Christmas at NorthPark — 1970s
by Paula Bosse
A familiar scene to Dallas shoppers
by Paula Bosse
NorthPark was the mall of my childhood — in fact, I don’t recall my family going to any other mall. I loved going there at Christmastime — to see the decorations, to watch a puppet show, to slide down those pillars, and, of course, to visit Santa. These photos from the Instagram feed of NorthPark Center are very nostalgic.
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Above, 1971. How to get to Santa: take a right at the fountain, walk and walk (…and walk) — things start picking up the closer you get to Neiman’s — hang a right at N-M, and there he is!
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Admiring a snowman, ca. 1970.
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Also admiring a “tree” suspended over one of the iconic NP fountains, ca. 1970.
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If you’ve been to NorthPark at Christmas you’ve seen the aerial display of Santa and his sleigh being whisked away by flying reindeer. This is NorthPark Center’s caption from Instagram: “Flying high over Neiman Marcus Fountain Court, the vintage Candy Santa and Pecan Reindeer installation has been a special part of NorthPark’s holiday tradition since 1965. The handcrafted display, consisting of real pecans, almonds, red and black licorice, marshmallows, sour cherries, raisins, and other candies, portrays Santa and his reindeer on their way to deliver presents to children all over the world.” Those pecan-studded reindeer really fascinated me as a kid. (The photo below is undated.)
1970:
via NorthPark’s Pinterest page
1972:
They’re still flying high, to the delight of 21st-century children:
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And, lastly, what every child saw before and after a holiday visit to NorthPark. When your car pulled into a parking spot you were filled with excited anticipation, and when you left, you were over-stimulated and exhausted. But happy.
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!
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Sources & Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all photos from the Instragram feed of @NorthParkCenter.
See many, many more Flashback Dallas Christmas posts from years gone by here.
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Copyright © 2021 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
Paula, didn’t they have that huge model train set up as well? Mickey Grant
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My father died in October of 1973. We came to Dallas for Thanksgiving. Old friends of my parents lived in Richardson at the time and took us to North Park. It was quite magical.
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Merry Christmas I too remember this North
Park mall. Seems like just yesterday
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In the first photo featuring the pecan reindeer that is undated the Southwestern Bell Phone Center Store was first listed at Northpark in the 1978 Polk’s directory.
Because of deregulation the name was changed to Southwestern Bell Service Center at the beginning of 1983.
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Also 5-7-9 stores weren’t around too long, so this could be easy to pin down.
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I remember going there all through the mid-sixties after it opened. My wife and I stopped going around 2008 because of the crime around and in the mall. The folks in Highland and University Park liked to think of Northpark as their own little slice of heaven, but then the folks across Central expressway discovered there is gold in them thar halls. Too much crime and purse snatching in the mall and the parking garages and lots. Goodbye Northpark.
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When they expanded the mall it lost all its charm and uniqueness. Never the same after that.
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The undated photo is between 1974 and 1980. The wing between Neiman’s and Lord and Taylor opened in late summer or fall of 1974 and I went to work at Brentano’s about then. Brentano’s was next to Salon America, just to the left upstairs in the photo above. I remember it being literally cheek by jowl the entire length of the mall from Penney’s to Lord and Taylor. It was exhausting but a really fun time to work there.
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[…] “CHRISTMAS AT NORTHPARK — 1970s” […]
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Thanks for putting this together. My family made and installed all these decorations. It made my brother and I happy to see this.
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You’re welcome! And thank you to your family!!
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Such a great, and true, post. I first went to Northpark in December of 1965 when it first opened. We were driving to Fort Stockton from Mississippi. Our hosts told us we had to go there. I had never seen anything like it in south MS, and was enthralled by the pecan reindeer. I just returned there for what has become an annual visit to just walk the mall and get in the Christmas spirit. It’s a snapshot from my childhood and I love it.
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