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| Located
east of Downtown Dallas, Fair Park covers
a vast area of 277 acres. It contains the world’s largest collection
of Art Deco through its many murals, paintings, and sculptures, which
were made possible by federal funding for the Texas
Centennial. The national historic landmark also has three museums,
an aquarium, a music hall, and a football stadium. Although Fair Park
hosts a large number of festivals, most of them coinciding with national
holidays, the most famous event is the State Fair of Texas. It boasts
an annual attendance of three million and is the only one to have
an automobile show. Starting in late September and ending in the middle
of October, it is responsible for the birth of Fair Park. |
| Photo
courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016 |
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The whole thing
started in August 1885. Frank Holland, the owner of the Texas Farm
& Ranch Publishing Company, came up with the idea of having a state
fair which would celebrate the city’s history and development. Holland
and those who liked the proposal were heavily influenced by all
the state expositions taking place throughout the nation at the
time. In addition to attracting more visitors and new residents,
they wanted to use the event to spark business and trade opportunities.
During the early part of January in 1886, a group of prominent citizens
gathered to form a private corporation called the Dallas State Fair
Association. The charter arrived from the State of Texas on January
30, 1886. Upon its receipt, there were nine men who signed the document
to make everything official : James B. Simpson was a lawyer and
politician, C. A. Keating acted as president of a manufacturing
company, Alex Sanger was a retailer and served as the vice-president
of the Dallas Electric Lighting Company, William H. Gaston worked
as a banker and founded the town of East Dallas, Jules N. Schneider
was a local businessman, J. S. Armstrong spent his time in real
estate development and was responsible for founding Highland Park,
Oliver Bowser served as the state representative for a Dallas district,
J. M. Wendelken ran the Emerson-Brantingham Plow Company, and Thomas
Field was a developer who had played a key role in securing the
Texas and Pacific Railroad for the town.
On March 25th, the company directors assembled together to determine
where the state fair would be located. Those attending had to choose
between the Cole Property and the Gaston Property. Located in North
Dallas, the first option consisted of ninety acres of farmland owned
by Jack Cole, the first surveyor of Dallas
County. The second option came in the form of an offer from
William Gaston. He had recently purchased land which was once the
property of John Grigsby and Thomas Lagow, veterans of the Texas
Revolution who had received the prairie land in recognition of their
service. The gift, located in the town of East Dallas at the current
location of Fair Park, was later divided into sections and sold
to various individuals. Gaston managed to obtain eighty acres of
the land and offered it to the association in exchange for stock
valued at 14,000 dollars.
When it came time to vote on the matter, six directors chose the
Gaston Property while three picked the Cole Property. A large number
of stockholders, mostly manufacturers and dealers in farm equipment,
voiced strong opposition to the decision. Led by C.A. Keating, the
opposition claimed that Cole’s farmland was more superior in quality
and price than Gaston’s prairie land. The attacks continued until
the leaders agreed to allow the stockholders to voice their complaints
on April 17th.
A Committee of Appeals heard the opposition’s case but declined
to overturn the decision because there was no proof that the Gaston
Property was unsuitable for staging a fair. Despite assurances that
the manufacturers and dealers would get top-quality space for their
exhibits, the members refused to be satisfied and started making
plans for their own fair. Keating resigned to lead the group with
the support of Schneider, Bowser, and Holland. They sent a request
for a state charter. The end result was the formation of the Texas
State Fair & Exposition.
Taking place on the Cole Property in North Dallas, the fair would
last from October 25th to October 31st. Its main highlights included
horse racing, hot-air balloon shows, and local exhibits. While this
was going on, the other organization hosted its fair at the current
location of Fair Park. Starting on the day after the first festival
began, the Dallas State Fair lasted until November 6th. It had the
same highlights as its competitor with the exception of ceremonial
dance performances by Native Americans. Both events were extremely
successful, averaging a total of 35,000 visitors a day. However,
the attendance barely offset the expenses. The two sides decided
it would beneficial for them to merge together and host only one
fair in Dallas.
The merger officially took place on Valentine’s Day the following
year with the adoption of a new charter. Now called the Texas State
Fair and Dallas Exposition, the members decided to host the event
on the Gaston Property. When December arrived, officials bought
additional land and increased the size to 120 acres. They changed
the organization’s name to the Texas State Fair twelve years later
in 1899.
All was going well until the Texas legislature passed a law in 1903
that banned horse race gambling, the fair’s main source of income.
