While there’s much to be said about the preservation of buildings for their historical significance, building reuse offers even more say about the preservation of resources and land. Therefore, it’s a great opportunity when these two ideals intersect. Such was the case in Dallas where the Monroe Shops building, originally constructed in 1914, was reborn as a police department headquarters.
Having served time as a critical maintenance facility for the Texas Interurban Railway, as a home for a paper mill and as a U-Haul outlet, the facility’s journey back to prominence began when the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) purchased the structure in 1991. At that time, Monroe Shops was in a complete state of disrepair. While DART brought the structure back into working order, and got Monroe Shops listed to the National Register of Historic places in 2007, it wasn’t until 2008 when DART determined the building was the best candidate to house its growing DART Police Department that the facility truly found new life.