Casa Linda Park — 1947-1977

by Paula Bosse

casa-linda_aerial_baseball-diamond_squire-haskins_072047_dallas-municipal-archives_portalThe idyllic Casa Linda countryside, 1947…

by Paula Bosse

Here are several aerial photographs, taken over a 30-year span, showing Casa Linda Park, located east of White Rock Lake — most (if not all) were taken by noted Dallas photographer Squire Haskins. When the little 6.3-acre park opened in 1947, it was described by The Dallas Morning News as “rustic and picturesque” (DMN, Aug. 19, 1947), a description which could be used for the whole Casa Linda area which was being developed at the time by Carl Brown.

The land for Casa Linda Park was purchased by the City of Dallas in March, 1947, and it is bounded by Old Gate Lane on the southwest, the curving San Saba Drive on the north, and what used to be the Santa Fe Railway railroad tracks on the southeast, between White Rock Lake and Buckner Blvd. I’m not exactly sure where Little Forest Hills ends and Casa Linda begins, but both neighborhoods could claim this cute little park as their own, I suppose.

These aerial photos are from the Dallas Municipal Archives, via the Portal to Texas History (links can be found at the bottom of this post). All photos are larger when clicked. See your house?

At the top, the earliest photo of the park in this collection, taken in July, 1947 by Squire Haskins.

Below, the second Haskins photo, from 1954:

casa-linda_aerial_baseball-diamond_squire-haskins_1954_dallas-municipal-archives_portal

Below, another Haskins photo, from January, 1966:

casa-linda-park_aerial_baseball-diamond_squire-haskins_jan-1966_dallas-municipal-archives_portal

Another Haskins photo, from July, 1970:

casa-linda_aerial_baseball-diamond_squire-haskins_july-1970_dallas-municipal-archives_portal

And lastly, a photo by an unidentified photographer, from July, 1977 — 30 years to the month after the photo at the top was taken:

casa-linda-park_aerial_july-1977_dallas-municipal-archives_portal

*

An aerial Google view of the park today can be seen here.

***

Sources & Notes

These photos are from the Dallas Municipal Archives, and are included in the collection “Dallas Parks Aerial Photographs” provided to UNT’s Portal to Texas History site; all photos above can be found here.

See aerials of nearby Casa View Park — taken by Squire Haskins between 1954 and 1974 — in the Flashback Dallas post “Casa View Elementary/Casa View Park — 1954-1974,” here.

*

Copyright © 2018 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.