Marking the northeast corner of the square, the R. F. Scott Building is one of the earliest Gothic Revival commercial structures in the state. It was designed by German-born Wees (1861–1942), who moved to Paris from St. Louis to participate in the post-fire building boom. An angled corner tower rises from a Tudor-arched entrance through two levels of attenuated piers, horseshoe arches, solid balustrades, and a cornice lined with gargoyles to a crenellated parapet. Six bays marching along each street front have two tall stories of triple windows under segmental arches. Wees demonstrated his virtuosity in a splendid adaptation of Gothic Revival to a horizontal building type in tawny brick and buff terra-cotta.
Tucked behind the east side of the Scott Building at 21 Lamar, the Grand Theater was built as a vaudeville venue shortly after the 1916 fire and was reconstructed as a movie palace in 1937 by Jake Elder, architect for the Interstate Theater chain. The building’s narrow stuccoed facade has colored tile bands, with a neon marquee and vertical sign that dramatically cantilever over the sidewalk. The facade was restored in 2014 by Denny Architects.