Dallas TX | Flashback : Dallas

December 20, 2020

Holiday Greetings from Jefferson Tower — 1937

Christmastime in Oak Cliff…

by Paula Bosse

Jefferson Tower, on West Jefferson Boulevard between S. Bishop and S. Madison, looked pretty great in 1937 all decorated for Christmas. It was (and is) the tallest building on West Jefferson. This must have made quite the statement!

Here’s a zoomed-in detail (all images are larger when clicked):

And here’s the building a few years later — no Christmas-tree decoration and in the daytime, but still fantastic.

via McCoy Collaborative

And, I mean, look at how commanding this building is, even now:

I’d like to see a 21st-century return of a Christmas tree to the exterior of this building — it would still be impressive!

***

Sources & Notes

Christmas photos of Jefferson Tower are from the Private Collection of Mary Newton Maxwell, via the Portal to Texas History — more info may be found here and here.

Photo of Jefferson Tower in the daylight is from the McCoy Collaborative website — more on their work in rehabilitating this historic building may be found here.

See the building on Google Street View here.

More Christmas posts from Flashback Dallas may be found here.

xmas_jefferson-tower_oak-cliff_portal_1937_b_small

1 Comment

December 17, 2020

SCTV’s Bobby Bittman Does Dallas — 1980

Bittman on hay…

by Paula Bosse

Today I stumbled across a video on YouTube featuring “Bobby Bittman,” a recurring character on the old “SCTV” sketch comedy show played by Eugene Levy (who is suddenly a superstar after decades in show business for his role in “Schitt’s Creek”). The clip is a promo for a new variety special called “Bittman Does Dallas,” starring the painfully unfunny and narcissistic bejeweled comedian Bobby Bittman, with appearances by a bevy of hot-pants-clad cheerleaders and some sort of flag.

(This will be enjoyed by those who grew up with “SCTV” and/or bad variety shows and/or “Dallas.” …Others might not enjoy this at all.)

“How are ya, y’all?”

bittman-does-dallas_1980_title

***

Sources & Notes

YouTube clip is here.

bittman-does-dallas_1980_cheerleaders_sm

2 Comments

December 15, 2020

From the Vault: The Sigel’s Sign

Thirsty?

by Paula Bosse

Chances are pretty good you recognize this sign. Even through raindrops on a car window. That’s what it looked like when I stopped by Sigel’s on Greenville Avenue today. This is what it looked like when I got back to my car.

See it moving — flashing and bubbling — in a YouTube video, here.

I wrote about this Sigel’s sign in the 2017 post “Historic Neon: The Super-Cool Sigel’s Sign.” Click the link to read about the man behind this fabulous sign, Marvin Sigel, who died in 2019 at the age of 87 (his obituary is here). After I wrote the piece linked above, I received a very nice message from Marvin’s son, David, who told me that Marvin liked the post and was delighted to know how much his work was appreciated.

And it still is! Thank you, Marvin!

***

Photos by Paula Bosse, taken Dec. 15, 2020.

sigels-sign_night_bosse_121520_sm

2 Comments

December 13, 2020

Take a Greyhound to the Texas Centennial — 1936

“Dallas, please…”

by Paula Bosse

Thanks to the promoters of the Texas Centennial, advertisements placed in national publications in 1936 showed Dallas to be quite the desirable destination. The Centennial — the World’s-Fair-that-wasn’t-quite-a-World’s Fair — made Dallas the place to be in 1936. This ad for Greyhound Lines (a company which, incidentally, is now headquartered in Dallas) need only show a fab deco poster on a wall for people to want to jump on a bus and head to Big D.

The full ad is below. Nary a mention of “Dallas.” (Click to see a larger image.)

***

Sources & Notes

Ad from Hollywood magazine, May, 1936.

tx-centennial_greyhound-ad_hollywood-mag_1936_det_sm

2 Comments

December 6, 2020

St. Mark’s Campus — 1960s

St. Mark’s chapel at dusk, 1961

by Paula Bosse

A few photos of St. Mark’s School of Texas campus buildings and history from various editions of Marksmen, the school’s yearbook.

Above the exterior of the chapel beneath a full moon. Below, the interior of the chapel (click for larger images).

1965

A photo spread from the 1963 yearbook, commemorating 30 years as an institution (see the St. Mark’s timeline here).

1963

1964

Decorated for Christmas:

1964

1967

1968

1961

1962

1963

***

Sources & Notes

All images from various editions of Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.

More St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts can be found here.

st-marks_1961-yrbk_chapel_dusk_sm

3 Comments

December 6, 2020

St. Mark’s, Aerial Views — 1960s

Rendering of the campus by architect Hal M. Moseley, from the 1960 yearbook

by Paula Bosse

St. Mark’s School of Texas, the prep school for boys in North Dallas (10600 Preston Road, south of Royal Lane), has been one of the city’s finest educational institutions for decades. It opened in 1950 after the merging of the Cathedral School for Boys and the Texas Country Day School, both of which traced their roots to the legendary Terrill School, founded in 1906 (see the St. Mark’s timeline on the school’s website here).

