Understand
Midland was founded in 1885 as a railroad stop on the barren west Texas plains, and was named for its location midway between Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso. Since then, Midland has served as a center for agriculture, ranching, and transportation for the southern plains.
Midland was a relatively small city until the 1920's, when oil was discovered nearby. The city was quickly transformed into the administrative center of the Permian Basin- one of the world's largest petroleum producing regions. Today, nearly 20 percent of Americaâs oil and gas reserves are located in reservoirs deep beneath the surface of the Permian Basin. Even today, thousands of people work in downtown Midland in the oil business. Midland has always been heavily influenced by the oil business, and nowhere is this more visible than downtown, where the streets are lined by high-rise office buildings constructed by oil companies. The Bank of America Building is reputably the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix, and the Wilco Building is only a little shorter. The Petroleum Building is a beautiful example of architecture from the roaring twenties, while Claydesta Center a business park of several 5 & 6 story buildings showplaces the splendour of the heyday of Midland's Oil Business. Midland boasts one of the highest rates of highrise office space per capita in the country.
