Dallas Innovates reported on April 18, 2023 that Wildcat Management listed the historic Purse Building at 601 Elm Street in Dallas’s West End for sale. Written by David Seeley, the piece described the six-story 1905 Chicago Italianate-style building as not just historic but a witness to history — located directly across the street from Dealey Plaza and the former Texas School Book Depository, now home to the Sixth Floor Museum attracting nearly 7 million visitors each year.
Key Highlights
- Dallas Innovates reported on the Purse Building listing, framing it as a landmark that is not just historic but a witness to history
- The building sits directly across from Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, which attracts nearly 7 million visitors annually
- Built in 1905 as the only building in Dallas with a cast iron facade, originally housing the Parlin and Orendorff Implement Company
- In 1928 Hall and Purse Co. became the main tenant, giving the building the name it carries today
- The FBI commandeered the building during its JFK assassination investigation in 1963
- Dallas County bought the building in 1978 and it was vacated in 1994, sitting empty for nearly 30 years before Wildcat acquired and restored it
- Wildcat’s renovation was described as creating a contagion of reactivation in the West End district
- A floor-to-ceiling portrait of urbanist Jane Jacobs is a standout feature on the first floor
Why This Coverage Matters
Dallas Innovates is the publication of record for the Dallas innovation and entrepreneurship community, reaching business leaders, city officials, developers, and investors who are shaping the next chapter of Dallas. Coverage there frames stories in the context of what Dallas is becoming, not just what it has been — which is exactly the right frame for the Purse Building.
The Jane Jacobs portrait on the first floor is not incidental detail. Jacobs is the patron saint of urban revitalization — her arguments for the value of density, mixed use, and human-scale streets are the intellectual foundation of everything Wildcat Management has done in downtown Dallas for two decades. Putting her portrait in the Purse Building’s lobby is a statement about the kind of development Ragan believes in and the kind of buyer she is looking for.
“The Purse Building has been my pride project. What a phenomenal feeling that the legacy of Wildcat’s role in this extraordinary landmark will continue on as a vibrant part of the city I love.”
— Tanya Ragan
As Seen on Dallas Innovates
Founder and President of Wildcat Management, Tanya Ragan is a Dallas real estate developer, investor, and entrepreneur with twenty years developing some of North Texas’s most recognized neighborhoods. 2024 Texas Icon. Top 100 CRE Influencer. Co-author of Blaze Your Own Trail. She started in fashion, detoured through oil fields, built half of downtown Dallas, and has opinions about all three.