If there is a building that everyone in Deep Ellum really, really cares about right now, it's the Beaux Arts style architecture of the Knights of the Pythias (later Union Bankers).Check out Robert Wilonsky's Dallas Observer article on the history of the Knights of the Pythias building. Built by Sidney Pittman, son-in-law of Booker T. Washington, it was a social home to the early Dallas black doctors, lawyers and professionals. The early use of this building defines much of what resonates to so many as the historic strength of Deep Ellum.
In Robert's article, Katherine Seale of Preservation Dallas, described it as an early days "social institution for Dallas' African-American community and also as the center of Dallas' blues scene". Worth protecting and respecting indeed.
The Knights of the Pythias history goes back to Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and attempts to heal a divided nation. Check out more on the organization here.
