Witchell, with a steel frame and Sullivanesque ornament. Together the buildings illustrate a progression of Chicago School design. Sanger Brothers moved out in 1966, and El Centro College acquired the complex. At the time of listing, three of the buildings faced planned demolition, and local preservationists were campaigning to save them.","period_of_significance":"1884, 1888, 1890, 1910","architect_builder":"Lang & Witchell (1910 department store building)","architectural_style":"High Victorian Italianate, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Commercial-Sullivanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"El Centro College uses the 1910 building for classroom space; the other three buildings were scheduled for demolition to create an open courtyard, with a local preservation campaign opposing this.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.204471-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/9716/40971661/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/75001967.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001967/70bdf36472-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001967/70bdf36472-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"RadicalBender at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Centro_College.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">RadicalBender at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Centro_College.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78002918","name":"Westend Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/westend-historic-district-78002918/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971661","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanger_Brothers_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18157738"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/dallas-county/sanger-brothers-complex-75001967/"}