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25. Texas Discovery Gardens
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Texas
Discovery Gardens
Photo courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016 |
| Located
across from the Fair
Park Bandshell, Texas Discovery Gardens was originally built in
1936 as the Hall of Horticulture for the centennial celebration.
Arthur E. Thomas and M. C. Kleuser designed the limestone and marble
structure, which required 75,000 dollars to make a reality. The two-storied
facility had a winter garden and the first public conservatory in
the Southwest. The 7.5 acres of land behind the building possessed
a wide variety of landscaped gardens. In this area, workers built
a replica of the Alamo,
which became one of the exposition's most favorite attraction. To
the north of the Alamo, there was a log building housing a headquarters
for the Texas Rangers and a replica of Judge
Roy Bean's saloon The Jersey Lilly. The southwest corner had four
model homes featuring the latest trends. Out of all the structures
which were made in the garden area, the only surviving structure is
one of the model homes. |
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After
the exposition, the Hall of Horticulture became the Dallas Garden
Center. It served as the headquarters for the War Rationing
Board during World
War II. From 1945 to 1949, the main building was transformed
into the Women's Building for the state fair. The building
was renamed the Dallas Civic Garden Center in 1982, changed
in 1994 to the Dallas Horticulture Center, and given its
final name in 2000. Four years later, construction began on the
Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium, which
was funded through bond election money. In addition, a new entrance
designed by Oglesby Greene was built and reproductions of the original
bas reliefs were sculpted. The interior also underwent renovation
as work on the butterfly house and insectarium continued. The entire
project came to a close with the grand opening of the new Texas
Discovery Gardens in 2009.
November
28, 2016
© Clint
Skinner
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References:
1.Bigtex.com
2.Dallashistory.org
3.Dallas Morning News Archives
4.Fairpark.org
5.Slate, John H. Historic Dallas Parks. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
6.Tshaonline.org
7.Watermelon-kid.com
8.Wikipedia.org
8.Winters, Willis Cecil. Fair Park. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. |
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact
us. |
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