At the turn of the twentieth century, building in Dallas was booming. As the junction for two major railroads, the city became a major distribution center for Texas. Between 1905 and 1910, population grew to almost 100,000 and the city doubled in area to 18.31 square miles. In 1913, Dallas became Texas’ financial center when it was chosen as the seat of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District.

With the help of fellow Mason and Presbyterian George Bannerman Dealey, Greene procured his first major commission in 1897: the Dallas Morning News Building (also known as the A.H. Belo and Company Business building). After the establishment of Hubbell and Greene in 1900, the firm began building prolifically throughout Dallas and in other Texas cities.

Having studied at the prestigious University of Illinois, Greene was influenced by the classical traditions of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, as evidenced in many of his designs for ecclesiastical and civic buildings. He was also influenced by the Midwestern architectural innovations of the Prairie School, as seen in his commercial designs for buildings such as the Kingman Texas Implement Company Building (1902). Greene was also most likely exposed to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, whose planners championed both of these styles.

Image, right: Kingman Texas Implement Company Warehouse (Dallas, Tex.): front or Elm Street elevation

Hubbell and Greene also designed the First Church of Christ Scientist (1910), Westminster Presbyterian Church (1911), the Dallas Scottish Rite Cathedral (1913) and Parkland Hospital in Oak Lawn (1913). In 1917 the firm dissolved, and Greene continued practicing as the Herbert M. Greene Company.

Image, left: First Church of Christ Scientist (Dallas, Tex.): exterior view of front entrance, corner perspectiveImage, right: Scottish Rite Cathedral (Dallas, Tex.): exterior view of front entrance