Dallas History

from the State Archives: , June 6, 1936, the Texas Centennial Exposition opened at Fair Park in Dallas.

The Texas Centennial Commission was created in June 1934 with Dallas outbidding Houston and San Antonio and the exposition grounds and construction to expand Fair Park was underway by October of 1935. The expansion included 180 acres of park grounds and 50 new buildings. In total, the exposition cost $25 million, and an estimated 6,345,385 people attended.

Revisit this Out of the Stacks blog post for more information, images, and TSLAC resources related to the event: www.tsl.texas.gov/outofthestacks/did-you-know-in-texas-history-texas-centennial-exposition/

Image: Land of Vacation Contrasts, Texas Centennial Celebrations 1836-1936. Broadside collection, #641. TSLAC.

Fair Park Dallas Dallas History

Charter of the City of Dallas 1870. Hi-Res PDF can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/dallas-city-charter-1870

Downtown Dallas from the air, 1935. This is one of those photos that you really need to view from the biggest monitor you can find because the details are astounding. Look at the Old Red courthouse at the bottom! One of the best aerials I have posted.

Dallas skyline taken from roof of Butler Brothers, 1920

Traces of Texas reader Rhett Boren kindly sent in this wonderful photo. The driver in the front automobile is Rhett's grandfather, Sam Boren. Sam was chosen to drive the new mayor of Dallas (in the top hat) down Main Street (sign on building top left) because he was one of the only people with a car. In the background you can see a "Sangers" sign which later became Sanger Harris. The details in this image are incredible.

Thank you, Rhett! I love this photo!

Oak Cliff Hotel, Dallas Texas. Built in 1890, Demoed in 1945. Was also utilized as a Ladies College. Has ties to the infamous HH Holmes.

More about the building here:
https://flashbackdallas.com/2016/07/20/thomas-marsalis-spectacular-oak-cliff-hotel-1890-1945/

More about it's connection to HH Holmes here: https://oakcliff.advocatemag.com/2017/10/backstory-oak-cliff-victims-famed-serial-killer-h-h-holmes/

In 1971, Mariano Martinez, Jr. adapted a Slurpee machine to create the world's first frozen margarita machine at Mariano's Hacienda restaurant in East Dallas, proving that not all heroes wear capes. 😀

Photo courtesy Mariano Martinez Jr. via D Magazine.

In April 1940, at the Log Lodge Tavern near Love Field, an Oak Cliff woman expressed her dissatisfaction. She didn’t wish to gaze upon girls’ legs when visiting her local drive-in; instead, she desired to ogle men’s legs.

More Info @
https://flashbackdallas.com/2015/02/20/carhops-as-s*x-symbols-1940/

Panorama, Dallas, Texas, 1910

The 1904 Dallas Telegraph College Class. How great is this?

Traces of Texas reader Lisa Ennis was kind enough to send in this 1965 photo of the grand opening of her uncle's Humble service station in Dallas. Her uncle's name was Vernon Coker and the station stood on the corners of N.W. Highways and Mixon.

Thanks for the Trace of Texas, Lisa!

Traces of Texas reader Steve Behm sent in this wonderful 1970s photo of Mother Blues, perhaps the greatest music spot in Dallas history. It was in business from 1971-1981. I read this description of it: "It was the hangout for every major rock and roll act that rolled through north Texas. The list of stars that headed to Mother Blues after a concert in Dallas or Fort Worth could fill the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame — Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs, Bad Company and the Texas blues master Freddy King. The special upstairs room was their private enclave, but you couldn’t buy a ticket into it for any amount of money. You had to be either incredibly cool, possess the really good drugs, or be a nubile, hot, young groupie. In other words, the price of admission was s*x, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. For a while it was the hippest, hottest, place to be. At the same time it was also the dirtiest and most dangerous, but everyone who was anybody in the rock ’n’ roll hierarchy could be seen there.”

Thank you, Steve. Would loved to have gone there back in the day but never made it.

Main Street in Dallas, 1876. 20 years before this was taken this was all prairie and wooded clearings. It's astonishing to ponder how much it has changed since then! Photo from the excellent John Miller Morris collection of 4,717 photos, most of them not seen on the web before. You can browse and search it here: https://bit.ly/435jdVO

Downtown Dallas on Jan. 10, 1962. The Baker Hotel was on the corner of Commerce and Akard Streets. It was built in 1925 and torn down in 1980. On June 21, 1946, an explosion ripped through the basement, injuring three people and killing nine, though other reports say that 11 people died. Whitacre Tower occupies the space now.

Averie Danielle Bishop made Texas proud last night as she was named second runner-up in this year's Miss America Organization pageant. Congrats. You'll always be our Miss Carrollton and Miss Texas. ❤
Details: https://people.com/human-interest/miss-america-2023-winner-grace-stanke/

Traffic on the part of Interstate 35E known as the Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, 1960. I believe this is looking south. Man has the skyline changed!

Courtesy TxDot

1920 something Downtown Dallas Skyline

This is one of the most beautiful photos of our city.

Historic Dallas Dallas Historian Dallas Historical Society Dallas County Historical Commission Dallas History Memories of Dallas Museum of Memories

Downtown Dallas Tunnel System - 1974

Downtown Dallas Tunnel System - 1974 WFAA Story about the downtown Dallas Tunnel System from August of 1974.

Folks gathered outside the El Chico Cafe in Oak Lawn/Dallas after it was renovated in 1945. El Chico got its start in 1926, when Adelaida Cuellar decided she was going to open a little stand at the Kaufman County Fair, selling chili and tamales. The people who came to the fair ate her food like it was going out of style. The fair came to an end, but the demand for Adelaida's cooking did not. With the help of her twelve children, her crowd-pleasing recipes and unlimited patience, she opened a small cafe. In 1940, five of her sons moved her cafe to Oak Lawn in Dallas, christening the new restaurant "El Chico." Adelaida was a remarkable woman.

Photo Courtesy the Frank Cuellar Sr. Collection (BA19), University of North Texas Special Collections. You can see the rest of the collection here:

https://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?fq=untl_collection:FRANKCR

Edit to original post: the Frank Cuellar archive that I linked is really interesting. Some great photos of Adelaida and her sons who started El Chico and their families. You can see the Cuellar family and its fortunes evolving over time. Really cool.

First loaded boat leaving Dallas with supplies for the first lock & dam on the Trinity River, 1906

4300 Bryan St in Dallas during the 1970's

The Dallas skyline in 1943. It looks almost ---- ALMOST ---- quaint.

Photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt for LIFE magazine.

Original Chilis opened March 13, 1975

Drag Racers Line Up On Hwy 67 In Dallas, 1950

Check out these photos of Downtown Carrollton from the years of 1943, 1952 and 2021! I love these past and present photos!

Dallas County Historical Commission Explore Dallas History Dallas History

Elm Street in Dallas, 1907