A Few Photo Additions to Past Posts — #24

by Paula Bosse

Central Dallas Public Library

by Paula Bosse

Time for a few more of these: photos, etc., I’ve come across recently that I am adding to old posts on the topic in order to keep everything together, but I’m also putting them here because they’re still kind of “new.” All of these are things I’ve come across while working at my new job on the Dallas History floor of the downtown library (which, so far, has been great!). I’ve been looking through a lot of old Chamber of Commerce magazines on breaks, and that’s where a lot of these images come from.

But first, above, a really great architect’s drawing of the very library where I work (the architects were Fisher & Spillman). I’ve added it to the post “Flashback Newsflash: Working at the Library.” (Source: Dallas Public Library Archives, Dallas History and Archives, Dallas Public Library) (Images are larger when clicked.)

This photo of kids lining up to buy tickets to see The Beatles ran with this caption: “The Preston Ticket Agency, a service of the Preston State Bank of Dallas, recently attracted this crowd when the agency was named to handle the exclusive sale of tickets for a September performance in Dallas of the Beatles quartet. Some youngsters stood in line 24 hours before the ticket office opened for business. The Preston Ticket Agency has been in operation since 1963, and last year served over 40,000 customers with tickets to major Dallas entertainment attractions.” It has been added to 2014 post “The Fab Four in Big D — 1964” (Source: Dallas magazine — a publication of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce — July 1964, Periodicals Collection, Dallas Public Library)

The library has a poster collection. It has been dormant for many years, but it would be nice to get some new additions to the collection! If you have Dallas-specific posters, please considering donating them to the library — or, if you produce posters or flyers for events, keep us in mind and send us a copy. This poster from 1973 publicized an East Dallas neighborhood project that, happily, was successful. I’ve added it to 2016’s “The Gateway to Junius Heights” (and, incidentally, the 1917 date on the poster is incorrect, as I found ads from 1909 that had the pillars/columns/gate in them). (Source: Poster Collection, DPL)

This 1936 ad for the Outdoor Electric Advertising company features a photo of the exterior of the Main Street side of the Adolphus, with a big neon sign for the Century Club and a smaller sign for the Adolphus Bar. I’ve included this in the 2022 post “1400 Block of Main Street, ca. 1946,” which shows this same view in the daytime. (Source: Southwest Business — published by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce — Sept. 1936 — Periodicals Collection, DPL)

I really like this photo of Everette DeGolyer, seen here with Stanley Marcus, so I’ve added it to “Everette Lee DeGolyer, Bibliophile” (2016). (Source: Dallas magazine, Sept. 1951, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

This cool art deco building began as an automobile showroom but became a National Defense School during WWII. I’ve added it to “2222 Ross Avenue: From Packard Dealership to ‘War School’ to Landmark Skyscraper” (2015). (Source: 1942 booklet “Young America in Dallas,” DPL)

This photo and ad regarding the decor of the Administration Building during the Texas Centennial have been added to the agonizingly titled “State Fair Coliseum/Centennial Administration Building/Women’s Museum/Women’s Building” (2018). (Sources: photo is from Southwest Business, June 1936; ad is from the Oct. 1936 issue of the same magazine, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

Still on the Centennial, this is a cool photo showing the large team of lighting people who produced what, by all accounts, was the most spectacular thing about the already overwhelmingly spectacular Texas Centennial (and, also, the following year’s Pan-American Exposition): the lighting displays, which, at the time, cost more than $500,000 (equivalent now to more than $11.5 million). From the article that accompanied this photo: “The general lighting effect is a battery of twenty-four 36-inch searchlights as powerful as the giants that flash from the dreadnoughts of Uncle Sam’s navy. Each searchlight will produce 60 million candlepower. Combined, the battery has a total candlepower of 1.5 billion. A 350,000-watt power generator will produce this colossal quantity of ‘juice.'” You can see those 24 giant searchlights (and the tiny-looking men standing next to them) in this photo, which has been added to 2016’s “Albert Einstein ‘Threw the Switch’ in New Jersey to Open the Pan-American Exposition in Dallas — 1937.” (Source: Southwest Business, June 1936, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

This Dallas Power & Light ad has been added to the 2024 post “On the Line at Coca-Cola — 1964.” (Source: Dallas magazine, April 1964, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

Here’s the Preston Road Neiman-Marcus under construction. I’ve added it to “Neiman’s First Suburban Store: Preston Road — 1951-1965” (2020), (Source: Dallas magazine, Feb. 1951, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

The Highland Park swimming pool looks so quaint. I’ve added it to another quaint photo in 2015’s “A Dip in the HP Pool — 1924.” (Source: Highland Park, an interesting newspaper published by developers Flippen-Prather, June 1927, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

And, lastly, I’ve added an article which was, basically, a what-the-heck-is-the-deal-with Zangs vs. Zang’s vs. Zang Boulevard? It adds a little (only a little) insight. The caption for these two photos (very difficult to capture with a phone!): “Harry Gaston, Oak Cliff real estate and insurance man, points out the ZANGS street sign in the north 700 block of the boulevard at Canty Street. A look of bewilderment adorns his face, however, when he discovers the ZANG (no S) sign on the opposite end and other side of the same north 700 block. City records show ZANG as the correct spelling… a reorientation program for the public and some great big headaches for map makers.” The scanned article (not included here), these very wonky photos, and a portrait of Louis C. Zang have been added to 2017’s “Zang and Beckley.” (Source: Oak Cliff magazine — published by the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce — Nov. 1967, Periodicals Collection, DPL)

Enough for this installment!

Flashback : Dallas