The imposing building at 919 Texas Avenue that was a furniture store for most of its history is now for sale.
The DataStor building at 919 Texas Avenue, rocking some of its long history.
In 1992, the former Hemenway- Johnson Furniture store became DataStor, a repository for paper records. The 5-story, roughly 97,000 SF building, is located in the Downtown Arts and Culture Subdistrict, which allows for a variety of uses ranging from office, live entertainment, restaurant and retail sales, art gallery or studios, above the ground floor residential or a combination of uses.
Interior view of the building today.
Interior view showing original brick walls, concrete columns.
Be still, our hearts! The original ornate stairwell to the mezzanine still exists.
Realtor Chris Stokes of Walker-Alley & Associates says the property is listed at $1.5 million, comes with 100 parking spaces on the east side and rear of the building, and is wired for speed with high speed Internet capabilities. All systems in the building are working, (AC, water, electrical, gas) and the building is SPRINKLERED, which we find very exciting. Adding sprinklers to a structure can be costly, but allows property owners much wider latitude as they decide uses for the building. In addition, the building has a functional freight and passenger elevator, which is also exciting.
Rear of the building. LOADS of windows!
This building is eligible for both federal and state Historic Tax Credits, and the Downtown Development Authority will be happy to tell you how those and other potential incentives can work for you.
A recent drone shot of the building, courtesy of Twin Blends Photography.
Photo courtesy of Twin Blends Photography. 1920s, with awnings in the days before air conditioning.
The building, constructed in 1927, was one of the many furniture stores that dotted the Texas Avenue landscape from the early 1900s until just a few years ago. The last to close was Sun Furniture at 1245/1253 Texas Avenue that shut its doors in 2018 after 68 years in business. The building at 919 Texas Avenue is a character in an interesting story of how two hotly competitive furniture companies- Hemenway and Johnson- merged, a merger that eventually led to suit filed by the Internal Revenue Service over ‘changes in capacity of operation.’ That suit was settled long ago; just one part of the building’s interesting history.
The floor of then-Hemenway Furniture Store.
There must have been a heck of a sale the day this photo was snapped. Photo courtesy Twin Blends Photography.
This interior shot must be the day of the big sale.
One thing is certain – this building is a wonderful opportunity for a variety of uses, and sits in the up-and-coming Shreveport Common Art and Culture District, just across the street from Caddo Common Park and the famed Municipal Auditorium.
To schedule a showing, contact Realtor Chris Stokes.
