1950s | Flashback : Dallas

I have such a weird fondness for the old Central Expressway/Northwest Highway cloverleaf interchange, at NorthPark. In fact, I kind of forget it’s not there anymore. I have fairly scary memories of my mother driving like a bat out of hell on it. I’m pretty sure the car was tipped at an angle on two tires as we rounded those curves. And I remember being behind the wheel myself when I was a new driver, white-knuckling it until I hit the straight-away. Strange that I have such fond memories of it, because a lot of those memories were kind of terrifying! I guess it has to be the design. It was cool. COOL! The photo above is just great. The view is to the south from Northwest Highway, across open Caruth farmland. Mid-’50s. Pre-NorthPark. Pre-people. Pre-traffic.

Below, after NorthPark’s arrival (photo from Oct. 1967):

Here’s an interesting photo I stumbled across in an issue of SMU’s Daily Campus newspaper from 1951 — a personal-size cloverleaf:

SMU Daily Campus, May 5, 1951

I really miss the Northwest Highway cloverleaf. I think about it almost every time I drive past NorthPark on Central. Shoulda kept it, Dallas.

***

Sources & Notes

The top two photos are from the book Dallas-Fort Worth Freeways by Oscar Slotboom (top photo from TxDOT, second photo from UTA Libraries, Special Collections).

This post appeared in a slightly different form on the Flashback Dallas Patreon page.

patreon_cloverleaf_south_txdot_slotboom_ca-mid-1950s_color

9 Comments

February 27, 2024

Salih’s, Preston Center: 1953-1977

1968, Preston Center (W. T. White yearbook)

by Paula Bosse

If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that you have fond memories of Salih’s Barbecue in Preston Center (or its later incarnation in Addison as “Solly’s”). I have to admit, I had never heard of Salih’s until I started this blog in 2014 (I completely forgot to note the landmark of 10 full years of Flashback Dallas a couple of weeks ago!). But, from what I’ve read, this was an incredibly popular place, and people still rhapsodize about the BBQ, the po’ boys, the fries, the cole slaw, and the potato salad.

So, I’ve read all these memories… but I can find no good photos of the place! There’s the cropped shot of the exterior above and a lot of not-very-helpful shots which appeared in high school yearbooks over the years, taken inside — but they don’t actually show the restaurant! And I understand there was quite a mural in there. I’d love to see a photo of that! Do YOU have any photos of Salih’s in Preston Center? Exterior? Interior? Mural? Please send me whatever images you have. I really want to see them!

UPDATE: Thanks to Mark Salih, son of co-owner Jack Salih, I have a photo of the interior, with parts of the mural visible. George Salih is on the far right, and his brother Jack is next to him. (Thank you, Mark!)

Mark Salih photo, used with permission

Salih’s Barbecue was opened by George and Jack Salih on March 20, 1953. The brothers had previously owned a small drive-in and later worked in or managed locations of Lobello’s in Lakewood (2005 Abrams) and Casa Linda (328 Casa Linda Plaza) — either before, during, or after these locations became “Fred’s” BBQ stands (owned by Fred Bell, founder of Kip’s).

That first business, Salih’s Drive-In, was located across from Fair Park at 912 S. Haskell — it opened around 1945. Read George Salih’s memories of serving the “circus people” there in a Feb. 11, 1987 article from the Farmers Branch Times here.

salihs-drive-in_haskell_DMN_081849 Aug. 18, 1949

After a few years of working for the Lobello family, George and Jack opened their own place at 8309 Westchester, in Preston Center, not far from the original Lobello’s on Northwest Highway. Eventually, Jack moved to East Texas and opened another barbecue place (the Angus Inn in Longview), and George ran the Dallas restaurant. (Click ad to see a larger image.)

March 20, 1953 — opening day

An article in the Dallas Morning News describes the new Dallas restaurant thusly:

The restaurant features unique styling in both interior and exterior design. Relief murals decorate the walls inside, while small wooden shutters afford a rustic flavor. The exterior incorporates Roman brick construction, with tall red columns decorated with glass paneling added as a decorative feature. (DMN, March 20, 1953)

It also notes that the Salih brothers were the restaurant’s chefs.