Below are a few aerial photos of the ever-expanding campus from the 1960s. (Above is a drawing of the grounds by architect Hal M. Moseley from the endpapers of the 1960 Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.)

The campus in 1964 (click to see larger image):

1964

In 1965, plans had been drawn for expansion and renovation. Five of the existing structures would be renovated, and a new gymnasium and “individual study center” (including a 50,000-volume library) would be constructed:

1965

Two photos from 1966, with the caption “before the building of the new library and study center”:

1966

And a rather haphazard editing of mismatched endpaper photos from 1968:

1968

***

Sources & Notes

All images are from various editions of Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.

More about St. Mark’s School of Texas can be found at Wikipedia, here.

Other St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts can be found here.

st-marks_campus_st-marks-yrbk_aerial_1960_sm

November 30, 2020

Victor’s Lounge — 1913 Commerce

Victor’s-sponsored bowling team

by Paula Bosse

My posting has been a bit erratic recently. My brother and I have been clearing out my late aunt’s home. It’s one of those inevitable tasks that no one wants to have to do, but as sad as it’s been, it’s also been comforting to see glimpses of my aunt’s life that I had only vaguely heard about — or had never heard about. Going through her photos, I see what a full life she had, how much she traveled, and that she had decades-old friendships.

One of the places she talked about with great fondness was, of all things, a bar: Victor’s Lounge, which was at 1913 Commerce Street, directly across from the Statler Hilton. The Dallas Morning News described it as “a favorite with the downtown office crowd.” My aunt worked for an insurance company in the Mercantile Building, and nearby Victor’s was the place where she and her co-workers gathered after work (and, I think, for lunch). She even participated in a ladies’ bowling league on a team sponsored by her favorite hang-out. The photo at the top shows the team of fun-looking women (my aunt Bettye Jo is on the far right). She still had the crisply-ironed shirt in her closet!

Victor’s was opened by Victor Ballas (who later opened the Purple Orchid a block away at 2016 Commerce). Born in New York, Ballas arrived in Dallas as a child, went to Forest Avenue High School, and had several businesses, one liltingly called “Ballas of Dallas.” My aunt said he always looked after his customers, especially the single women when they were being aggressively hit on by male patrons. Ballas died on Christmas Day, 1971 of a heart attack — he was only 53.

Victor’s opened as a cocktail bar in 1957 or 1958 with a regular piano player (for many years it was Tony Rizzo), but ads indicate that it became more of a restaurant than a bar in the 1960s.

1959

The Commerce Street location closed in 1971 — it was replaced at the end of that year by the Wild West Saloon, another cocktail bar (but one which included topless entertainment).

I heard so much about Victor’s over the years from my aunt that when I recently stumbled across odd shots of the place in random film footage I was pretty excited.

I wish we could have gotten a drink there together, Bettye Jo. And maybe hit the lanes at your favorite alley and bowled a few frames.

1962 (click to see larger image)

***

Sources & Notes

Top photo and photo of bowling shirt from the collection of Paula Bosse.

The three color images are screenshots from films in the G. William Jones Film Collection, Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University. The first is from the WFAA NewsFilm Collection, the second and third from a promotional film for The Dallas Morning News; all are from the 1960s.

Map is a detail from a 1962 map featured in the Flashback Dallas post “Map of Downtown Dallas, For the Curious Conventioneer — 1962.”

victors-bowling-team_bosse-photo_sm

9 Comments

November 26, 2020

From the Vault: Thanksgiving Celebrations in 19th-Century Dallas

Turkeys crossing the road in Millsap, TX (photo: Paula Bosse)

by Paula Bosse

Another Thanksgiving has arrived. I’ve been busy this Thanksgiving season working with my brother to clear out my late aunt’s home as we prepare to sell it (she died in April of COVID-19, one of many, many reasons this year has been such a difficult one), and, as a result, my updating of this blog has been a little sparse lately. So today’s post will be a look back at Thanksgiving posts from the past.

Flashback Dallas posts tagged “Thanksgiving” are here.

The individual posts are:

“Encouraging Dallasites to Observe Thanksgiving — 1874.” It took a while to persuade Southerners (and Texans) that Thanksgiving was not an abolitionist plot.
“Thanksgiving in Dallas — 1883.” Notes on the day’s activities, culminating in a picnic at Eagle Ford.
“Thanksgiving, 1891 — The First Turkey-Day Football Game in Dallas.“ Dallas vs. Fort Worth. I really enjoyed writing this one — if, like me, sports stuff leaves you cold, there are a lot of ads and interesting non-sporty tidbits to keep you entertained.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. If your celebrations this year aren’t as festive and as full of family and friends as usual, just know that things will (hopefully!) be better next year.

This year I’m thankful that I had my aunt Bettye Jo in my life for as many years as I did. And for everyone else who has lost a loved one in this awful year or suffered hardships they couldn’t have imagined last Thanksgiving: we’ll get through this.

***

Sources & Notes

Photo of turkeys crossing the road was taken by me on a drive through Millsap, Texas (Parker County) in October, 2012.

4 Comments

November 22, 2020

Kennedy Memorial and the County Courthouses — Early 1970s

by Paula Bosse

A view of the new John F. Kennedy Memorial, the not-new Old Red Courthouse, and the not-old-but-not-really-new “new” County Courthouse, in a postcard photo by Bob Glander.

The text on the back of the postcard reads:

The old and the new County Courthouses with the Kennedy Memorial. The new Courthouse was dedicated Feb. 4, 1966 and the Kennedy Memorial June 24, 1970, Dallas, Texas. Photo by Bob Glander.”

See the same view — from Main and Market — today, via Google Street View, here.

***

Sources & Notes

Postcard found somewhere online.

Previous Flashback Dallas posts with images to compare imagined and actual views of the “Courthouse Complex”:

November 10, 2020

Ads from St. Mark’s Yearbooks — 1960s

Wall’s Delicatessen, Preston Royal, 1968

by Paula Bosse

I love ads. Here are several from various editions of the Marksmen, the yearbook of St. Mark’s School of Texas, a North Dallas landmark. Above, another North Dallas landmark, Wall’s Delicatessen in the Preston-Royal shopping center. The full ad is below (all images are larger when clicked).

1968

The Pit Club, at the Bronco Bowl.

1965

Jack in the Box, 3545 Forest Lane (west of Marsh).

1965

ICEE — “Get a glob of your favorite flavor.” (The ICEE/Slurpee machine was a Dallas product, courtesy of the John E. Mitchell Co., which I wrote about in 4 separate posts — the main one is here, with links to the 3 posts about its WWII munitions work linked in the first sentence.)

1966

Reynolds Penland, Preston Center.

1966

The Dallas Music House, Preston Royal.

1968

While we’re at it, Melody Shop — 4 locations, none of which is NorthPark (yet).

1965

Speaking of NorthPark, looks what’s coming. “Soon.”

1965

Another mall, way across town, Big Town, “a city of shops.”

1968

A change of pace: a city of medical institutes, the Leland Fikes Research Center (including what is now Carter BloodCare), on Harry Hines Blvd. (color photo is here). (A history of the former Wadley blood center can be found in this 1984 article from D Magazine.)

1966

The Torch, 3620 W. Davis.

1965

Dominique, 7713 Inwood Road.

1965

Preston State Bank (formerly the Highland Park State Bank), 8111 Preston Road. Their “Presteen” checking accounts were for high school and college students.

1965

Vick’s Steakhouse — “House of D’lish Foods” — Northlake Center (E. Northwest Highway and Ferndale, Lake Highlands). (According to a full-page newspaper ad from 1963 — which you can see here — the steakhouse was actually part of “Vick’s Northlake Dining Center” which was comprised of the steakhouse, Vick’s Northlake Cafeteria, and Vick’s Northlake Club, the latter being a private club which charged $10 a month, the equivalent of more than $75 in today’s money!)

1965

Zuider Zee, 5427 Denton Drive.

1965

Beard Plumbing Co., “installers of larger mechanical work,” 510 W. Davis. (I thought the fountain pictured might be the one in One Main Place, but that fountain (which, incidentally, was designed by the same man who designed the fountain at Lincoln Center in New York, J. S. Hamel) — did not make its appearance until the end of 1968.)

1965

UPDATE: Found an earlier ad in the St. Mark’s yearbook identifying the fountain as being in the Dallas Trade Mart:

John Niland’s Kings of Bar-B-Que, 5423 W. Lovers Lane — one of many Dallas restaurants owned by current or former Dallas Cowboys.

1968

Fox & Jacobs Construction Co., 12020 Denton Drive. I’ve heard of Fox & Jacobs houses all my life but didn’t realize until a few years ago that it was a Dallas company and not a national one. A history of F & J can be read in a 1978 D Magazine article here.

1965

Lucas B & B, 3520 Oak Lawn — the granddaddy of the 24-hour diner.

1965

Neiman-Marcus — “There’s only one way a St. Mark’s man can go… up!”

1965

Pandemonium, 2621 McKinney Avenue. “There is only one way for a St. Mark’s man to go… groovy!”

1968

***

Sources & Notes

Ads are from the 1965, 1966, and 1968 editions of the St. Mark’s School of Texas yearbook, Marksmen.

See other St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts here.

st-marks_1968-yrbk_walls-delicatessen_photo_sm

8 Comments

Tag: Dallas TX

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

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: