Caterpillars On the Job at Ross and Market — 1922

caterpillar-ad_1922_photo
Roadwork in the warehouse district…

by Paula Bosse

I’ve loved vintage and historical advertisements since I was a child. Since becoming more focused on Dallas history, I’m always excited to find old ads with photos of recognizable Dallas locations, like the one below for Caterpillar tractors, which was printed in the Saturday Evening Post in 1922. (Click to see a larger image and read the rousing tribute given to these “motorized outfits” by City Engineer George D. Fairtrace.)

caterpillar-ad_1922

The photo shows a Dallas street maintenance crew grading Ross Avenue at the intersection of N. Market in 1922 (see this location on a 1921 Sanborn map here, and see the current Google Street View here). Every building seen in the photo is still standing in the Historic West End:

  • Southwest General Electric Co., 1701 N. Market (it was later occupied by the Higginbotham-Pearlstone Hardware Co.)
  • Federal Glass & Paint Co., 1709 N. Market
  • Fairbanks, Morse & Co., 1713 N. Market
  • Texas Ice & Cold Storage (partially visible at the right), 701 Ross (until recent years the long-time home of The Palm restaurant; in 1922 it was, I believe, a brand-new building)

dec-2016_googleGoogle Street View, 2016

ross-and-market_bing-streetside-view_2015Bing Streetside, 2015

Thank you, Caterpillar ad!

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UPDATE (2/12/2024): I wrote about the history of the building seen in these photos in “The Higginbotham-Pearlstone Building.”

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Sources & Notes

1922 Caterpillar ad found on eBay.

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Copyright © 2019 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.