The Kirby Building: The First Residential Conversion in Dallas

Rebirth of a 1913 late Gothic revival-style tower

The Kirby Building is one of Dallas’ finest landmark structures and one of its first high-rise buildings. This historic 17-story building was preserved in its original condition with ornate terracotta exterior friezes, panels, cornices, and finials. Built in 1913, the Kirby Building — which is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — was originally an office building. It sat empty from 1993 to 1998 and ultimately became an adaptive reuse project. Its location in the heart of the city made it the perfect place to offer residential living proximate to much of Main Street and downtown.

Corgan’s headquarters were in the Kirby during the 1970s and 1980s; with its long history and intimate knowledge of the beautiful historic structure, Corgan sensitively designed the adaptive reuse of the Kirby Building for 157 residential apartments. It was the first large-scale high-rise conversion of office into apartments in Dallas. The firm preserved the building’s ornately detailed entry lobby with green marble floors and domed Gothic ceiling. Upstairs, the rich palette of interior materials was preserved and reused, including the white marble floors, dark oak wainscoting, glass-paneled office doors with brass letter drop slots, solid brass light switches and doorknobs and wood windows.