The Praetorian Building was constructed for the Modern Order of Praetorians' Waco Chapter in 1915. The Praetorians were founded in 1898 as a fraternal life insurance order. They were the first life insurance company to be chartered in Texas, as a result of the efforts of one C.B. Gardner, who had moved to Dallas from Illinois in 1895. The Praetorians' 15-story home office building was completed in Dallas in 1909, and was designed by the same architectural firm that designed the 1915 Waco Praetorian Building (seen in the photograph above), C.W. Bulger & Son of Dallas. Bulger is listed in the 1920 Encyclopedia of Texas, Vol. 1, as an architect whose work is set apart by characteristics of distinction and originality. His son, Clarence, a graduate of the University of Chicago in 1903, was principle designer for the firm and was an author of architectural articles. The Dallas Praetorian Building, one of the first skyscrapers in Texas, was strictly Chicago School in design. The later Waco Praetorian Building, while based on Chicago School organization and detailing, also has a regional flair in its Mission parapet. It remains one of the few high-rise structures in Downtown Waco, and is one of only two Chicago style structures in the city. The Dallas Praetorian was severely altered in 1961, leaving its Waco counterpart as the most significant intact structure associated with that institution. The Praetorians expanded to Waco mostly because of the city's central location in Texas and its rapid development. By 1912, five of the state's largest insurance companies had their home offices there, causing Waco to be dubbed by local trade publications of the era as "The Insurance City of Texas".
The 1898 Praetorian charter specified that the organization be conducted solely for the mutual benefit of its members and not-for-profit. The order was named for the elite guards of the Roman Empire who were chosen for their courage, fidelity, and ability to protect and defend the Empire, hence the sword-and-shield motif and the stylized profile of a Roman guard. Even without capital stock the group grew rapidly, expanding to 14 southern and central states from coast to coast. Its earliest members and organizers included Texas business and political leaders such as Mayor A.P. Wooldridge of Austin, Judge James P. Hart of Austin, Judge J.C. Hutcheson of Houston, and a number of prominent Dallas citizens. The local Waco chapter first appeared in 1911 on South 4th Street, with an insurance agent named William A. Laughlin and a Mr. Fyffe listed as general organizers. Laughlin was the Praetorian General Manager until 1920. Construction on their seven-story building must have started in 1913, as it is listed in the city directory for that year with no tenants. By the publishing date of the next city directory, 1916, there were tenants on floors 3 through 7, with Praetorian offices on the 6th floor. The building's main first-floor tenant, First State Bank & Trust, was not in the building until 1917, but it remained there until 1933.
The buildings name changed to Service Mutual Building in 1934, and to Southwestern Building in 1956, when the building was sold prior to the Praetorian's change from a fraternal to a mutual company in 1958. According to the Praetorian Mutual Life home office in Dallas, most of their holdings had to be sold during that period in order to make the status change. The Veterans Administration occupied the building from 1962 to 1965, after which time occupancy rapidly dropped. At some point, the buildings name changed again to Franklin Tower and became vacant some time around 1973. It remained vacant at least up to the time it was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Today, the Praetorian Waco hosts commercial space on the 1st floor with three main vendors...BRU Coffee, Summer Ellis Bijouterie, and Paper Crown. Many of the upper floors have been renovated into 'lofts' featuring an industrial style design. And the 4th floor is comprised of "creative studios" that are rented out to local artists.
www.praetorian.info/
The Praetorian Building is of significance as one of the earliest and most intact skyscrapers in Central Texas and as the major intact building associated with the early years of the Modern Order of Praetorians, the first life insurance company chartered in Texas. Designed by prominent Dallas architects C.W. Bulger & Son, the Praetorian Building reflects Waco's early twentieth century prosperity, and seventy years later it still retains its prominence on the Waco skyline. All this history confirmed this buildings eligibility for listing on the NRHP where it was added on July 26, 1984. Most all of the information above was found on the original documents submitted for listing consideration that can be found here:
catalog.archives.gov/id/40972987
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
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