DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of the Stratton-Stricker Building, right in the heart of McLennan County. Now, some buildings just hold furniture. This one holds history — and, as it turns out, holds up against just about everything Texas can throw at it.
It starts in 1922, when two business partners decided they needed more room to grow. Golladay Stratton, Sr. and Henry J. Stricker had a furniture company on the rise, and they went out and purchased the land to prove it.
The very next year, 1923, architect Henry L. Spencer put his vision on paper — a neoclassical revival style building, the kind that says this business means to be here a while. General contractor S.B.
Swigert handled the construction, and what went up was something to see: red brick cladding, a basement, five full stories, and a riveted steel frame underneath it all. Now here's where that steel frame earns its keep. In 1953, a devastating tornado tore through Waco.
And the Stratton-Stricker Building? It withstood it. That riveted steel framing, built three decades before that storm showed up, was strong enough to take the hit and stand right where it was.
But step inside, and the story gets even richer. A grand staircase sweeps up through the building, dressed in ornamental woodwork. Pressed-tin ceiling tiles catch the light overhead.
Louvered warehouse-style windows line the walls. And on the second floor, a winged-mezzanine level opens up like the building itself wanted to show off a little. The furniture business kept right on running.
All the way until the 1980s, Stratton's three sons operated it — carrying the family name forward through decades of change in downtown Waco. Today, the marker calls this building and the furniture company a reminder of Waco's original marketplace and downtown district. A century of commerce, a tornado that couldn't knock it down, and a family that kept the doors open long after the founders were gone.
Some buildings just hold furniture. This one holds Waco itself.
What the marker says
In 1922, business partners Golladay Stratton, Sr. and Henry J. Stricker purchased land for their expanding furniture company. Architect Henry L. Spencer designed this 1923 neoclassical revival style building with general contractor S.B. Swigert construction. The red brick-clad building includes a basement and five stories with riveted steel framing, strong enough to withstand the devastating 1953 tornado. The building’s unique interior features a grand staircase with ornamental woodwork, pressed-tin ceiling tiles, louvered warehouse-style windows, and a winged-mezzanine level on the second floor. Until the 1980s, Stratton’s three sons operated the business. This building and the furniture company are a reminder of Waco’s original marketplace and downtown district.