1950s | Flashback : Dallas

January 12, 2017

“Howdy from Dallas, Texas” … and An Announcement About Bookmarked Files

by Paula Bosse

“Howdy,” from the home of the Republic Bank Building, SMU, North Central Expressway, the Statler Hilton, the Majestic Theatre, and the Cotton Bowl.

Also, “howdy” from me, along with a notice that I have begun the long, arduous task of migrating files from one big cloud to another big cloud. This will be a problem only for those who might have bookmarked PDFs or some of the photos or files I’ve linked to. This won’t change URLs for individual posts, because if that were the case, I’d be sobbing uncontrollably in a padded cell, trussed up in a straitjacket, unable to do necessary things like TYPE. So … it could be worse.

This will probably affect very, very, very few of you — I, on the other hand, will be absorbed in this tedium for quite a while, rushing against a deadline.

Please don’t hesitate to bring broken links, etc., to my attention. And if you’ve lost something formerly bookmarked, let me know, and I’ll help you find out where it’s living these days.

3 Comments

January 9, 2017

Wynnewood

S. Zang and a brand-new Wynnewood…

by Paula Bosse

Enjoy these photos of the early days of Oak Cliff’s Wynnewood development. (And for an in-depth history of this 820-acre planned community, see Ron Emrich’s Legacies article “Wynnewood: ‘A Tonic to the Shelter-Hungry Nation,'” here.)

Above, looking south down Zang Blvd. in 1950 — see the same view 60-some-odd years later via Google, here (the “current” satellite view is pretty out-of-date, but you get the idea).

Below, Wynnewood — 1961.

The Wynnewood Garden Apartments — 1954, the year “Father Knows Best” debuted:

Wynnewood Garden Apartments:

Birds-eye view of a neighborhood in Oak Cliff that is probably Wynnewood — 1954:

Wynnewood North, residential street — 1961:

The Wynnewood Theater — 1950:

The Wynnewood Theater — 1951:

Wynnewood Shopping Village — 1954:

1949 ad for the “Planned ‘City within a City'”:

wynnewood_dallas-mag_feb-1949

The “Wynne” behind “Wynnewood” (and the man who, a few years later, brought us Six Flags Over Texas) — Angus Wynne, Jr., 1946:

Watch a great little 22-minute film from 2013 on the development, rise, fall, and rebirth of Wynnewood North, “Neighborhood Stories: Wynnewood North,” here, produced by the Building Community Workshop (make sure to watch the video in full screen). There is an impressive companion booklet with more photos, here, which you can browse through page by page (hover over the cover and click on the “full screen” icon).

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Sources & Notes

Top photo from eBay. The only description was the one taped to the photo: “Oak Cliff, looking south over Wynnewood, 1950.”

1961 aerial shot from the short film linked above, “Neighborhood Stories: Wynnewood North”; photo provided by resident Janice Coffee.

Wynnewood apartment buildings: with bike, taken by Squire Haskins on March 4, 1954, from the Squire Haskins Collection, UTA — more info here (click thumbnail on that page to see huge image). Second photo of Garden Apartments is a screenshot from the “Wynnewood North” film; Dallas Public Library photo.

“Birds-eye view” of neighborhood taken by Squire Haskins on March 4, 1954 (described as “possibly Wynnewood” by UTA) — more info from UTA here (click that thumbnail for BIG image). More Wynnewood photos from UTA here.

Photo of 1961 residential street from the “Wynnewood North” film, provided by Janice Coffee.

1950 photo of Wynnewood Theater is also from “Wynnewood North” film (Hayes Collection photo, Dallas Public Library).

1951 photo of theater from the article “Wynnewood: ‘A Tonic to the Shelter-Hungry Nation'” by Ron Emrich (Legacies, Fall 2002) — GREAT history — read it here.

1949 ad from Dallas, a publication of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, February 1949.

Angus Wynne, Jr. photo from Pinterest.

Need more Wynnewoodiana?

More photos from the Dallas Public Library, here.
More about Wynnewood from Wikipedia, here.
Even more from this Oak Cliff Advocate article by Gayla Brooks, here (this is an instance where I would encourage people to read the comments!).

