Tower Petroleum Building vs Mercantile National Bank Building

Comparing the Tower Petroleum Building and the Mercantile National Bank Building is interesting because they both rise in Dallas, TX, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Mark Lemmon and Walter W. Ahlschlager, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Dallas across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The Mercantile National Bank Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 430ft (131m) with 31 floors above ground, while the Tower Petroleum Building reaches 315ft (96m) with 23 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Tower Petroleum Building and the Mercantile National Bank Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The Mercantile National Bank Building was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Tower Petroleum Building was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Tower Petroleum Building is primarily hotel, while the Mercantile National Bank Building is primarily residential .

However, both of them have shifted purpose since their completion. The Tower Petroleum Building evolved from commercial to hotel, while the Mercantile National Bank Building moved from commercial to residential .

The Tower Petroleum Building incorporates a 4-star hotel with 177 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Mercantile National Bank Building offers 213 residential units.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.