Desco Tile - Dallas Downtown Historic District (Boundary Increase) - Dallas, TX - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

"The Desco family had come from Trieste, Italy and settled in Vermont where the elder Desco worked for a marble company. The family decided to move to California and while stopping in Dallas, decided to stay and open J. Desco and Son.

John N. Desco took over the company in 1920 and built the Desco Building. The company was responsible for the marble on many buildings in Dallas including the Dallas Morning News Building, the Praetorian Building, Baylor Hospital, Mercantile Bank, Gibraltar Life, the Baker Hotel and the Palace and Majestic Theaters.

This small colorful example of Venetian Gothic architecture was built in the early 1920s by John Desco, as the offices and retail store of J. Desco and Son, a tile, marble, and terrazzo company established in 1907. This building was constructed as a showplace for the workmanship of Mr. Desco and his son to illustrate the various materials and colors they were capable of. Throughout the building's interior and exterior the architectural appointments are of decorative tile and terrazzo. The second story was the tile showroom and is now occupied by an architectural firm. In 1942, the Idle Rich Bar was established on the street level, and remained there as a legend until the late 1980s.

The Venetian Gothic style of architecture combines the use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Arab influences. This style originated in 14* century Venice where styles from Constantinople intermingled with Moorish features from Spain. The style was revived during the 19'*' century as a result of architectural critic John Ruskin and his treatise. The Stones of Venice. Though several examples of this style exist along the eastern seaboard, very few buildings of this type were constructed in North Texas. The Desco Tile Building is a two story structure on a concrete beam foundation and masonry wall construction. The front facade, which faces north, contains large shop windows on the first floor each decorated by six cast stone, gothic arches above. The second floor contains more detailing with green tile laid out in a diagonal grid. The design is only interrupted by three sets of double arched windows which are ornamented with stone pilasters and cast iron grillwork. While the front facade has been clad with yellow tile, the rest of the structure has been left with exposed brick masonry. The roof is flat with a parapet wall which is accompanied by projected shed roof clad with terra cotta roofing tiles."