Downtown, Dallas

This monument was built in memorial to fallen police officers. It's unusual design is in keeping with the design of City Hall which sits just across the road.
One of the features is the fact that natural light is used to cast images of the officers badge numbers onto the pavement below.

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For a glimpse of old Texas (1840-1910) one need only visit Dallas Heritage Village, where history comes alive! It is a 13 acre complex in downtown Dallas which offers 38 historic structures to view and tour.

We drove there on a recent weekend with our grandson to tour the grounds and historic structures. A Texas institution, Blue Bell ice cream, was celebrating its 100th anniversary by handing our complimentary cups of ice cream. It was a good day for it, too, because it was sunny and hot.

The village had a restored hotel, print shop, saloon, drs. office, farm, bandstand, several homes, a log cabin, blacksmith shop, school, church, general store and other buildings. It was an educational and fun visit! A gunfight even erupted while we were there...imagine that!

Costumed guides and village folk roam the streets and add their two cents to your tour. Their presence added a good dose of reality to our visit. We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon!

See these pics for some interesting characters on hand:

picture 2 A genteel woman of the town
picture 3 Some questionable characters on Main Street
picture 4 A gentleman of the village at Millermore
picture 5 A countrywoman from the farm

Hours are Tues.Sat. 10am-4pm; Sun. noon to 4pm and is closed to the public. January, February and August hours are: Tues.-Sat. 10am-2pm; Sun. noon to 4pm and closed on Mondays.

Admission is $7 for adults' $5 seniors 65 and older and $4 for children 4-12 years of age.

The Dallas Convention Center is in downtown Dallas and next to City Hall and
Pioneer Plaza. Originally built In 1957 as The Dallas Memorial Auditorium, it was expanded in the 1970s to become the Dallas Convention Center. It has expanded three times since then.
The centre features the world's largest column free exhibit hall at 203,000 sqft with 40ft ceilings. There are exhibit halls, ballrooms, meeting rooms, arena and theater, with further plans for additional facilities in the future.

This view of main street shows the Alamo Saloon and theBlum Bros. General Store.

Owned and operated by the son of a German immigrant, the Alamo Saloon was a fixture in old Dallas. It drew the working men of Dallas, members of the German community and sometimes ladies of questionable virtue.

Described as a fairly respectable watering hole in the early days of the city, it still offers five different beers from local breweries or stronger fare and a game of poker or dominoes.

Since we were visiting the village on Blue Bell ice cream's 100th anniversary, ice cream sodas were served from the bar.

The squared-off flat roofed building next to the saloon was the Blum Bros. General Store. This style of architecture was commonly used for stores in the early 19th century. It was once located on Wolfe Street in Dallas and was built and operated by Albert F. Mueller, who had immigrated from Germany.

In 1897, Simon Blum moved to Dallas, taking over ownership of the store. He was a member of the Jewish community. His brother, Mordecai, joined him in 1900 becoming partners. He and his family moved from Galveston, Texas after the hurricane hit in the early 1900's.

The Dallas Zoo is located just south of downtown Dallas across from the Trinity river. The zoo is located in a part of the city known as Oak Cliff. Thie nehighborhood was formerly it's own city but D town has since absorbed it. It is not as highly praised as the Fort Worth Zoo but it is worth going to none the less.

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This home was originally known as the George House, constructed in 1900 by D. C. George as a wedding gift to his wife. She wasn't permitted to see it until completed, so what a surprise this pretty Queen Anne style must have been to her.

Queen Anne was a style popular with the middle to upper classes from 18980-1910. It has an assymmetrical floor plan, turret, bay windows and "jigsaw" trim beneath the eaves.

This home is fitted with new amenities of the 1900's such as electric light features, a metal shingle roof and cast iron cook stove in the kitchen.

*picture 2-- Notice the early kiddicar and lovely accessories in this living room--the pretty floral wallpaper, stylish settee and well-used oriental rug.

Currently the residence is depicting the traditional Jewish home of the Blum family who were originally from Galveston and Houston. It is painted in its original colors.

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A small pathway leads to this home built in the winter of 1845-46 that has been relocated from where DFW airport sits now. It is an example of a dog-trot house and has been erected as part of a small farm complete with detached kitchen and cellar house.

A dog-trot house is actually two log-rooms separated by an open breezeway, but connected by a common roof. This dwelling was originally a log cabin, but as the owner grew more prosperous was clad with clapboard siding.

A blacksmith shop, feed shed, animal barn, outhouse, small family cemetery, herb garden, vegetable garden and field for crops are situated on the grounds. The barn currently is home to several chickens, a sheep and cow--all very laid back and mellow creatures.

There were several owners of this home, the most prominent was General Richard Montgomery Gano and his wife, Mattie.

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The Meyerson Symphony Center is located near the Dallas Museum of Art, Guadalupe Cathedral and Nasher Sculpture Center in the Cultural District of Dallas.

We've wanted to see the Meyerson since we moved to the Dallas area, so we were thrilled to hear that complimentary tours were given on the weekend.

Docent, Bill Herrera, kept us enthralled as he guided us throughout this striking, contemporary music center (pics #2-3). We wandered to the pricey boxes on the upper tiers, tried out the seats on Orchestra level and glimpsed behind stage.

The immense Lay Organ (in honor of Herman W., and Amelia H. Lay) sits behind the stage in McDermott Concert Hall (pic 4)*. It's 'one of the biggest mechanical action organs ever constructed for a concert hall' and was built by C.B. Fisk of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It contains 4,535 pipes!

*McDermott Hall is named for the co-founder of Texas Instruments, Eugene McDermott.

Tours are given on "selected" Mondays, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays at 1 pm. Groups should call ahead 214-670-3600.

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We've been wanting to hear the Dallas Symphony perform since moving to Texas 1 1/2 years ago. This weekend we purchased tickets for a Sunday matinee, where we heard the introduction to Mozart's The Magic Flute, Debussy's Le Mer and Ravel's Bolero. The performance was stellar!

A giant screen presented the artistry of Great Britain's J.M.W. Turner as Debussy's piece was performed. Turner's masterpieces featuring the great churning sea went hand in hand with the musical offering, Le Mer.

The Meyerson Symphony Center was designed by architect, I.M. Pei. The structure is composed of Indiana and red limestone, boasts soaring spaces, travertine marble, rare wood trim and paneling, while instrument quality brass embellishments edge the tiered levels. A practical, but costly mohair wool cover the comfortable theatre seats (pics 1-3).

Superb accoustics were created by Russell Johnson. It's said that the Meyerson's accoustics make it one of the finest concert halls in the United States and perhaps even the world.

'Dallas Panels' by artist Ellsworth Kelly brighten one of the dining areas (pic 4), while a 68 ton creation of forged steel named 'De Musica' by Eduardo Chillida sits outside the entrance of peaceful Betty B. Marcus Park.

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This simple two story structure was once located in Renner, Texas, a small community absorbed by the expanding city of Dallas. It's the Renner School, built in 1888 and utilized until 1919.

The building has features of the Greek Revival style, which was used commonly for schools, public meeting halls and Masonic lodges in the South at this time.

As you step inside you'll see a replicated school room, complete with multiple rows of desks and blackboards (picture 2). A second story classroom sits above this.

As the sunlight shone through the windows, it seemed like a pleasant enough place to learn one's ABC's!