Another Nail in the Coffin: Storied Newspaper Building Empty and for Sale

SAN ANGELO, TX – One of San Angelo's iconic downtown buildings is now up for sale. 

According to the San Angelo Standard Times the 40,000 square foot building that housed the newspaper since the 1950s is up for sale. 

The Standard Times built the building at the corner of Harris Ave. and Irving St. in the summer of 1950. 

For decades the newspaper was printed in the building. Then in 2009 the paper was moved to the printing press in Abilene at the Abilene Reporter News.

That building later burned down which caused the paper to be printed in Wichita Falls at the Times Record News. Printing the paper was then moved back to Abilene in 2019. 

The newspaper was sold several times and is now owned by Gannett, the parent company of USA Today. Previous owners included J. G. Murphy and Houston Harte. 

The building was originally planned to be a skyscraper over downtown.  The building was never constructed beyond the first floor and a basement. 

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Above: A photo of what the Standard-Times building looked like right after it was built in 1951. Note the name, The San Angelo Evening Standard, on the facade. (Contributed/West Texas Collection at Angelo State University))

Although the building was never completed, the paper was able to operate inside for over 50 years.

Now the Standard Times claims their reporters have "gone dark."

"During one week per month in April, May and June, some of our journalists will go silent." stated the paper to their readers on how they are being affected by COVID-19.

They are selling their downtown home for over $1 million. They will now be looking for a "new location that is better suited to the digital age of news-gathering and production."