I mentioned this Park Cities landmark in a recent Patreon post, and a kind member described the mural (designed, I believe, by artist Frank J. Boerder):

It was a 3-dimensional cut-out depiction of a cowboy scene, back-lit by a set of red-orange lamps. It ran the length of the south wall of the interior. When you looked at it the scene was in black, back-lit by the lamps. Very striking for a BBQ place. (Plus, the food was very, very good.)

Salih’s is described in the ad above as “a dining area which provides an inviting atmosphere with ultramodern ranch-style design.” I would really like to see this!

Salih’s left Preston Center around 1977, leaving for the then-sparsely populated wilderness of Addison. The restaurant’s name was changed to “Solly’s” (which was either a new name for a new location, a guide for new customers on how to pronounce the Lebanese name, or a sad concession to deal with possible Middle Eastern biases). Solly’s closed in 2004.

Below are a lot of ads that appeared in the yearbooks of Highland Park High School and W. T. White High School. I was hoping to see more of the interior but, instead, got lots of photos of kids in paper hats (which I still enjoy!). So here they are!

salihs_smu-campus_081656 SMU Daily Campus, 1956
*

salihs_HPHS_1960-yrbk HPHS, 1960
*

salihs_HPHS_1961-yrbk HPHS, 1961
*

salihs_HPHS_1962-yrbk HPHS, 1962
*

salihs_HPHS_1963-yrbk HPHS, 1963
*

salihs_HPHS_1964-yearbook HPHS, 1964
*

salihs_w-t-white_1966-yearbook WTW, 1966
*

salihs_HPHS_1967-yrbk HPHS, 1967
*

Part of the mural over their heads?

salihs_w-t-white_1967-yrbk WTW, 1967
*

salihs_HPHS_1968-yearbook HPHS, 1968
*

salihs_HPHS_1969-yrbk HPHS, 1969
*

More of the carved mural?

salihs_w-t-white_1969-yrbk WTW, 1969
*

salihs_HPHS_1970-yrbk HPHS, 1970
*

salihs_HPHS_1971-yrbk HPHS, 1971
*

salihs_HPHS_1972-yrbk HPHS, 1972
*

salihs_HPHS_1973-yrbk HPHS, 1973
*

salihs_HPHS_1974-yrbk HPHS, 1974
*

salihs_HPHS_1975-yrbk HPHS, 1975
*

salihs_HPHS_1976-yrbk HPHS, 1976
*

And, the last one, from 1977 — could that be a another very, very dark part of the mural at the right?

salihs_HPHS_1977-yrbk HPHS, 1977

***

Sources and Notes

All sources as noted.

Read the obituary of George Salih here. Read a longer, more colorful obituary in the Dallas Morning News archives (“George Salih — Operated Barbecue Restaurant in Dallas” by Joe Simnacher, DMN, Aug. 14, 2009).

Jack Salih died in Gilmer in Jan. 1991.

20 Comments

December 24, 2023

Season’s Greetings from Dallas’ Most Stylish Banks

by Paula Bosse

Wishing you the happiest of holiday wishes!

–Paula

***

Sources & Notes

Both ads are from Dallas magazine, a publication of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce; the Mercantile National Bank ad appeared in the December 1956 issue, and the Republic National Bank of Dallas ad appeared in the December 1955 issue.

Many, many more Christmas posts from Flashback Dallas can be found here.

ad-xmas_mercantile_dallas-mag_dec-1956_det_sm

6 Comments

October 1, 2023

Home Sweet Home: Oak Lawn Car No. 755

In retirement…

by Paula Bosse

I came across these photos several years ago, but I don’t really know anything about them. They show a decommissioned Oak Lawn streetcar (car #755), which was manufactured in the 1920s for the Dallas Railway & Terminal Co. The photos, which look to be from the 1950s, show the car remodeled into a home (or, as the text below suggests, a sort of weekend “lake house”). When I clipped these photos (they were on some obscure railroad forum I stumbled onto), the only info was that someone had placed a for-sale ad for this on Craigslist in 2009. Below is the seller’s ad:

Antique 1920s or 1930s Dallas interurban trolley car. Trolley was retired from service in the 50s. Has a porch built on the back. Has a separate room with bath. There’s a kitchen and a 1930s refrigerator that works very well. On about a half acre wooded lot at Lake Whitney. Not far from boat ramp. Walking distance to water. Used to be on the “Oak Lawn” run in Dallas. Unusual, neat place to spend summers at the lake. Call Carol or Ron (214) xxx-xxxx. No owner financing.

