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Dallas, Texas

FAIR PARK

National Historical Landmark

by Clint Skinner

1. Fair Park Station

Throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century, Texans had a difficult time commuting between the various cities, thanks to the relatively rough, unsteady roads they had to traverse. All this disappeared around the turn of the century with the introduction of the interurban railways. First introduced to Dallas in 1901, the railways used electric-powered trains between the main urban centers. They covered five hundred miles of terrain, making Texas the state with the second largest system west of the Mississippi River. The Dallas-Fort Worth area was responsible for seventy percent of this mileage.

The trains serving the interurban railways, though efficient in transporting people between cities, could not help visitors and citizens travel around the metropolitan areas. This problem was solved in Dallas during 1925 when the Dallas Railway & Terminal Company started using streetcars. Miniaturized versions of the electric train, they provided easy access to Fair Park throughout the year and especially the state fair. The trolleys played a critical part in the success of the Texas Centennial by dropping off visitors at the main entrance near the ticket booths on Parry Avenue. The company running them served as a subsidiary of the Electric Power & Light Corporation until 1946 when it won independence. In 1955, it relinquished the ownership to the Dallas Transit Company, which eliminated the last electric streetcar. Lasting nine years, the DTC gave way to the Dallas Transit System. The new owner managed to stay in charge until the final owner took over in 1984.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit was formed after a special election held on August 13, 1983. Fifteen cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area voted in favor of funding a regional transportation system through a one-percent sales tax. Although DART took over operations the following year, the DTC was technically in charge until 1988 when the transition ended.

DART first introduced the idea of having a rail system in September 1984. Unfortunately, voters turned down a proposal in 1988 that would allow the government to provide bonds to provide money for the project. As a result, planners had to reduce the rail system's length to 84 miles. Construction began in 1990 and lasted for six years. On June 14th, the first eleven miles of the system opened to the public with local celebrations and a week of free rides.

The rail service started in 1996 with the Red Line and Blue Line. At the current time, the Blue Line currently connects residents of Rowlett to Garland, Northeast Dallas, Downtown Dallas, and Oak Cliff with future plans of expansion. The Red Line serves Plano, Richardson, North Dallas, Downtown Dallas, and Oak Cliff. The Orange Line, which opened in 2012, runs along the same route as the Red Line until it arrives at West End Station. It then goes in the opposite direction and makes stops at Las Colinas, Irving, and D-FW Airport. In 2009, the Green Line began its service to the public, providing transportation to Southeast Dallas, Northwest Dallas, Farmer's Branch, Carrollton, and Fair Park.

Dallas TX - FairPark005 Fair Park Station
Fair Park Station
Photo courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016

Fair Park Station was one of four running during the first year with the other fifteen soon to follow. Diana and Brad Goldberg, a husband and wife team of artists, designed the train stop. Diana specialized in painting and graphic design while Brad concentrated on sculptures and landscaping. Together, they used their skills in developing a design which be a respectful reflection of Fair Park and its history. They first studied books, then proceeded to take pictures of the entire park. Through this process, Diana and Brad found two references for inspiration. The first one was the Hall of State and its art deco, chosen because the building held great prominence during the Texas Centennial. The second source was the group of ticket booths used for the grand event. Combining these elements, the artists managed to design a train station without the traditional barrel vault structure, which is used to protect passengers from the weather.

August 28, 2016
© Clint Skinner



FAIR PARK - Attractions:

1. Fair Park Station
2. Main Entrance
3. Founders Statue
4. Women's Museum
5. DAR House
6. The Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial
7. Sydney Smith Memorial Fountain
8. Music Hall
9. Fair Park Esplanade
10. Centennial Building
11. Automobile Building
12. Hall of State
13. Tower Building
14. Big Tex Circle
15. Grand Place
16. Old Mill Inn
17. Magnolia Lounge
18. Hall of Religion
19. African American Museum
20. Leonhardt Lagoon
21. Dallas Museum of Natural History
22. Science Place I
23. Children's Aquarium
24. Fair Park Bandshell
25. Texas Discovery Gardens
26. WRR Headquarters
27. Science Place II
28. The Texas Star
29. Cotton Bowl Stadium
30. The Texas Skyway
31. The Embarcadero
32. The Creative Arts Building
33. Food and Fiber Building
34. Pan American Arena
35. The Woofus
36. The Swine Building
37. Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center
38. Livestock Pavilion and Arena
39. The Horse Barn
40. Fair Park Coliseum
41. Top of Texas Tower




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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