Sheraton Dallas, Original Version — 1959
by Paula Bosse
by Paula Bosse
I love this somewhat fauvist depiction of Dallas in 1959 — it’s exactly what I wish the city actually looked like, yellow sky and all. All those clean, sharp lines and wide-open sidewalks! The foreshortening is completely out of whack here, with enormous cars and ant-size people — perhaps it’s a metaphor for the dismissive Texan view on pedestrian transport. (What are the two flags to right of the Texas flag?)
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My knowledge of certain aspects of Dallas can be surprisingly spotty sometimes. I’ve seen the Sheraton building all my life, but I knew nothing of its history, or its connection to the Southland Life company (both were part of a complex of buildings, which, during construction, was being compared to Rockefeller Center). The inevitable Wikipedia page is here.
What the heck — here’s another angle: the mighty Southland Life building taking center stage this time, with the Sheraton standing in the wings, spear in hand, waiting to go back on.
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Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
[…] A related Flashback Dallas post — “Sheraton Dallas, Original Version — 1959” — is here. […]
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Any idea where this color ad came from?
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It’s a postcard. Just looking now, it seems to be one in a series of extremely cool Sheraton postcards — there are tons of them for the various Sheraton hotels around the US. Just google “Sheraton Dallas” and “postcard,” click on the “Images” tab and scroll down. If you have access to Pinterest, a bunch of them are here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/507358714246630509/
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