I don’t know where the photos came from (they look like photos that would have accompanied a story in a magazine like Life), but they are great.

I don’t think that’s an interurban car, but it’s really long for a streetcar. (How would it turn corners?) Has it been extended? Below is a typical Oak Lawn streetcar:

This photo was actually in the video below (“Dallas Oak Lawn Streetcar Line No. 8”). It’s a pretty uneventful video — a man in a car retraces the Oak Lawn streetcar route. My mother grew up in Oak Lawn and talks about riding the streetcar to and from downtown, but I had no idea how far into Oak Lawn it traveled.

While looking to see if I could find anything more about the renovated Dallas streetcar, I came across a story which showed something similar (but more elegant) in this article about a renovated interurban car in New Jersey: “One-of-a-Kind Point Pleasant Home Built Around Century-Old Trolley Car.”

An ad from 1930, not long after the Oak Lawn car was manufactured:

streetcars_dallas-railway_dallas-mag_april-1930

If you know more about Oak Lawn car #755 — where it’s been, where it is now — please comment below!

***

Sources & Notes

First four photos are from a Dallas Craigslist ad placed in or before 2009 — I believe the photos were posted with the ad. The ad was then reposted on a railroad forum.

Ad from the April 1930 issue of Dallas magazine.

13 Comments

June 26, 2023

Tornado Snapshots — 1957

April 2, 1957, Oak Cliffwards…

by Paula Bosse

A few photos of the infamous April 2, 1957 tornado which hit Dallas and was, at the time, the most photographed tornado in history. See more photos (and film footage) in the 2014 Flashback Dallas post “Tornado as Learning Tool — 1957.”

***

Sources & Notes

All four photos were sold as one lot on eBay several years ago.

In addition to the post linked above, here are a few other tornado-related posts:

tornado_1957_ebay_3_sm

5 Comments

May 9, 2023

Dallas Fire Stations — 1951

by Paula Bosse

Above and below, an interesting collection of snapshots of firehouses which were dotted around the city in 1951.

Edited: Because I found so many weird errors in the magazine’s captions (“Almons Road” is supposed to be “Abrams Road,” for instance…), I just went and looked them all up. There are a lot of errors! The corrected list — or at least the best I could do — is below. A surprising number of the buildings are still standing.

CORRECTED LOCATIONS

1) Station No. 32: 7007 Benning (at Jim Miller, in Urbandale)

2) Station No. 22: 3004 Armstrong (at Central Expressway)

3) Station No. 16: 5501 Columbia

4) Station No. 4: 1602 Young Street

5) Station No. 3: 3215 Gaston (see it around 1901 in the first photo in this post)

6) Station No. 14: 834 W. Tenth (and Tyler)

7) Station No. 12: 2300 S. Ervay

8) Station No. 13: 425 S. Hampton

9) Station No. 7: 706 E. 10th

10) Station No. 18: 1003 McKinney

11) Station No. 23: 1735 S. Ewing

12) Station No. 31: 9365 Garland Rd.

13) Station No. 19: 5600 East Grand

14) Station No. 31: 9365 Garland Rd. (again!)

15) Station No. 5: 3801 Parry

16) Station No. 11: 3828 Cedar Springs (which I wrote about here)

17) Station No. 8: 4422 Live Oak

18) Central Station: 2111 Main (now 2121 Main)

19) Station No. 29: 2449 Abrams Rd.