With no way to finance the festival, the organization decided to
give the land to Dallas as a way of preserving
the annual tradition, despite previous offers from development firms
to buy the property. The Dallas City Council accepted it, thanks
to the efforts to introduce legislation two years earlier.
|
 |
| Photo
courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016 |
A national park
movement developed as the new century arrived and made its way to
Dallas in 1901, thanks to the efforts of
Gilbert Irish. Born in Wisconsin, he worked as a printer while attending
the University of Nebraska. Gilbert graduated with a law degree and
moved to Dallas two years later in 1894. He practiced law, building
up a strong reputation and volunteering his printer skills for the
local labor unions. He also publicly advocated building more city
parks and brought the issue to the forefront. The Dallas Morning News
followed suit by publishing stories and editorials about parks and
their necessity. While this was going on, lobbyists, organizations,
and interest groups joined forces with some councilmen to apply pressure
to do something about the matter. Progress was made when Gilbert Irish
became an alderman in 1902.
Taking advantage of his new position, he passed a resolution for the
creation of the Joint Committees On Parks and Driveways. It would
focus on formulating a plan for constructing new roads and building
additional parks before land got too expensive. While the members
conducted research on the economic viability of acquiring land for
the various projects, they came to the conclusion that the only way
to get funds would be through a bond election and park tax. After
a public vote to place the matter on the next ballot succeed, the
committees announced that the park tax would come in the form of a
property tax increase amounting to one-tenth of one cent.
The joint committees promoted the measure with the help of Gilbert
Irish, the Commerce Club, and members of the park movement. Irish
led the charge, claiming that parks would prevent crime, improve health,
develop civic pride, provide inexpensive amusement, and remain a profitable
asset. These arguments were echoed throughout the entire campaign
until election day. The measure suffered a narrow defeat. Though it
never became evident, the park tax campaign laid the foundation for
accepting Fair Park.
The owners of the state fair offered the fairgrounds for free on February
15, 1903. In return, the city had to construct an exposition building,
perform maintenance on a regular basis, keep the grounds open to the
public, host an annual fair at its own expense, and use the profits
for improvement purposes. Throughout the year, the city government
worked out the details with the fair owners.
The two sides reached an agreement on November 24th. The city council
would form a new company called the Fair Association, which would
be organized with a capital stock of 125,000 dollars. The money would
pay off the mortgage, construct the building, and improve the fairgrounds.
Afterward, the title and interest of the property would be handed
over to the government.
Unfortunately, the City Council dragged its feet. The members wanted
to own the property, but they had no desire to pay for the Fair Association's
formation because it would mean the reintroduction of a park tax.
As they continued debating, the fair owners grew impatient. They made
an ultimatum in 1904. The citizens would vote for a property tax,
the same one proposed by the park movement. If voted down, there would
be no Fair Park and no state fair.
The election took place on April 6th. Although the measure passed
by an overwhelming majority, ownership would not take place until
October 7th. The council adopted a new charter a month after taking
possession of Fair Park. One of the amendments called for the creation
of a park board, which would be in charge of the fairgrounds and other
public parks. Everything moved smoothly until the Great Depression,
but the gloom dissipated with the arrival of an event that would forever
change Fair Park. |
 |
| Photo
courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016 |
The
nation was going through a horrible depression during the 1930s, but
this didn’t stop plans for a celebration of the Texas
Centennial. In fact, there had been plans made as far back as
1900, when James
Stephen Hogg came up with the idea commemorating the state’s independence
from Mexico in a speech. During the Convention of the Advertising
Clubs of Texas, held in the city of Corsicana, the various organizations
met with the Texas Press Association. The result was the formation
of the Texas Centennial Survey Committee, which would be responsible
for putting together a statewide celebration. A constitutional amendment
was approved in 1932 to provide funding for the occasion, setting
the stage for a government-appointed group called the Texas Centennial
Commission, which was formed two years after the amendment passed.
The Commission of Control, the Advisory Board of Texas Historians,
the Work Projects Administration, and the Texas Highway Department
joined forces to make the statewide celebration a reality. They made
buildings, monuments, statues, and grave markers. For each county,
a marker was installed that provided information about the place’s
name and origin. A calendar was printed and circulated so potential
tourists would know when all the events would take place during 1936.
However, not all of them would occur that year. Gonzalez
held an observance in November 1935 and San
Antonio hosted some pageants the following month. January brought
with it a sun carnival in El
Paso and a Native American ceremony in Livingston.
During the next month, the residents of Galveston
enjoyed the festivities of Mardi Gras. Houston
and San Antonio both
had a celebration in store for the months of March and April. In July,
Fort Worth hosted
the Texas Frontier Centennial. The founding of Houston
was observed throughout the city in August. Although Fort
Worth’s attraction enjoyed the most popularity of all these events,
it was nothing compared the vast project known as the Texas Centennial
Exposition.
San Antonio, Austin,
and Houston competed alongside
Dallas to be the location for the exposition.
In an effort to make sure that Dallas would
win the contest, a group of local businessman led by bankers R. L.
Thornton, Fred Florence, and Nathan Adams formed the Texas Centennial
Central Exposition Corporation. They promoted the city, emphasizing
its capability of hosting the State Fair of Texas and the willingness
to invest in the upcoming event. In regard to the latter point, Fair
Park saw itself expand to 180 acres and the corporation collected
over five million dollars in public and private funds. The city of
Dallas won the battle and Fair Park became the site. To make the project
a reality, the local government received 25 million dollars.
Construction for the expo began in October 1935 under the supervision
of architect George Dahl. Born in Minneapolis, his parents came from
Norway as immigrants. He studied architecture at the University of
Minnesota and Harvard University before spending two years at the
American Academy in Rome, Italy. In 1926, he started working for a
Dallas architectural firm called the Herbert M. Greene Company. Dahl
did such an impressive job, he became a partner two years later. In
addition to his work for the exposition, he was responsible for many
local projects like the Neiman Marcus Building, the Dallas Morning
News Building, Old Dallas Central Library, Dallas Memorial Auditorium,
and Turtle Creek Village. He also made RFK Stadium, which served as
the home of the Washington Redskins football team for thirty-five
years.
Also serving as the technical director, Dahl wanted the exposition’s
design to reflect the themes of history, progress, and culture. For
this purpose, he chose Art Deco, the most current and popular style
of the time. Dahl managed to complete the project in eight months.
The park now had fifty buildings and enough space to accommodate more
than a hundred exhibitors and several large show productions. |
 |
Will Rogers
Pet "Big Jim" - Dallas Centennial, 1936
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The
Texas Centennial Exposition opened on June 6, 1936 with national news
coverage. The festivities that day included a downtown parade and
speeches made by Texas Governor James Allred and U. S. Secretary of
Commerce Daniel Roper. Six days later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
made a visit to the centennial event as a way to promote himself before
starting his re-election campaign. The last two weeks of September
saw the arrival of Mack V. Wright and Joseph Kane to make a movie
called The Big Show. Produced by Republic Pictures, the film starred
Gene Autry, Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, and Sally Payne. The Texas
Centennial Exposition closed on November 29th after a successful six-month
run.
The exposition saved Dallas during the
Great Depression, providing jobs and a boost to the economy. It also
placed the city on the national map. Because the centennial celebration
was so successful, the local government decided to host another large
event at Fair Park the following year. The new project was called
the Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition. Opening on June 12th,
the event resembled a world’s fair because it had several countries
being represented. Its theme and purpose was the celebration of Texas
and the growing influence of the Pan-American civilization. This was
reflected in the redecoration and renaming of the buildings left over
from the Centennial Expo in addition to the various attractions and
activities offered throughout the park. Ending on October 31st, the
event attracted two million visitors, far below the expectations of
those involved. |
 |
| Photo
courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016 |
During World
War II, the grounds and buildings of Fair Park were used for rationing,
equipment repairing, and military training purposes. The final two
years saw the arrival of German POWs to perform work requirements
during their confinement. After the war ended, the park was returned
to the city for public use and everything returned to normal.
In September 1961, a crew began filming for the movie State Fair,
which starred actors Pat Boone, Ann Margaret, and Tom Ewell. Officials
turned Fair Park into a race track in July 1984 so it could host the
Dallas Grand Prix. The local government wanted the event to prove
to the rest of the nation that Dallas was
still a top-tier city. With former President Jimmy Carter in attendance,
Keke Rosberg won the race. It was a memorable occasion, but it was
the only Grand Prix race to take place in the city.
On September 25, 1986, the U.S. Department of the Interior declared
Fair Park as a national historical landmark because it was the only
intact exposition site from the Great Depression. Two years later,
the responsibility of administrating the park went to the Dallas Parks
Department. Errol W. McKoy became President of the State Fair of Texas
in 1988 and brought the concept of corporate sponsorship to the forefront
in regard to the exhibits and entertainment. The majority of the park’s
buildings underwent some degree of remodeling or restoration from
1998 to 2003.
For years, many people complained that there were no big events to
attend during the year except for the state fair. In an attempt to
change this, the city council came up with the idea of having a seasonal
theme park. The members allocated thirty million dollars to make this
idea a reality. Called Summer Adventures in Fair Park, the beach-themed
attraction was located in the Midway. It featured rides, carnival
games, musical performances, animal shows, and free admission to the
park’s aquarium and butterfly house. Summer Adventures opened in May
2013 and closed in August. The original plan called for a two-year
test run, but terrible attendance figures convinced the local government
to completely abandon the theme park.
A task force appointed by Mayor Mike Rawlings submitted its report
in September 2014. The report called for the privatization of Fair
Park and the State Fair of Texas as a way to improve the area. Since
that time, advocates and opponents have been fighting over the issue
with no progress being made.
August 28, 2016
© Clint
Skinner |
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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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
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