Magnolia Petroleum Company City Sales and Warehouse
Why it's listed
Three miles north-northwest of downtown Dallas, on a chalk escarpment above the Trinity River, sits a former oil distribution complex built by Magnolia Petroleum Company between 1911 and 1918. Six brick and reinforced concrete buildings, a corrugated metal building, a retaining wall and two tank cradle compounds occupy about 5.1 acres. The buildings were scattered to limit the spread of fire, and their layout follows the company's process for receiving oil and gasoline by rail, storing it, and sending it out by truck and barrel. Functions included a warehouse, barrel repair shop, truck repair shop, pump house, garage and a former office converted into a document vault. Shared details include stone-capped parapets and square stone medallions set in brick patterns. The complex served Magnolia's Northern Division. Developers rehabilitated it in 1993-94 as rental housing, and the district keeps a high degree of integrity despite the changes.
Significance in brief: The complex served as Magnolia Petroleum's Northern Division distribution base, and its layout follows the company's oil and gasoline distribution process. The buildings are largely fireproof reinforced concrete and brick with shared decorative details such as the 'sun burst' medallions. The form states the district retains a high degree of integrity despite its 1993-94 conversion to rental housing.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 94001473, listed December 23, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1607 Lyte St., Dallas |
|---|---|
| County | Dallas County |
| Listed | December 23, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94001473 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | S.B. Scott (contractor, Building D, 1911); Childs and Lasell Construction Company (Building A, 1918) |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated by private developers and adapted for rental housing in 1993-94; current function is multiple dwelling. |
| Acreage | 5.1 |
| Coordinates | 32.79284, -96.81046 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 94001473.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999786
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.