Long and Woodrow From Above — 1965
by Paula Bosse
So much open green space! (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
A few days ago, after having done too many recent posts on Dallas high schools, I decided to post this great 1965 photo of J. L. Long Jr. High School and Woodrow Wilson High School on Facebook and Twitter, rather than write another high school post. But then Facebook follower Chris Prestridge went out and took the same shot with his drone and sent it to me. And it’s cool! So now I kind of have to post both of these great then-and-now photos. (Thank you, Chris!)
In the photos we see Woodrow in the center foreground, Long behind it, the Lakewood Country Club at the upper left, and, in the background, White Rock Lake. Things haven’t changed hugely in the intervening 52 years — it’s still a pretty area, but things just seem more crowded. (How I long for the days of school campuses devoid of the clutter of what I used to call “temporary buildings” — but those buildings don’t seem to be “temporary,” because they never go away. And those displaced fields and playgrounds never come back.)
Here’s the same view today.
Below, the two photos, cheek by jowl. Click to see them bigger.
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Sources & Notes
Top photo is from the 1965 Crusader, the yearbook of Woodrow Wilson High School; I found it on Flickr, here.
Many thanks to Chris Prestridge who “droned” the present-day photo yesterday, on March 14, 2017. Thank you, Chris! (And thank you, Chris’ drone!)
See another bird’s-eye view of both campuses — but one looking to the southwest rather than the northeast — in the Flashback Dallas post “J. L. Long, Woodrow Wilson — 1958,” here.
Click photos to see larger images.
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Copyright © 2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
I attended Long Junior High School 1958-1960 (8th and 9th grade). There were “temporary” buildings then. They probably still existed when the photo was made, but are out of sight to the NE of the J.L. Long building. I believe they were originally some sort of military building. At least we called them the “barracks.” I think I recall that they were mostly used for study hall.
When I moved on to Justin F. Kimball H.S. in Oak Cliff to start my sophomore high school year, there were no temporary buildings, despite the intensely crowded junior high/senior high building. For some reason, that was a point of pride for most of us Knights, given that we had attended a junior high (most went to Stockard) unless we were at Kimball for junior high.
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[…] You’ve got to post the occasional photos of the alma maters. I love this photo of Lakewood-area schools J. L. Long and Woodrow Wilson, mainly, I think, because of the surprising sight of White Rock Lake in the background. See the present-day shot, submitted by a drone-owning reader at “Long and Woodrow From Above — 1965.” […]
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It’s been a long time since I have been back to Dallas. The JL Long and Woodrow Wilson buildings look about the same. If anyone from the class of 65 is in the Houston Area or from our class send me an email. I have finally retired and enjoying all my free time.
Chuck Brawner
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Hi Chuck,
Were you from Lakewood School, and Fisher Road, perhaps ?
Gary
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