Flashback : Dallas

October 14, 2015

“The Fair Is In the Air — Let’s Go!”

Look at this 1923 typeface!

by Paula Bosse

Here we are again in the final days of another State Fair of Texas. Why not take a look at a few random images of the fair over the years. (Click pictures for larger images.)

First, from 1900, the entrance to the fairgrounds. (It appears to be the same view as the top postcard seen in a previous post, here, just a few steps inside the archway.)

Fort Worth Public Library

A cartoon from The Dallas Morning News in 1912 — “The People’s University.” Remember, it’s not just about Ferris wheels and candy apples.

state-fair_dmn_102012-cartoon DMN, Oct. 20, 1912

1921. Don’t miss The Whip.

From the Texas Centennial in 1936, a shot of a remarkably spotless Midway. (Am I the only one who would have paid to see the “28-Ft. Monster” do battle with whatever freakish specimens were ensconced within the walls of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not building?)

During World War II, no fair was held between 1942 and 1945. “Not until the boys come home, will there be another State Fair of Texas.”

By the ’50s, everything was back to normal. Big Tex had arrived, and this ad promises “She’s a LULU in ’52.” Martin & Lewis and whatever a Thrillcade was!

And, lastly, an aerial view of the Midway from 1966. Now this IS all Ferris wheels and candy apples. (To watch a short collection of color footage from the damp 1967 SFOT — including a sad, rainy parade downtown — click here.)

University of North Texas

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Sources & Notes

1900 photo of the entrance to the fair is from The Bohemian magazine (1900) in the collection of the Fort Worth Public Library (those perforations in the photo are the FWPL’s).

1921 photo — I’m afraid I have no source on this one.

1936 postcard of the Centennial Midway is from eBay.

Patriotic WWII ad is from the 1945-1946 Texas Almanac.

Photo of the 1966 Midway is from the University of North Texas University Libraries blog, here.

My previous collection of SFOT photos over the decades appeared in the post “So Sorry Bill, But Albert Is Taking Me To The State Fair of Texas,” here.

Other Flashback Dallas posts on the State Fair of Texas are here; posts specifically on the Texas Centennial are here.

Again … some of these pictures are pretty dang big — when in doubt, click ’em!

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October 13, 2015

“A City Built On the Solid Rock of Service” — 1927

“Opportunity!”

by Paula Bosse

Below, a 1927 Dallas Chamber of Commerce ad with some interesting statistics.

OPPORTUNITY

The CITY OF PROGRESS invites YOU to share in its PROSPERITY.

DALLAS–in 1900 a town of forty-thousand; in 1927 a city of a quarter million; forty-second in population; third as an agricultural implement distributing point; fifth as a dry goods market; fifteenth as a general jobbing center–the first city of the Southwest, in the fastest growing section of the United States.

Manufacturers, distributors and retailers are invited to investigate Dallas–a city built on the solid rock of service.

Pretty impressive. And the illustration of a dynamic city on the other side of that viaduct is all but throbbing with energy.

The illustration from a 1929 Chamber of Commerce ad is even less modest: it shows Dallas as the center of the universe, center stage on Planet Earth, lit up by the sun and the giant Klieg lights of space.

I kind of think Dallas has pretty much always seen itself like this.

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Sources & Notes

Ads from the 1927 and 1929 editions of The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide.

3 Comments

October 12, 2015

“Cemetery at Twilight” by Frank Reaugh

Harry Ransom Center/University of Texas at Austin

by Paula Bosse

In fond memory of my recently deceased computer, I give you a lovely pastel drawing of a cemetery by the legendary Dallas artist, Frank Reaugh. RIP, dear laptop — we learned a lot about Dallas history together.

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“Cemetery at Twilight” by Frank Reaugh (undated); from the Frank Reaugh Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. See the full image, framed and unframed, here.

Click for larger image.

2 Comments

October 9, 2015

From the Vault: The First Texas-OU Game in Dallas — 1912

The guy on the right looks particularly intimidating….

by Paula Bosse

It’s that time again. Read my previous post, “The First Texas-OU Game in Dallas — 1912” (back when the game was held in Gaston Park), here.

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Photo of three of the Texas players from The Dallas Morning News, Oct. 19, 1912 (the day of that first game). Check out the original post to see the much more collegiate-looking members of the Oklahoma team.

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October 8, 2015

Dallas Fire Works Ad — 1891

ad-dallas-fireworks_1891-directory

by Paula Bosse

Even in the 1890s, Oak Cliff was encouraging people to buy local.

