Milam Building

Milam Building –
San Antonio, Texas

At 280 feet (90 m), the 21-story Milam Building in downtown San Antonio, Texas was the tallest brick and reinforced concrete structure in the United States when it opened in 1928. It was also the first high-rise air-conditioned office building in the US. It was named in honor of Republic of Texas historical figure Benjamin Milam. In keeping with that motif, the only flag that flies atop the tower is the Lone Star flag.[1]

Design

The main building contractor was L.T. Wright and Company. The architect was George Willis, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the building engineer was M.L. Diver. The building was named after Col. Ben Milam, the Texas hero of independence. The building has 210,851 square-feet within the tower structure. When built, the building was a blend of state of the art technology and Gothic architecture. It was the first office building in the United States with built in air conditioning when constructed.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

The Milam Company advertising proclaimed air conditioning as the building’s principal feature, naming it Carrier’s "Manufactured Weather." Doors and windows could be closed year-round making the interior environmentally cleaner and quieter. The air conditioning covered the 21 story building basement, cafeteria, penthouse and over 700 offices in between. The Milam Grill cafeteria received lunch-goers daily who stood in long lines around the building in anticipation for the comfort of the restaurant refrigerated air. It was advertised as having a "health benefit."[7]

It is said that the building shares an architectonic character — "primarily from the rhythm of window spacing and from the vertical expression of the piers" — with the seminal New York Barclay-Vesey Building. A relationship to European Expressionism is tied to the "brick-builders aesthetic." Exterior ornamentation is kept to a minimum, except at the top of the building.[4]

Air-conditioning system

The Carrier Engineering Corporation put in the air-conditioning system that promised a 75 degree (F) constant temperature at 56 percent relative humidity. Some smaller single story buildings such as stores, auditoriums and theaters had been air-conditioned earlier, but a high-rise multi-story office building would require unique technology in the original construction to allow for controlled air-handling through a delivery system of ducting throughout the building. The Milam building’s air-conditioning and cooling system consisted of 11 units of air-conditioning equipment (fans, dehumidifiers, heaters). There were two units of refrigeration with a maximum 375-ton capacity for cooling water. There were water storage tanks, pumps and piping. The distribution lines consisted of air-distributing ducts with grills and dampers. There were manual and automatic power systems that controlled the air-flow. One air-conditioning unit served two floors, with a few exceptions. The majority of the equipment was located in the basement of the building.[2]

This early air conditioner was modeled from a German mine shaft compressor. Large ice chunks were deposited in the building's basement to aid the chilling unit. The 18 feet (10 m) long chiller remained in service until October 1989. Its 60 years of service was trumpeted by Carrier as proving good design leading to longevity.[7]

As it opened in 1928, the building's connection to the San Antonio electrical grid and its prodigious power requirements made it 'one of San Antonio Public Service Company’s largest — if not the largest — electric customers in the downtown area."[2]

In designing and executing this installation, and creating an artificial building climate, at least nine competing problems had to be accommodated:

As the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognized, Carrier's "Manufactured Weather" had many benefits. Cooled office helped in tenant retention. The office environment became more efficient and hospitable due to elimination or diminution of "noise, perspiration and fatigue" in a more efficient office environment. Building owners found they could charge a premium of 10 to 15 percent more rent for air conditioned offices. In short, the deal between Travis Investment Company and Carrier Engineering, as manifested in "the nation’s first high-rise air conditioned office building ... heralded an evolution of an environmental kind. It was the first step in transforming the inner-office environment in the South from drudgery and discomfort to optimism and productivity."[2]

Technological milestone

A high rise office building, particularly where summer southern humidity and heat combine, made this creation especially difficult. Special purpose duct work and HVAC equipment had to be designed into the building's fabric. This new technology achieved a landmark new level of comfort for its locale. Prior to the construction of the Milam building, auditoriums, theaters, and stores already had air conditioning systems.[2][upper-alpha 1]

History

The building has survived fires, foreclosure and ownership changes. It was owned by Principal Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Des Moines, Iowa. The law firm of Maloney & Maloney occupied the top three floors. The 1950s had tenancy by Mobil, Shell and Exxon for their Texas headquarters, before they matriculated to Houston. The Railroad Commission of Texas was a tenant.[7]

Architect Willis also designed or had input in a series of San Antonio landmarks: Builders' Exchange Building; Bexar County Courthouse; San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (1926); San Antonio Country Club (ca 1920) original building (with Atlee B. Ayres); Palace Theatre (1923); Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Warehouse and Office Building (1923); and El Conquistador Tourist Hotel (1927); and Brackenridge Park Amphitheater.[10]

The Milam Building was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[12]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The first building with air conditioning was Grauman's Chinese Theater It had the first integrated "complete system" of control, cooling and heating devices.[11]

Citations

  1. ↑ "Milam Building, ca. 1930" (Photograph). Pinterest. Retrieved December 12, 2015. With Texas State Flag flying atop the tower.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Milam Building, A National Mechanical Engineering Heritage Site Designation Ceremony". San Antonio, Texas: American Society of Mechanical Engineers. August 23, 1991. Retrieved December 10, 2015. WHEN IT opened in January 1928, San Antonio's 21-story Milam Building, originally owned by the Travis Investment Company, was the nation's tallest brick and reinforced-concrete structure — taller than comparable concrete-framed buildings in New York and Chicago — and the first high-rise air-conditioned office building in the country.
  3. ↑ Kane 1997, p. 93.
  4. 1 2 Henry 1993, pp. 217, 220.
  5. ↑ "Milam High-rise Air Conditioned Building". The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved December 10, 2015. The Milam Building was the first high-rise air-conditioned office building in the United States.
  6. ↑ Baugh, Josh (May 5, 2012). "Cityscape: Milam Building". San Antonio Express (My San Antonio). Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Saporito, Susan (October 17, 2014). "Milam Building stands tall on skyline". San Antonio Business Journal (San Antonio). Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Milam Building, San Antonio Texas". waymarking.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ Gonzalez, Sylvia M. "Villa Finale visits San Antonio's historic Milam Building". wordpress.com. Retrieved July 7, 2015. Built in 1928 and designed by architect George Willis, The Milam was not only the tallest brick and concrete-reinforced structure in the United States when it was built, it was also the first air-conditioned commercial high-rise in the world (21 stories).
  10. 1 2 "Willis, George Rodney". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 10, 2015. Willis's Milam Building (1928) in downtown San Antonio was, at the time of its construction, among the tallest reinforced-concrete buildings in the world and the first to be air-conditioned.
  11. ↑ "Milam Building". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ "14-3501 Type: Public Hearing On agenda: 1/7/2015 Address/Description: 115 E TRAVIS ST Landmark Name: Milam Building Applicant: Texas Historical Commission Request: Review of National Register Nomination Attachments: 1. Case_13_115 E Travis". City of San Antonio, Historic and Design Review Commission. Retrieved December 11, 2015. Includes 52 pages of exhibits in Adobe Acroat (PDf) format.

Sources

Further reading

External links

  1. ↑ Lambeth, Maggie (December 1986). Texan Books (PDF). p. 3.
  2. ↑ Haggard-Kothmann (1988). "George Willis, prairie school architect in Texas first1=Laytha Sue". Dissertation M. Arch. University of Texas at Austin. worldcat.org
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