Yeah, that picture definitely was not taken in 1959. Judging from the existing buildings in the photo, I'd say it was taken in very late 1963 or early 1964. The Penthouse Condominiums was supposedly built in 1964. You can see it in the photo. I only counted 6 or maybe 7 floors tops. The building has 11 floors, so it must have still been under construction here. The Pickle Building on 8th Street was supposedly built in 1965, as was the Thornberry Building across 9th Street. Both of those buildings aren't showing up in the photo. They may have been under construction, but not out of the ground yet.
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Originally Posted by LoneStarMike
If this photo is from 1959, what is that boxy building just to the left of the UT Tower? Isn't that the J. J. Pickle Federal Building? (It was built in 1965)
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No, that's actually the Sam Houston State Office Building just east of the Capitol. I'm not sure what year it was built, but that's not the Pickle Building. The Pickle Building has slotted windows setback from the facade with vertical lines. This building has a smooth facade with horizontal windows/lines.
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Originally Posted by LoneStarMike
And what's that building just to the right and behind the Commodore Perry Hotel? Greenwood Towers? (It was built in 1966/1967)
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I believe that is the Penthouse Condominiums up at 12th & Guadalupe. That building was finished in 1964. As I mentioned above, in the photo it looks like there's 6 or 7 floors there. The building actually has 11 floors, so it must have been under construction still, which would date this photo either late 1963, or early to mid 1964. It's a pretty small building, so I doubt construction would take long.
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Originally Posted by LoneStarMike
And finally, what is that small building directly in front of the Perry Brooks Building?
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I'm thinking that is the parking garage for the Perry Brooks Building. What you're seeing there is the facade along Brazos Street. If you look, it looks to be sandwiched between two areas of orange (Perry Brooks facade). That section has been changed a lot. Besides a facade redo, they added 3 floors of office space to the top in 2001, I believe, and upgraded the building's electrical utilities. I remember an article in the Statesman about the building turning into a mecca for high tech office space, and that they needed additional/updated/upgraded wiring.
I would say the photo was probably taken in either late 1963 or early to mid 1964. By the way, if it wasn't for the west wing of the Capitol and the Vaughan Building, you could probably see the Cambridge Tower under construction too. It would have been nearly topped out during that time. It finished construction the following year in 1965.
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