Flashback : Dallas

A Miscellany: History, Ads, Pop Culture
September 22, 2014

1611 Main Street — Another One Bites the Dust

1611-main_clogenson_1909_degolyer_detThe 1600 block of Main St. in 1909, from Ervay

by Paula Bosse

Yesterday (Sept. 21, 2014), a 129-year-old building — one of the oldest buildings still standing downtown — built in 1885! — was demolished. Today it’s a pile of rubble. Yeah, I don’t understand it, either. Dallas has a real problem with preserving its history. In the 1909 photo above, it is the one at the right, behind the three men in white shirts who are standing above the crowd. And now it’s gone. And so is the Praetorian, the tall white building on the corner of Main and Stone. Maybe someone should make sure the Wilson Building has armed guards on 24-hour wrecking-ball watch.

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Sources & Notes

Photo is a detail from “Parade Day, Military Tournament, Dallas, Texas” by Clogenson (1909), from the collection of the DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University. It can be viewed here.

The original photograph is the subject of a previous post, “Parade Day — 1909” which can be viewed here.

“A Wrecking Ball Erased 129 Years of History Along Main Street in Downtown Dallas Sunday” by Robert Wilonsky (DMN, Sept. 21, 2014) — an article on the surprise demolition of 1611 Main Street (which, until 1911, was actually 369-371 Main Street) — can be read in the Dallas Morning News archives.

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Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

6 Comments
September 22, 2014

Parade Day — 1909

parade-day_1909_clogenson_degolyerMain Street looking west from Ervay, 1909

by Paula Bosse

Sun-bronzed, khaki-clad soldiers representing the three important branches of the army, paraded through the city evoking the admiration of 60,000 persons who lined the streets all the way from Fair Park to the end of the downtown business district. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Aug. 24, 1909)

This is a GREAT photograph, looking west on Main Street from Ervay, with the Wilson Building in the foreground at the right, and, a few doors down, the tall white Praetorian Building at Stone Street. With so much going on in this photo, it’s a great opportunity to zoom in on the crowd and look a little more closely at the details. (All photos are much larger when clicked.)

parade-day_1909_det1My favorite “vignette” from this photograph, with the Juanita Building in the background.

parade-day_1909_det2Dedicated parade-watchers. The Elk’s Arch welcoming visitors spans Main Street, a holdover from the 1908 Elk’s convention.

parade-day_1909_det3The dark-colored three-story building behind the three men in white shirts standing above the crowd (1611 Main) was demolished yesterday, Sept. 21, 2014. (A better view of the full building can be seen in the post “1611 Main Street — Another One Bites the Dust,” here.)

parade-day_1909_det4Note the vaudeville theaters.

parade-day_1909_det4aWorkers in the Wilson Building with a pretty great, unobstructed view.

parade-day_1909_det5When this photo was taken, Labor Day was fast approaching — that guy had two more weeks to wear those shoes.

parade-day_1909_det6Watching from shaded splendor.

parade-day_1909_det7Big hats, cinched waists, and African American bystanders.

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Sources & Notes

Original photo by Clogenson, titled “Parade Day, Military Tournament, Dallas, Texas,” taken August 24, 1909; in the collection of the DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University. The photo can be viewed here.

Newspaper articles describing exactly who was involved in the parade and why it was happening can be read in the easily digestible report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, here, and the drier, more comprehensive report from The Dallas Morning News, here (each opens as a PDF). (This photo accompanied the DMN article.)

See other photos I’ve zoomed in on, here.

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Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.

8 Comments