Misc. Streetcars — ca. 1940s
by Paula Bosse
Streetcar passing City Hall
by Paula Bosse
A bunch of photos of Dallas streetcars found currently (or recently) listed on eBay.
Above, Commerce and Harwood, looking toward the Municipal Building. Below, Commerce and Harwood, looking south toward First Presbyterian Church.
“Main Street” car and “Highland Park-SMU” car, with Cokesbury Bookstore (at St. Paul) in the background:
“Boundary-Union Station” car, heading west on Commerce, with the Baker Hotel in the background (back when it was still a two-way street). “Smash-Up” — the movie advertised on the side of the streetcar — was released in 1947.
“Trinity Heights” car, heading west in the 1500 block of Elm:
“Highland Park-SMU” car:
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Sources and Notes
All photos from eBay seller “bksales” (current Dallas streetcar items available from this seller are here).
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Copyright © 2021 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
I still have a bunch of streetcar tokens. My Great Uncle drove a streetcar for years and every time I would see him he would give me tokens. He retired when they went to buses because he said “he wouldn’t drive anything that didn’t already know where it was going”
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I grew up in 1950’s streetcars, specifically, the one that at the end became came down Waverly in Oak Cliff. My parent’s house was at Marlborough and Brandon and that one was replaced by the 11Hampton bus. The streetcar made a left turn there and continued to Tate which was an unpaved street at that time and a huge dust cloud rose behind the streetcar. When they pulled up the spikes I ended up with a bunch of spikes that the street workers gave me.
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Unrelated, but I wanted to say that I watched your documentary about Stoney Burns the other day, Mickey, and really enjoyed it.
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Paula, thank you for these images! The street cars were a big part of my mother’s childhood. Every Saturday she would take the street car from Oak Cliff to downtown to see a movie. It always surprised me that her parents felt it was safe to send her off by herself!
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Thanks, Carol!
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I bought the negatives for the top 2 photos and the last photo. The bottom photo was taken in Lakewood in front of the Lakewood Hotel on Abrams Road. The Wyatt’s grocery store in the left background was at the corner of Abrams and La Vista. It is the Junius Heights streetcar inbound to downtown and continuing on to Highland Park.
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Ha! Thanks! I actually thought that might be the Lakewood Hotel, but I didn’t think the Highland Park/SMU car would have gone in that direction.
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Love these pics. In 1952, when I was 12, we moved to Dallas (Oak Cliff) and I spent a lot of time riding these.
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The street car photo with with First Presbyterian in the background is also showing the east wall of the old Carnegie Library (right side of photo). Behind the Library is the Lone Star Gas Building.
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Hey, Oak Cliff residents from the 40s: would high school students have taken the streetcar to and from school in the 40’s? My dad grew up at 1035 Winettka in the 20s and 30s and he attended Sunset High School graduating 1939. I was just trying to figure out if he rode the streetcar or what. Sure wish I could talk to him one more time.
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My aunt went to a private school in Oak Cliff and traveled on a streetcar every day from Oak Lawn.
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Hey, Oak Cliff residents from the 40s: would high school students have taken the streetcar to and from school in the 40’s? My dad grew up at 1035 Winettka in the 20s and 30s and he attended Sunset High School graduating 1939. I was just trying to figure out if he rode the streetcar or what. Sure wish I could talk to him one more time. Thank you!
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Thank you, Paula!
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