Tall City (Midland nickname)

The city of Midland in West Texas has been called the “Tall City” because of the tall buildings in its central business district. Midland (midway between Fort Worth and El Paso) was a center for oil revenues in the 1950s and 1960s; 1958’s Wilco Building is 22 stories.
   
In 1963-64, professional golf’s first Tall City Open helped to spread the “Tall City” nickname.
   
   
Wikipedia: Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County located on the Southern Plains of the western area of the U.S. State of Texas. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 102,073. The Midland–Odessa metropolitan area had a population of 251,842. People in Midland are called Midlanders.
 
Midland was originally founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has received national recognition as the hometown of First Lady Laura Bush and the childhood home of President George W. Bush.
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Nickname: The Tall City
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Cityscape
Nicknamed “The Tall City”, Midland has a remarkable skyline for a city its size. For many years, the Wilco Building in downtown Midland was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, Midland’s tallest building is the Bank of America Building, which stands at a height of 332 feet (101 m). Four buildings over 500 feet (150 m) tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei. The great Oil Bust of the mid-1980s, however, killed any plans for future skyscrapers.
 
Midland - SkyscraperPage.com
Name | Height | Floors | Status | Year | Drawings
• Bank of America Building 101.0 m 24 built 1978 (1)
• Wilco Building 93.6 m 22 built 1958 (1)
• Centennial Tower 58.0 m 15 built 1979 (1)
• Independence Plaza   16 built 1984  
• Pure Resources Tower   15 built 1984  
• One Wall Plaza   15 built 1959  
• Permian Building   14 built  
• Midland Savings Building   14 built 1959  
• Fasken Center   14 built 1974  
• Western United Life Building   12 built 1945  
• Wall Tower West   12 built 1968  
• Vaughn Building   12 built 1962  
• Summit Building   12 built 1981  
• Petroleum Building   12 built 1929  
• Empire Plaza Building   12 built 1982  
• Century Plaza Building   12 built 1978  
• Hilton and Towers 2   11 built  
• Hilton and Towers 1   11 built  
• Heritage Center   11 built 1983  
• Arco Building   11 built 1982  
• Midland Tower Building   10 built 1948  
• Midland American Bank Building   10 built 1945  
• Hightower Building   10 built 1982
 
5 November 1963, San Antonio (TX) Express, pg. 2C, col. 2:
MIDLAND, Tex. (AP)—Shirley Englehorn of Los Angeles fired a three-under-par 68 Thursday to bring her foursome first place in the $1,000 pro-amateur played as a forerunner to the $10,000 Tall City Open.
 
2 April 1964, Sheboygan (WI) Journal, section IV, pg. 37, col. 8:
MIDLAND, Tex.(UPI)—The first annual Tall City Open invitational golf tournament, sanctioned by the Ladies Professional Golfers Association, will be held at the Midland Country Club, Nov. 6-8.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Midland city map and tourist guide
by Midland Chamber of Commerce (Midland, Tex.)
Type:  Map; English
Publisher: Midland, TX : Midland Chamber of Commerce, 1975.
Edition: Rev. 1975
Document Type: Map
Notes: Oriented with north toward the upper right. Includes street and school indexes, inset of Midland air terminal. Guide to Midland’s downtown streets and buildings, text, and ill. on verso.
Description: 1 map : col. ; on sheet 51 x 59 cm., folded to 21 x 11 cm.
Other Titles: Midland—the tall city
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Tall City this and that.
by American Postal Workers Union. Midland, Texas Local.
Type:  Serials / Magazines / Newspapers; English
Publisher: Midland, Tex. : Midland Local, A.P.W.U., 1977-