20) Love Field Station

21) Station No. 6: 2202 Forest Avenue (several pictures of this station are in this post)

22) UNKNOWN

23) Station No. 24: 2331 Poplar

24) Station No. 15: 600 N. Bishop (now Gloria’s restaurant — I wrote about the station here)

25) Station No. 27: 8401 Douglas

26) Station No. 26: 3303 W. Jefferson

27) Station No. 17: 5435 Lewis

28) Station No. 25: 4239 Lancaster

***

Sources & Notes

Photos are from the trade magazine Texas Fireman, 75th Anniversary Edition (June 1951), which is scanned in full here (the individual photo montages are on pages 40, 42, and 44); from the collection of the Dallas Firefighters Museum, via the Portal to Texas History.

See a few fire houses from 50 years before the ones seen above, in the Flashback Dallas post “Dallas Fire Stations — 1901.”

If you want to see more, more, MORE Flashback Dallas, please consider supporting me on Patreon, where for as little as $5 a month, you can see something Dallas-y every single day!

5 Comments

April 16, 2023

St. Mark’s From the Air

Go west, young man…

by Paula Bosse

The photo above shows an aerial view of the St. Mark’s campus, with a view to the northwest. So. Much. Space. The horizontal road in the top third of the photo is Preston Road. In the top right corner, at 5923 Royal Lane, is the round St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, which was built in 1959. (I have learned only tonight that the architect of that church — and many other buildings around Dallas — was designed by architect William H. Hidell Jr., who studied with George Dahl. Hidell grew up in the same house I grew up in — several decades earlier. Small world.) Across the street from the round church is the Preston Royal fire station, built in 1958, and recently destroyed by a tornado (and which I wrote about here). This photo is undated, but it was obviously taken sometime after 1959. That amount of empty land is surprising. (If you really want to freak out about miles of nothing in North Dallas, check out this unbelievable photo of Preston and Valley View in 1958, pre-LBJ).

And here are two other St. Mark’s-centric photos from the same flight — all taken by Squire Haskins (see links below for very large images on the UTA website). Below, a view to the northeast:

And a view to the southeast:

***

Sources & Notes

These three aerial photos are by Squire Haskins, from the Squire Haskins Photography Inc. Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Read more information about these individual photos: the first one is here (view to the northwest); the second is here (view to the northeast); and the third is here (view to the southeast). Click the pictures on the UTA site to see really, really big images.

Please consider supporting the work I do at Flashback Dallas by funding me on Patreon, where I post exclusive content.

13 Comments

March 29, 2023

Southland Center Observation Deck — 1967

550 feet above street level…

by Paula Bosse

I never experienced the observation deck atop the Southland Life Insurance Building (or any of the observation decks sprinkled throughout downtown — other than Reunion Tower, I guess), but I see a lot of people mention it in fond childhood memories. Here it is in an ad from the 1967 Highland Park High School yearbook.

GREAT SCOT… SEE IT FROM THE TOP!

Get a bird’s-eye view of your school from the Observation Deck, high on top of Southland Center. It’s a beautiful view, 550 feet above street level. A completely enclosed Observation Lounge assures visitors of all-weather comfort.

Come every day, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Adults, 25¢ — children (6-12) 10¢. Proceeds go to charity.

Southland Life Insurance Co.
Home Office • Southland Center • Dallas

The observation deck and “lounge” was opened to the public on the 41st floor of the Southland Life Building on Oct. 31, 1956 (the top floor — the 42nd — had a private heliport). I can’t find when it finally closed, but it was open until at least the 1980s.

A search around the internet turned up an interesting bit of footage of the observation deck in 1962 — from a cameo appearance in the TV show “Route 66” (there were a couple of episodes shot in Dallas — I haven’t seen this entire episode, but the clip below has a few cool locations). The pertinent footage begins at the 4:43 mark and lasts for about 2 minutes (if, like me, any hint of fictional animal danger is a problem, you might want to stop around the 5:00 mark). (A couple of cast connections to our fair city: David Wayne, the actor featured in this episode, would later return to Big D as Digger Barnes in “Dallas,” and Dallas actress K Callan — seen in a scene at Love Field at 4:10 — was both a student and a teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Oak Cliff.) From this clip, it looks like there might have been several of the telescopes around the perimeter of the building. (I’d love to see this in color — to see those shimmering blue glass tiles up close.) (This full episode — one of three filmed in Dallas — can be watched on YouTube, here. You’ll see Love Field, the Marriott Motor Hotel, the Southland observation deck, the SMU campus, the Trade Mart, a Wyatt’s cafeteria and grocery store (6126 Luther Lane, in Preston Center), Sheriff Bill Decker’s actual office, and a drive-in movie theater.)