10 Comments

January 4, 2017

Let the McClure Electric Co. Solve Your “Current Problems” — 1952

The lightning bolt on the sign is a nice touch…

by Paula Bosse

This is one of those idealized postcards from the ’40s and ’50s in which everything looks more pristine and perfect than was ever possible in real life. I love the postcard-version of this building, located at 2633 Swiss Avenue. And, glory be, it’s still standing — it just doesn’t look anywhere near as nice as it does in this postcard. (Why must people paint brick buildings? It looked so much better in 1952 when it was brand new. Today it looks like this.)

The McClure Electric Co. — which started life as the Emerson-McClure Electric Co. in 1922 — moved into their swanky new digs at Swiss and Cantegral in early 1952 and remained in business there until at least 1966. In the early ’70s, the building was home to Jim Dandy Fast Foods/Jim Dandy Fried Chicken for several years. Later, it appears that it might have been split up into office space. Currently it seems to be a fruit and vegetable produce company.

And that poor building has lost all its character.

1952 ad

Swiss & Cantegral, 1952 Mapsco

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Sources & Notes

Postcard found on Flickr.

More on the McClure company’s grand opening at this Swiss Avenue location can be found in the Dallas Morning News article “McClure Electric Company at Home in Modern Plant” (DMN, Feb. 1, 1952).

2 Comments

January 2, 2017

“Dallas’ Dependable Business Climate” — 1959

The “D” in “Big D” stands for “dinero”… (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

The booming Dallas skyline, captured by Squire Haskins on September 10, 1959, was used in a boosteriffic Chamber of Commerce-y statistics-filled ad.

“It’s exciting to live, do business, make money and grow in Dallas.”

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This Industrial Dallas, Inc. ad appeared in the January, 1960 issue of Fortune magazine. I found it on eBay, here.

Images larger when clicked.

4 Comments

December 23, 2016

Christmas Toy Sale at Sanger’s! — 1955

Bargains ahead: Santa’s clearing the shelves…

by Paula Bosse

Look at all the toys that were on sale in the final days before Christmas — “at all three [Sanger’s] stores: downtown, Highland Park and Preston Road.” Need a “Ricky, Jr. doll”? A kiddie Geiger counter? A two-foot-tall Donald Duck toy dressed as Davy Crockett? Look no further — Sanger’s has it. (Click ad to see a larger image and take a walk down Childhood Toy Memory Lane.)

4 Comments

December 9, 2016

What’s Playing at the Palace? — 1950s

Film Row: Elm & Ervay, looking west… (click for large image)

by Paula Bosse

In the 1950s, the two prestige movie theaters in Dallas were the Majestic and the Palace, mainstays of “Theater Row” and just a few blocks apart on Elm Street. The Palace Theater (at Elm and Ervay, across from the Wilson Building) is seen in the two postcards featured here. The one above shows Elm Street looking west. “The Ten Commandments” is playing, placing the date that photo was taken sometime between February and May, 1957. The postcard below shows an eastward-looking view with “The Caine Mutiny” on the marquee, dating that photo to the latter half of July, 1954.

“The Ten Commandments” was a huge, huge hit and ran for 11 weeks — no movie had ever run that long in the history of Dallas theaters (it had beat out the then-champ, “Sergeant York,” which had had a seven-week run at the Majestic in 1941).

It was also one of the longest movies to ever play in Dallas. We’re talking a running time of almost 4 hours (with an intermission), something which not only tested the endurance of audiences but also severely limited the number of showings per day. It was an “event” picture, and, accordingly, prices were higher and reserved seats were offered.

Feb., 1957

The number of people in Dallas who saw that movie at the Palace is staggering: over 100,000! Even after its run at the Palace ended, it continued to draw crowds when it moved down the street to the Tower.

The opening-day ad for the movie:

Feb. 14, 1957

There were a couple of things I found interesting about this ad. One was that it had a blurb by First Baptist Church of Dallas’ chief Baptist, W. A. Criswell.

The second was that patrons could park behind the theater — on Pacific — at the Dunlap-Swain station. (Parking downtown for large crowds in those days must have been challenging — not everyone took streetcars or, later, buses.)

July, 1954

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Sources & Notes

Both postcards found on Flickr, posted by the unstoppable Coltera: the top one here, the bottom one here.

“The Ten Commandments” ran at the Palace Theater from Feb. 14, 1957 to May 2, 1957. The film that followed was “Boy On a Dolphin,” which featured the debut of super-sexy Sophia Loren in a U.S. movie. …Which is an interesting counterpoint.

“The Caine Mutiny” ran from July 16, 1954 to July 29, 1954.

A previous post about the Palace — “Next-Door Neighbors: The Palace Theater and Lone Star Seed & Floral — 1926” — can be found here.

Click pictures and clippings to see larger images.

5 Comments

November 30, 2016

The 1957 Tornado, Seen From Old East Dallas

The view from Liberty & Live Oak… (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

Great shot of the historic Dallas tornado (which killed 10, injured at least 200, and left about 500 people homeless) as it was plowing through Oak Cliff and West Dallas on April 2, 1957, seen from the 2800 block of Live Oak.

Aside from the tornado, this is an interesting view looking toward downtown, the Medical Arts Building, and the Republic Bank Building (that rocket must have been Dallas’ tallest lightning rod at the time!). The building containing the strip of businesses at the right still stands (I love these buildings — there are a lot of them in the older parts of town) — a present-day view can be seen on Google, here. What stood out to me was a Burger House — I didn’t know of any other than the one on Hillcrest, but this one stood at 2811 Live Oak from 1950 or ’51 until about 1976.

Below, the businesses in the 2800 block of Live Oak — between Texas and Liberty — from the 1956 city directory (click for larger image):

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Sources & Notes

Top photo from the book Historic Photos of Dallas in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s by Rusty Williams (Nashville: Turner Publishing Company, 2010); from the collection of the Dallas Public Library.

Film footage of the tornado can be found in several videos on YouTube, here.

One of the newspaper reports on the tornado which captures the terror felt by those in the twister’s path and is well worth reading in the Dallas Morning News archives is “‘Roar of Thousand Trains’ Precedes the Killer Funnel” by James Ewell (DMN, April 3, 1957). Of particular interest is the story of T. M. Davisson who hid with a customer in a large empty steel tank on his property.

A previous Flashback Dallas post — “Tornado As Learning Tool — 1957” — is here.

Photo and clippings are larger when clicked.

12 Comments

November 15, 2016

The Expanded “Texas Size” Titche’s Building: Twelve Glamorous Acres of Department Store — 1955

Dallas’ largest department store, ca. 1955…

by Paula Bosse

This photo of the Titche-Goettinger department store (Main and St. Paul) was taken soon after the store’s expansion which increased its size from 250,000 square feet to a whopping 504,000 square feet. When the greatly enlarged store introduced itself to the Dallas public at an open house in March 1955, one of the most notable things about it (for me, anyway) was the fact that 93-year-old Max Goettinger — founder of the department store in 1902, along with Edward Titche — attended the festivities.

The beautiful original building — designed by George Dahl — was built in the late 1920s and was a commanding presence at only half its later size. (Click pictures to see larger images.)

The postcard view above has handily erased most of the other buildings in that block which one would have seen in a photograph, including the Pollock Trunk Co. and the old Hilton Hotel (later the White Plaza, currently the Indigo). A 1942 view of the block, looking west from Harwood, looked like this:

When construction of the new part of the store was completed in 1955, this new 12-acre “Texas Size” Titche’s was the largest store in Dallas, a head-spinning prospect for a city that loves to shop.

If you want a much more comprehensive overview of the Titche’s building — and want to see wonderful photos of the building, inside and out — I highly recommend Noah Jeppson’s Unvisited Dallas post, “Titche-Goettinger Building,” here. My favorite part? Its innovative system of pneumatic tubes!

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Sources & Notes

Top photo by Squire Haskins, from the Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. Collection, UTA Libraries, Special Collections — more info here) (click on the thumbnail image on the page to see this photo BIG).

Read more on the expansion at the Dallas Morning News archives:

“Titche’s Reports Plans to Double Present Size” by Edd Rout (DMN, Sept. 7, 1952)
“Visitors Jam Opening of Texas-Sized Titche’s” by James A. Cockrell (DMN, March 15, 1955)

This wonderful building is still standing, modified to accommodate its current owners, the University of North Texas. Here’s how the building looks these days, via Google Street View, here.

More on the Titche-Goettinger Building on Wikipedia, here.

1 Comment

October 30, 2016

Fair Park’s Statue of Liberty

Getting a bit lost in the crowd…

by Paula Bosse

Somehow I missed the fact that October 28th was the 130th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. And somehow I also forgot that there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty here in Dallas, at Fair Park. It was a gift from the State Fair of Texas to the Boy Scouts and the people of Texas and was dedicated by the Boy Scouts of Circle Ten Council on July 4, 1950. (These miniature replicas of the Statue of Liberty were placed all over the United States in 1950 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.)

Below, the plaque at the base of the statue which stands near the Hall of State in Fair Park. (Click pictures to see larger images.)

Were they sentient, I’m sure Lady Liberty’s numerous miniature offspring would join me in sending belated birthday greetings to their full-size non-replica progenitor.

Photo: Adam Cruz/Roaming Itinerant

Here’s another view of Mini Lady Liberty welcoming the huddled masses to the State Fair of Texas in 1956:

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Sources & Notes

Photo of the Statue of Liberty replica amidst the crowd outside the Cotton Bowl is from Flickr user Coltera, here.

Photo of the plaque is from Flickr user Aringo, here.

Photo of the replica with the Hall of State in the background is by Adam Cruz, from his blog, The Roaming Itinerant.

1956 photo is from eBay.

A list of the Statue of Liberty replicas in Texas is here.

Perhaps we should send NYC a replica of Big Tex to keep Lady Liberty company. (The Statue of Liberty is kind of like a New York version of Big Tex, right?)

2 Comments

October 27, 2016

50 Years Before Main Street Garden Park

Hey, Skillern’s, you’re blocking the view! (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

This view showing a Skillern’s drugstore at the southwest corner of Main and Harwood was taken as the Statler Hilton was nearing its opening in 1956. The block bounded by Main, Harwood, Commerce, and St. Paul was filled with businesses (…and later a parking garage) (…and way before that, homes) has been cleared and is now the lovely Main Street Garden Park. It’s always nice to have green space downtown, but, for me, the absolute best thing about this open space is that it FINALLY allows the beauty of the old (soon-to-be-new again) Statler Hilton, the old Titche-Goettinger building, and the old Municipal Building to be seen as they should have been seen all along: in full view, from a distance, without anything impeding the view. And now … the 360°-view — especially at night — is spectacular! Below, that same block these days, captured in a fantastic photo by my favorite Dallas photographer, Justin Terveen.

Justin Terveen

As much as I love the mid-century skyline of this city, I have to say, the 21st-century version of this end of downtown — this square — wins.

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Sources & Notes

The top photo appeared a couple of months ago on eBay.

The color photo is by Dallas photographer Justin Terveen, used with permission. See more of Justin’s incredible photos here — the one above and many others are available for purchase. I tend to get stuck in the past, but seeing Justin’s photographs of present-day Dallas make me realize how remarkably modern and vibrant the city is right now.

The same view from Main and Harwood, as seen today on Google, is here.

It always felt a little claustrophobic on Main, Harwood, and Commerce — those buildings needed room to breathe. For years, that block in the middle got in the way of fully appreciating Titche’s (this idealized postcard view shows Main Street at the right, St. Paul at the left), the Statler Hilton, and the Municipal Building (this 1920s photo shows people standing on the steps with a former drugstore occupant — Drake’s — across Harwood; Harwood was especially narrow when the building was originally built in 1914, and, as I recall, many were unhappy that such a majestic building was built in a location where it was impossible to fully appreciate its aesthetic qualities, even after the street was widened several years later).

More on Main Street Garden Park is here and here.

Click pictures to see larger images.

8 Comments

Category: 1950s

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