Sears, Roebuck & Co. left a lasting legacy in Dallas that dates back to the early 20th-century - The Dallas Morning News

Editor’s note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News Archives and our specially curated Sears Complex collection.

Sears department store is closing 2 of its last 3 locations in North Texas. The company has maintained a presence in D-FW since it established its Catalog Merchandise Distribution Center in Dallas in 1906. This was the first Sears, Roebuck and Co. operation outside of Chicago, where the headquarters were located.

In November of 1906, The News published a statement from E.L. Scott, then general manager of the Dallas headquarters of Sears, Roebuck and Co. He stated, “We think a great deal of Dallas in the North and look upon the city as being very progressive ... We might have located in other points as centrally located [as Dallas], but we desired to establish our business in a place big enough to appreciate big ideas.”

Advertisement ran in the paper Oct. 1, 1910.(The Dallas Morning News)

The original Southwestern headquarters for Sears was located at 341 Commerce St. in Dallas, with a new headquarters built in 1910 at Arnold and Austin Streets. According to The News, the new building was a three-story and basement warehouse with offices for the Sears Roebuck Company of Texas.

On Sept. 24, 1910, a banquet was held at the newly finished building, marking its formal opening. Special cars were waiting to pick up guests at the Cotton Belt train depot at Akard and Lamar and ferry them to the party. The News reported that more than a hundred businessmen and “prominent citizens of Dallas” were present at the opening. Festivities included an elaborate banquet and music from an orchestra.

In 1912, Sears, Roebuck & Co. bought three tracts of land adjoining their current warehouse, and announced plans to build a nine-story building next to the existing warehouse. Construction was completed in 1913 and the building underwent many renovations and additions over the following decades. It was so large that it contained over one million square feet of space, with accounts of workers using roller skates at one point to speed up delivery of catalog items.

June 9, 1912(The Dallas Morning News)

The company operated out of the complex for several decades, until closing in 1993 due to consolidation. The building still stands today, and is now a mixed-use development called Southside on Lamar, with apartments, restaurants, businesses, and more. The Sears Complex is also a recognized Dallas Landmark Historic District. While Sears, Roebuck & Co. may no longer be working out of the building, their legacy of a bygone era remains with historic preservation efforts in place in Dallas.

Interested in learning more about local history? Become a Dallas Morning News Plus subscriber at archives.dallasnews.com.

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Sears, Roebuck & Co. left a lasting legacy in Dallas that dates back to the early 20th-century - The Dallas Morning News
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