DALLAS FIRE WORKS
Manufacturer of
Fire Works of All Kinds.
Whistling Bombs and Rockets Also Exhibitions A Specialty.
Special Designs of any Kind Made to Order.
Send For Price Lists.
PATRONIZE AND PROTECT HOME INDUSTRY.
Take Oak Cliff and West Dallas Elevated R.R. to Factory.

Louis J. Witte, Manager.
P.O. Address Care Board of Trade.

Do NOT go to Fort Worth for your fireworks!

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Ad from the 1891 city directory.

3 Comments

October 7, 2015

The First JFK Assassination Reenactment — 1963

Secret Service film crew, 11-27-63

by Paula Bosse

There is yet another JFK assassination-related film being shot in and around Dealey Plaza, causing all sorts of traffic woes, but spotlighting some great period cars, trucks, and fashions. The first reenactment? It took place on November 27, 1963 as part of the Secret Service investigation. A newspaper account suggested that Jack Ruby may have been watching from his jail cell, mere steps away. The photos below, showing some of that filming, were taken by a Dallas Times Herald staff photographer. (All photos from the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza/UNT’s Portal to Texas History.)

Another photo — this one of somber onlookers — taken the same day. Ruby’s home-away-from-home — the jailhouse — is in the background at the left.

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Sources & Notes

Photos from the incredible Dallas Times Herald collection of Kennedy assassination photographs from the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, viewable online via UNT’s invaluable Portal to Texas History; the reenactment photos are here (the first photo is here).

The reenactment received only a few paragraphs in The Dallas Morning News the next day: “Crime Re-enacted by Secret Service” by Carl Freund (DMN, Nov. 28, 1963).

Currently filming in Dallas: the television adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “11-22-63.” Read the updates on the filming from Robert Wilonsky of The Dallas Morning News, here.

UPDATE: Watch the footage shot this day in my post “The Official Government Reenactment of the Kennedy Assassination — Nov. 27, 1963,” here.

6 Comments

October 6, 2015

Take a Spin In “The Rotor” at The State Fair of Texas

Another beautiful day at the fair!

by Paula Bosse

Students’ Day at the Fair? There are a lot of unaccompanied kids in that photo eating food on sticks.

I could be wrong, but I think the round structure to the right of the entrance is The Rotor (part of the sign is visible at the far right). The Rotor resembled a large barrel inside. You’d stand with your back to the curved wall, and then the walls would begin spinning around. Eventually the spinning got faster and you’d be pinned against the wall with centrifugal force as the floor dropped out. …Which could be a big mistake after too many corny dogs and cotton candy.

The Rotor debuted at the State Fair in 1952, imported from England. The British company would be sued later that year by the man who invented the ride, Ernst Hoffmeister. Hoffmeister sued several people who were operating similar rides internationally, but all was resolved by the following year, and the Rotor ride was an extremely popular fixture of the State Fair of Texas midway for many years.

Below, the ride in action.

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Sources & Notes

Postcard from eBay.

For more on this, head to the Dallas Morning News archives and read an interview with the men who brought the Rotor to the State Fair of Texas in the article “‘Bloody Sensation’ — Britons to Supply Ride on State Fair Midway” by Frank X. Tolbert (DMN, Sept. 25, 1952).

October 4, 2015

Wading in Turtle Creek, 100 Years Ago

by Paula Bosse

A photograph of children wading in a very different-looking Turtle Creek, taken about 1915, the year Highland Park (pop. 1,100) was incorporated.

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Sources & Notes

Photo from the 1915-1916 SMU Rotunda yearbook.

Population factoid from Wikipedia.

Click picture for larger image.

2 Comments

October 3, 2015

The Dallas Skyline, Vibrant & Sophisticated — 1960

If only…

by Paula Bosse

This is a fantastic interpretation of the Dallas skyline, circa 1960. A little artistic license and … voilà! … Dallas has never looked New Yorkier. In a good way!

Thank you, anonymous commercial artist! This is the cool, sophisticated version of Dallas I’ve always wanted to live in!

2 Comments

October 2, 2015

From the Vault: University Park’s Monarch Butterfly Wrangler

Carl Anderson & friends (John Dominis, Time-Life Pictures/Getty Image)

by Paula Bosse

One of my favorite Flashback Dallas posts was the one I wrote earlier this year about Carl Anderson, a man who was passionate about studying Monarch butterflies. He shared his love of these butterflies with everyone — from the neighbor kids on Centenary Avenue in University Park to the worldwide readership of Life magazine.

I wrote the original post — which you can read here — when the Monarchs were migrating up from Mexico. Now they are migrating back south. Check out the animated map of the Fall/Winter 2015 migration here.

Keep your eyes peeled for Monarchs! Do it for Carl!

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