This Used to Be Dallas

by Harry Hall

Overview

Each page of This Used to be Dallas will challenge your view of the city around you. Harry Hall uncovers the stories of perseverance, deliverance, tragedy, and past glory behind Dallas buildings that were once something else. It might be a fallen dream, such as the remnants of a waterpark that briefly dazzled locals in the early twentieth century; or a coffin supply company that once advertised services, “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.” There’s the hotel that was built only after the city yielded to the demands of a beer baron and the non-descript Oak Cliff home that once housed America’s greatest female athlete. What might your favorite Dallas buildings house in the future? Each structure has its own background, its own future, its own story. Explore your favorite Dallas spots with a new vision, or discover a surprising past just beyond the familiar walls of the fascinating places throughout the city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681062617
Publisher:	Reedy press, LLC.
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	This Used to Be
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,091,067
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Harry Hall is the author of Help, Everyone is Staring at Me and the award-winning The Pedestriennes: America’s Forgotten Superstars. A long-time distance runner, Hall has spent much of his writing career covering amateur and professional sports, from tennis exhibitions to the Olympic Track and Field Trials. He has lived in north Texas most of his life with his wife and family.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Where Bonnie Parker Made an Honest Living 2

The Mystery and Intrigue of Campisi's Restaurant 4

The Home of Ray Charles 6

When Pegasus Dominated the Skyline 8

Dry Above, Wet Underground 10

When Winfrey Point Served as a POW Camp 12

From "Ho, Ho, Ho!" to "Howdy, Folks!" 14

For Dallas Blacks, the Pythias Temple Had It All 16

Where Dallasites Watched the DJs Work 18

Dallas Bar Association Buys the Belo Mansion 20

It Will Always Be the Texas School Book Depository 22

Crockett School Part of Neighborhood Revitalization 24

When WWI Pilots Trained in Dallas 26

New Technology Replaces Cobb Stadium 28

Musical History Made at 508 Park Avenue 30

Antebellum Mansion Moved to Old City Park 32

Dallas's Top Outdoor Dining Experience? 34

Slave Descendants Delivered from Little Egypt 36

Kidd Springs Park: A Great Place for Families and Feasting 38

Texas's Only Playboy Club 40

The Many Villages of Sam Ventura 42

Streetcars Transform Jefferson Boulevard 44

Multiple Lives of the Davis Building 46

Pedestrian Bridge Gives Underserved Families Recreational Opportunity 48

Carnegie Brings Libraries to Dallas 50

Has Tragedy Kept the Texas Theatre Alive? 52

What Is the Future of Dallas's First Motor Hotel? 54

Jump-Starting the West End Marketplace 56

The Home of Dallas's Bandit Queen 58

Beyond Its German Roots 60

Concrete Viaduct Replaces Washed-Out Wooden Bridge 62

A Beer Baron Upends City Hall 64

Exchange Park Advances Dallas Business Atmosphere 66

West Dallas Finally Connects to Mainstream Dallas 68

Spanish Flu Derails Military Training Camp 70

Dallas Welcomes the Fair Park Fire Station 72

Hotel St. Germain Sets the Standard for Excellence 74

Doak Walker Plaza Honors a Legend 76

The Unlikely Revival of the Filter Building 78

Farmers Market District: Symbol of Dallas Growth 80

The Sportatorium: Host of Pro Wrestling and the King of Rock 'n' Roll 82

The One-Time Coffin Company Now Offers Luxury 84

The Southwest's Greatest Playground 86

This Gas Station Housed a Killer 106

Arts Magnet School Earns National Acclaim 108

The Brothers Who Redefined the Retail Industry 110

When Blacks and Whites Lived in Different Worlds 112

The Theater That Wouldn't Stay Down 114

Old Mill Restaurant Maintains Nostalgic Character 116

America's Most Decorated Soldier Owned This Farmhouse 118

A Tragedy That Transformed the World's Health 120

Attention-Getting Billboard 122

Parkland Memorial Hospital Moves Forward 124

Dallas's First Home 126

A Cook-Off That Inspired an International Restaurant Chain 128

Has the Continental Gin Building Gone Bust? 130

From Old Red Courthouse to Museum 132

Tootsies Continues Predecessor's High Standards 134

Musical Venue Expands, But Remains True to Its Roots 136

DART Preserves Monroe Shops 138

The Ladies of Frogtown 140

Woodruff Robbed of Record? 142

Dallas Moves the Trinity River 144

Lucky Lindy's Reputation Nosedives 146

Dallas's Last Vaudeville House 148

Cumberland School Makes Huge Transformation 150

Interurban Rail Creates Progress in Transportation 152

The Colorful Legacy of the Longhorn Ballroom 154

Dying 110-Year-Old School Gets New Life 156

Will Millennials Hang Out at This Former A-List Hotel? 158

The Lakewood Theater Is Spared 160

When Dallas Put Trains Underground 162

A Major Golf Tournament Got Its Start Here 164

It Really Was a Bomb Factory, Sort of 166

Plans for Cedars Development Go Up in Smoke 168

The First International Hotel Chain Started in Dallas 170

The French-Influenced Wilson Building 172

Dallas World Aquarium: More Than Fish 174

Don't Mess with My Tex-Mex 176

Not the Cowboys' "Field of Dreams" 178

The Little Oak Cliff Store That Grew to Worldwide Prominence 180

Women's Center Honors One of Dallas's Great Ones 182

Inn of the Dove Was a Godsend for Blacks 184

Babe Didrikson: "The Dallas Wonder" 186

The Statler Still Thrives 188

Gables Republic Tower: More Than "The Rocket" 190

A History of Dining Innovation and Convenience on Lower Greenville 192

The Bookstore That Encourages Conversation 194

Eagle Ford School: The Last Remnant of Mexican American Pioneers 196

Did Lone Star Lofts Serve as a SEAL Training Ground? 198

Sources 200

Index 209