Is there an observation deck there these days?

skyline-looking-west_southland-center_1970_portal

***

Sources & Notes

Top photo/ad is from the 1966 Highland Park High School yearbook.

Check out these related Southland Center posts:

25 Comments

February 24, 2023

The Mercantile Bank Building — 1951

mercantile_squire-haskins_dec-1951_UTA Squire Haskins Collection, UTA Special Collections

by Paula Bosse

Photo of one of my favorite downtown buildings, the Mercantile, taken by ace photographer Squire Haskins in December 1951. See a very large image of this at the UTA website, here. Zoom in and take a look around. Check out all the landmarks. You’ll probably find Waldo while you’re at it.

***

Sources & Notes

“Downtown Dallas — Mercantile Building” by Squire Haskins, taken on Dec. 11, 1951; from the Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections — more information can be found here. (I have slightly cropped the image.)

mercantile_squire-haskins_dec-1951_UTA_sm

7 Comments

February 19, 2023

Kimball High School, Off Campus — Ads, 1959-1961

Browsing the Elvis releases, 1959

by Paula Bosse

A few years ago I posted several Oak Cliff-centric ads found in the 1963 and 1967 Kimball High School yearbooks (see those ads here). I’m back for another installment.

Above, a photo I really love, showing five Kimball girls checking out Elvis records at Priest Music (2447 W. Kiest Blvd). No, they don’t look like high school girls, and, yes, they are. The man at the right is, apparently, the owner, Frank M. Anderson (whom, I think, changed the name of the store to Music Hall the following year?). I posted this ad on my Facebook page last week, and one man wrote, about the owner: “Frank, the owner. His shop was known for its collection of Jazz and Classical albums. We became friends as I got into Jazz thanks to the Great Pete Fountain!” And because, why not, here’s a recent Google Street View of the Kiestwood Village sign which was probably there at that little shopping strip when Frank and the girls were photographed for this ad.

kiestwood-village_2022

Dairy Mart (2739 S. Hampton):

1960

1959

Moreno’s Patio (245 Wynnewood Village):

1961

Ketchum & Killum (334 W. Kiest) — a sporting goods store with perhaps the best name ever (UPDATE: or not — see the comments below):

1961

If you’re in need of some bandages or Mercurochrome after being a little too curious at Ketchum & Killum, head over to Page’s Pharmacy (3220 Falls Dr.):

1959

For all things “fun,” Playland (3900 W. Illinois):

1959

***

Sources & Notes

All ads from the 1959, 1960, and 1961 yearbooks of Justin Kimball High School in Oak Cliff.

More Kimball yearbook ads can be found in the Flashback Dallas post “A Few Ads From the Pages of the 1963 and 1967 Kimball High School Yearbooks.”

priest-music_kimball-high-school_1959-yrbk_sm

10 Comments

Flashback : Dallas

Category: 1950s

June 16, 2024

The Cloverleaf

Sources & Notes

February 27, 2024

Salih’s, Preston Center: 1953-1977

Sources and Notes

December 24, 2023

Season’s Greetings from Dallas’ Most Stylish Banks

Sources & Notes

October 1, 2023

Home Sweet Home: Oak Lawn Car No. 755

Sources & Notes

June 26, 2023

Tornado Snapshots — 1957

Sources & Notes

May 9, 2023

Dallas Fire Stations — 1951

Sources & Notes

April 16, 2023

St. Mark’s From the Air

Sources & Notes

March 29, 2023

Southland Center Observation Deck — 1967

Sources & Notes

February 24, 2023

The Mercantile Bank Building — 1951

Sources & Notes

February 19, 2023

Kimball High School, Off Campus — Ads, 1959-1961

Sources & Notes

Category: 1950s

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources and Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this: