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The building is included as a contributing property of the Dallas Downtown Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. In 2013, its listing was amended to emphasize the national significance of the building itself for its association with the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.&nbsp;

The Dallas Municipal Building was built in 1914 and is an excellent example of Beau Arts architecture. The adjoining addition was built in 1956.

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Dallas Municipal Building opened in 1914 as the city's fourth City Hall. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and jailed in the Municipal Building on November 22, 1963. Two days later he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby while being led out by police in the basement garage. The city government vacated the structure in 1978 when it moved to its current location. In 2003, the Dallas Police Department moved its offices as well, making the building partially abandoned. Today, it is presently home to the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. Many of the spaces associated with Oswald, including the cell he occupied, have been well preserved.


Dallas Municipal Building

Begin your tour of the heart of Dallas with Reunion Tower for an incredible view of the city followed by stops at landmark buildings such as the famed Union Station, a 1916 landmark still in use today. Visit the Old Red Courthouse, a recently restored Richardson Romanesque relic from the 1800s. See a replica of the cabin built by John Neely Bryan, the original Dallas settler. Visit the John F. Kennedy Memorial, the Dealey Plaza, the Sixth Floor Museum, and Pioneer Plaza. Finally, take a walk into the business district where you will find Hotel Adolphus, the 1912 Baroque building created by Adolphus Busch, followed by the original Neiman Marcus store, more than a century old.  Finish off your tour at buildings such as the Majestic Theatre and the interfaith chapel found at Thanksgiving Square.

Built in 1978, Reunion Tower is a 561 foot tower capped by a large geodesic dome—typically referred to as the "orb." From this vantage, visitors can view the Dallas skyline and take pictures using special high definition cameras. Along the perimeter of the deck are panels with photographs and information about various landmarks and historical events in the city. The tower features the observation deck as well as the Cloud Nine Cafe and Five Sixty restaurant, which is owned by renowned chef Wolfgang Puck. It was originally a free standing structure until 1998 when the Hyatt Hotel was built next to it. Not surprisingly, the Reunion Tower has quickly become a popular place for visitors as well as one of the city's iconic landmarks. 

Reunion Tower

<div>By 1900, the Dallas newspaper had exceeded its Galveston predecessor in circulation and size, as well as advertising revenue. The Dallas Morning News had one significant morning news rival: the Dallas Herald. The Herald, which was established as the Cedar Snag by James Wellington Latimore in 1849, was eventually acquired by the Dallas Morning News. G.B. Dealey, who helped establish the paper, served as the paper's first business manager. He became president of A.H. Belo &amp; Co. in corporation in 1926.</div><div> The newspaper continued to thrive under Dealey's management. Notably, the publication took a stand against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. Today, the paper has over 400,000 daily subscribers. It is among the top 20 largest paid circulations in the nation. It has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes both in reporting and photography, most recently in 2010, as well as multiple George Polk awards for education, regional reporting, and an Overseas Press Club award for photography.&nbsp; <div>The most recent Pulitzer Prize won by the publication, in 2010, was for editorials depicting the "stark social and economic disparity between the city's better off northern half and distressed southern half." Editorial writers named as winners of the award were Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson, and William McKenzie. They were led by Sharon Grigsby, deputy editorial page editor, and Keven Ann Willey, Vice President and editorial page editor of the publication. This was the newspaper's ninth Pulitzer Prize. In 2006, the publication was awarded the Pulitzer for photography. Photographers Irwin Thompson, Smiley Pool, and Michael Ainsworth were awarded for their photographs depicting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.</div></div><div> </div>

This marker commemorates the start of The Dallas Morning News on October 1, 1885. Alfred H. Belo, a former Confederate Army colonel, founded the newspaper as a North Texas branch of the Galveston News, which he also founded. Today, the A.H. Belo corporation owns both publications (the Galveston News changed its name to The Daily News). The newspapers were among the first to exchange information by telegraph, which was a new technology at the time.


The Dallas Morning News- Historical Marker

Interestingly, the station was a library for one year in 1954 as a new central library was constructed to replace the old 1901 Carnegie Library.&nbsp;Private passenger rail service continued until&nbsp;May 1969. A few years later in 1974 Amtrak service began. DART services began in June 1996.

Designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, Dallas' Union Station was built in 1916 during the heyday of steam-powered trains. At its height 80 trains would stop here each day. Before it was constructed Dallas had five stations which eventually became inefficient. To remedy this the city decided it was necessary to consolidate them into one transportation hub. An interesting feature of the station are murals painted by Phillip Lamb depicting events of Dallas history. They are actually partial recreations of original ones painted by Jerry Bywaters and Alexander Hogue in 1934 in the now demolished city hall building. Today the building serves as the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) center, as it connects bus, light rail, commuter rail and interstate rail into one efficient system.

Union Station

Kennedy’s political trip to Texas was part of attempts to relieve tension in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough (the last names are coincidental, they are of no relation) and conservative John Conally. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder of a police officer and was then charged with killing JFK. Oswald was an employee of the Texas School Book Depository, where it’s believed the shots were fired. Oswald denied having committed both crimes for which he was accused, claiming he’d been framed. Nightclub operator Jack Ruby killed Oswald before he could be tried. It was widely believed that Ruby was deeply involved with organized crime in the area. Oswald had served as a US Marine before defecting to the Soviet Union in October 1959 and returned to the US in June 1942.

&nbsp;The following investigation into Kennedy’s death is controversial and to this day the conspiracy theories that arose surrounding the events of President Kennedy’s death are widely believed. A poll in November of 2013 indicated that 61% of Americans believed there’d been a conspiracy to kill JFK and 74% thought there’d been a cover up. According to this poll, only 30% believed Oswald did it alone, which was the official conclusion of the Warren Commission. Kennedy’s Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was sworn into office upon JFK’s death, created this commission to investigate the assassination. However, the later 1979 US House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that it believed a conspiracy was involved in the President’s assassination; however, the committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the breadth of the conspiracy.

This marker is located at the JFK Memorial, a “cenotaph”, or open tomb, which commemorates John F. Kennedy, the nation’s thirty-fifth president, who was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The plaza was dedicated on June 24, 1970. In 1999, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza undertook management of the monument. This museum is located on the floor of the old Texas School Book Deposity building where it is believed Lee Harvey Oswald took the shots that killed President Kennedy. The alleged sniper’s perch at the sixth floor window is preserved as part of the museum.


John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza Marker

The building was the fifth courthouse on the site. The first was a simple log cabin built around 1846. Dallas was eventually chosen to be the county seat and a brick courthouse was constructed in 1856. The subsequent courthouses grew in size but also burned down.&nbsp;The building that stands today stopped serving as a courthouse in 1968, a few years after a new one was built just across the street.&nbsp;

The Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture is located in the former city courthouse which was built in 1892 and designed by architect Max A. Orlopp Jr. in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The museum chronicles the city and surrounding region's social, economic, political and cultural history from prehistoric times to today. The Early Years exhibit covers prehistory to 1873; the Trading Center exhibit explores the period between 1874-1917 when Dallas grew to become an important economic center; the "Big D" exhibit looks at the years between 1918-1945 when the city became well known to the country; and the World Crossroads exhibit covers the period from 1946 to 2007, chronicling the city's emergence as home to big corporations, sports teams, among others. One of the many highlights on display are the handcuffs worn by Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture

President Kennedy was elected back in 1960 when he defeated former Vice President Richard Nixon in the general election. Up until the assassination attempt, Kennedy was dealing with intense relations with Russia, the Cuban Missile Crisis, an escalated conflict at the Berlin Wall, signing the Partial Test Ban Treaty, and establishing his “New Frontier” policies. Domestically, JFK, as he was commonly known as, wanted federal funding for education, healthcare for elders, and an end to racial discrimination, in accordance with Martin Luther King Jr.’s message. Fiscally, he was known for cutting taxes, keeping interest rates down, and focusing on economic growth of the economy. President Kennedy also signed a law that abolished the mandatory death penalty for first degree murder in prisons.In November 1963, President Kennedy headed to Texas to resolve a dispute in the Democratic Party there. He had three goals he wanted to accomplish there: raise more Democratic Party presidential campaign contributions, begin his quest for reelection, and to make amends among Texas Democrats. The President, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and Texas Governor John Connally were all set to be apart of a motorcade. That motorcade would make it’s way through Dealey Plaza with many in attendance coming to see the President. Secret Service agents were all around the President to make sure everything went smoothly. Surprisingly enough, President Kennedy’s children never joined him on the trip, but one can say it was better considering what was about to transpire.Kennedy began waving when the first gunshot rang out, but only a few members of the crowd heard it. President Kennedy would be shot in the head and Governor Connally was also shot as well. Secret Service Agent Cedar Hill pushed the First Lady down to prevent her from getting shot. Mrs. Kennedy apparently climbed out onto the back of the limousine she was riding, but she had no recollection of that happening, most likely in shock after seeing her husband killed before her. A bystander named James Tague was also wounded by a shot while he was in the crowd.The shooter was identified as former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. He was said to have “mental problems” and was even in juvenile detention when he was just 12. Oswald served in the marines, but was discharged and then he defected to the Soviet Union. Oswald had killed the President, wounded the Texas Governor and a bystander, and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. He escaped into a movie theater where police found him and arrested him for murder. Oswald denied any responsibility for the murders. He would later be shot himself by a nightclub owner in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters.President Kennedy died 30 minutes after he was shot and Vice President Johnson was sworn in as the new President. Governor Connally was injured, but he would be alright and recovered from his own gun wound. The Warren Commission launched investigations aided by Dallas police, the Secret Service, and the FBI into Oswald’s killing of Kennedy. While gathering evidence, numerous witnesses testified their accounts to the commission. It was determined that Oswald acted as the lone gunman and no accomplices were discovered. However, public opinion polls believe differently as 80% of American people believe the whole assassination was a coverup or inside job. This spawned numerous conspiracy theories like the CIA getting involved, someone knowing of the assassination ahead of time being an unknown witness, and insiders wanting Johnson in office so the Vietnam War could have happened.

On November 22, 1963, a dark day in America was made known as John F. Kennedy would be assassinated right here in Dallas. This marker in Dealey Plaza, the location of President Kennedy’s assassination, marks the path of Kennedy's presidential motorcade on the day he was killed. The motorcade traveled north on Houston Street to Elm Street and then west along Elm Street. At 12:30 PM, as the parade continued along Elm Street, rifle shots wounded President Kennedy and the Governor of Texas at the time, John Connally. President Kennedy died at 1:00 PM at Parkland Memorial Hospital while the governor recovered safely afterwards.

JFK Assassination Route-Historical Marker

President John F. Kennedy had been preparing for the upcoming election year. After traveling out west, speaking in nine different states in a week, he began to campaign in Texas. He had known that there was a lot of tension and fighting between party leaders in Texas. This tension and fighting could have potentially been a huge issue when it came to Kennedy's reelection. He wanted to win Texas and decided to campaign in the city of Dallas, Texas, the hometown of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Dallas was the area where the U.S. Ambassador of United Nations, Adlai Stevenson,&nbsp;was attacked physically while delivering a speech. Kennedy did not seem to worry much about all of the disagreements, but wanted to be out in the "political fray."&nbsp;On that rainy morning of November 22, several thousand people stood outside of Kennedy's hotel,&nbsp;present-day, Hilton Fort Worth.&nbsp;After he came outside to give a few remarks, he shook hands with many smiling faces that morning. The President and the First Lady took a thirteen minute flight to Dallas to a welcoming crowd as they proceeded off the plane. They entered an open convertible despite threats and CIA&nbsp;advisors&nbsp;tried to convince Kennedy to ride in a car with a roof&nbsp;in order to keep him safe.The rain finally ceased and the President headed through the streets of Dallas. Many excited people of Dallas lined up beside the streets to wave at the President and his wife. At 12:30 pm, gunshots&nbsp;were fired as the car entered Dealey Plaza. The gun shot landed in Kennedy's head and neck, causing him to fall into Mrs. Kennedy's lap. The Governor was also shot in the chest in the front seat. He survived. After the shots,&nbsp;the car raced off to the hospital where the President of the United States would be pronounced dead. It is believed that the shooter was indeed Lee Harvey Oswald, a recently hired employee at the Texas School Book Depository, located in Dealey Plaza. There are many different theories regarding who actually shot Kennedy and if there was another person involved. Oswald was shot during a prison transfer by Jack Ruby. There are many conspiracy theories regarding this event.

On November 22 1963, President Kennedy and his wife left their hotel and were making their way through the downtown streets of Dallas, Texas so the President could speak at a luncheon. Crowds gathered along the edges of the streets so they could wave at the Kennedys. John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, was shot in the head at approximately 12:30pm. Several shots were fired hitting the President and the Governor. Many conspiracy theories continue to circulate about what exactly happened that day in Dealey Plaza.  

Dealey Plaza 

A window on the building’s sixth floor is where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot and killed President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Today, the sixth floor of the building is home to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The museum explores and examines the President’s death, the local and international effect of the assassination, the president’s legacy, and the culture of the 1960s. Among the artifacts in the collection is the Zapruder film, which can be viewed on the museum’s website. The Zapruder film, in 26.6 seconds, shows JFK’s assassination. Abraham Zapruder, who came to see the president’s motorcade as it passed through Dealey Plaza, shot the film. Inadvertently, he caught the assassination on his home video camera. Although it was not the only film of the assassination, it is believed by many to be the most complete and with the clearest view. It was an important part of the LBJ organized Warren Commission that investigated JFK’s death, as well as subsequent investigations of the shooting. There is speculation by some researchers of the assassination claiming that the Zapruder film is fraudulent and inconsistent with other films of the assassination, such as the Orville Nix and Marie Muchmore films.

The site of the former Texas School Book Depository has served a variety of purposes throughout the years. Originally owned by John Neely Bryan, the founder of Dallas, the site became a wagon shop operated by French immigrant Maxime Guillot during the 1880s. In 1894, Phil L. Mitchell, President and Director of Rock Island Plow Company of Illinois purchased the land and built an office building for the company’s Texas division. This structure burned down in 1901. It was rebuilt that same year. In 1937, the Carraway Byrd Corporation bought the property and leased it to a number of businesses, including the Texas School Book Depository.

The Former School Book Depository Building Historical Marker

The sixth-floor museum is a museum dedicated to the assassination of the President John F. Kennedy. This museum also serves as a window in time to the year 1963, when the president was killed. The Sixth Floor Museums collections include original manuscripts and documents, newspapers, photographs, three dimensional artifacts, audio-visual recordings, and architectural elements. The audio-visual recordings include early 1960s radio and television broadcasts, home movies, and over nine hundred oral histories of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The building the museum is in has undergone a lot in its lifetime. Through the passing of hands before and after the tragedy, threats of demolition, to ultimately being preserved. The sixth-floor museums history ventures beyond that of any other museum, and has become the epicenter of both tragedy and Triumph.In 1898 the southern rock plow company built a five-story building at the northwest corner of Houston and Elm street in Dallas. In 1901 the building burned down and a new seven-story building was erected at the original foundation. In 1937 the building was renamed the Perfection-Aire Building for the new air-conditioning business that leased it. From 1941-1961 The building had become the southwest distribution center for the Chicago-based grocery wholesale company, John Sexton &amp; Co. In 1963 the Texas School Book Depository company, a school textbook distribution firm, leased the building with regional textbook publishing firms.During this time, Dallas was considered “The city of hate” due the number of public assaults as well as right-wing, and anti-UN protests. To solidify this stigma, on November 22nd 1963, the Texas School Book Depository building became the primary crime scene of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There was evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald, a New Orleans native and Texas School Book Depository employee, had shot and killed the President from the sixth-floor window. Oswald was arrested later that day for the murder of a Dallas police officer within 80 minutes of the assassination and was later charged with the murder of the president. Upon the assassination of the president, the depository became one of the most visited sites in the country. Millions of people visited to mourn the loss of the President. A shrine of notes, flowers, and items of sentimental value were placed at the base of the building to honor the President.Sometime in the 1970’s the Texas School book depository had vacated and immediately following this was a public outcry to demolish the building. After a Nashville music promoter bought the building at a public auction, they had to sell the building due to insufficient financial backing. Upon the building being back on the market, demolition permits were purchased by the organization, Dallas Onward. Dallas onward has promised over $100,000 to purchase and demolish the building. Ultimately Mayor West Wise had frozen the demolition permits, and arranged a purchasing of the building. Between 1977-1981 Dallas county had acquired the building. On March 29th 1981, the Dallas county administration building was erected. Although there was still momentum to demolish the building, Dallas county had been granted a Texas historical marker for the building which then publicly acknowledged for the first time, this buildings place in history.On Presidents day, February 20th 1989, the sixth-floor exhibit opened due to the visitors of the Dealey Plaza wanting to learn more about the assassination of president Kennedy. The sixth-floor exhibit highlights the historical significance of president Kennedy’s death to the world. Two key evidentiary areas have since been restored to its original 1963 appearance. Every year 350,000 people come to visit the historic Texas School Book Depository building to remember and reflect the events that happened in 1963.The preservation of historical monuments not only serves to honor those who have perished, but also to change the narrative of the memory. The city of Dallas was known to be a dangerous, and hateful city before, during and after the time of the assassination. A major contributor to this stigma would be the need to forget the tragedy. After years of outcry to demolish the building the people wanted some sort of closure, and instead they were led to embrace it. Memory has played an immense role in the overall wellbeing of the city of Dallas, mainly in the implementation of monuments and now the museum. Before all of this, there was a city ashamed of their past, but now they’ve learned to embraced it. Now the city is no longer known to be dangerous in particular nor as a city of hate per se. This site proves that preserving the memory of the past is important not only to remember, but to heal.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated from a window facing the Dealey Plaza on the sixth floor of this building, which was the Texas School Book Depository at the time. Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the depository, was charged with the crime. The Sixth Floor Museum commemorates this tragic and one of the most consequential events in American history. The museum features films, artifacts, and photographs related to Kennedy's life and legacy. In all, the museum houses 45,000 of these items. Topics covered include the history and culture of the 1960s and the local and global aftermath of his death. The building itself was constructed in 1898, but after a fire, it was reconstructed and erected in 1901.

The Sixth Floor Museum 

The permanent exhibit offers visitors a unique experience of the Holocaust, capturing one day in particular, April 19, 1943. As it happened, three very important situations occurred: an attack was made by partisan fighters against the 20th Deportation Train out of Belgium; The Warsaw Ghetto exploded in what was later known as the Uprising; and the Bermuda Conference convened. Special events throughout the year of the highest caliber further amplify the power of the presentation.Docent-guided or audio-guided tours allow your party to customize your experience. These tours come in English or Spanish, as your needs require. Generally, these tours take between a half hour and two hours to complete. NOTE: Groups must be scheduled in advance. School groups visiting each year number in the hundreds, and such events also include college nights for post-secondary students as well. Holocaust Survivors' Testimonies are shared with thousands of visitors, school groups, and guests. Digitized recordings of these personal testimonies from Holocaust survivors leave their stories for generations to come.Educator support is available through summer conferences and other ongoing workshops and orientations. The Traveling Curriculum and Museum Experience Fund: The Museum believes in reaching beyond its walls with programs to support schools who need assistance in enabling students to make the trek, as well as providing some artifacts to travel to targeted classrooms around the region. The Upstander Speaker Series brings in renowned international speakers on human rights issues, sharing them with the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Subject matter experts on specified topics are brought in to speak to hundreds of school kids and community groups. A rich archive and research library is also available to Museum members.The Garden of Remembrance and Tolerance, created as a project for Eagle Scout Brandon Ryan, was dedicated in a special ceremony on November 20, 2011. The garden features a unique outdoor steel sculpture, benches, trees, and landscaping.The Dallas Holocaust Museum supports the Generations program, creating a database of Holocaust survivors, their children, and grandchildren to be used to communicate and to coordinate for Education and Tolerance events from time to time. It provides an excellent means for children and grandchildren to meet, socialize, and enjoy others with similar experiences. The effort will help organize and implement social and recreational events for Generation members and their families. Further, it will support the community by organizing events for Survivors and their families, such as Purim and Hanukkah parties, preserve the memories of the Holocaust and its aftermath.

Founded in 1984, this museum is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and sharing the moral and ethical response to prejudice, hate, and indifference. Located in Dallas' historic West End, the museum hosts 65,000 visitors annually, nearly half of them school children. The museum is noted for its compelling and creative programming, as well as internationally recognized exhibits and world-class speakers.

Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance

The first attempt at organizing for women’s suffrage in Texas occurred in 1893&nbsp;when the Texas Equal Rights Association (T.E.R.A.) was formed at a convention held in Dallas.&nbsp; The Dallas Equal Suffrage Association (DESA) was formed twenty years later, in October 1913, to support the cause of women’s suffrage in Texas.&nbsp; Many of the women active in the movement were a part of previously formed suffrage organizations. Margaret Bell Houston, daughter of Sam Houston Jr., was the organization’s first president.By 1917, the organization was over 600 members strong, many of whom were helping to support the war effort in Dallas.&nbsp; In March of 1917, DESA conducted a three-day “Suffrage School” that was meant to educate the public on the benefits of women’s suffrage. &nbsp;During the 1918 Texas gubernatorial campaign, members procured the signatures of 10,000 Dallas County women on a petition that backed a primary suffrage bill.&nbsp; It passed and allowed women to vote in primary elections, two years prior to national female suffrage.&nbsp; Over 16,000 women registered to vote in the July 1918 primary elections.&nbsp;DESA eventually merged with the League of Women Voters of Dallas in 1919.&nbsp; On June 28, 1919, Texas became the first southern state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution that gave women the right to vote nationwide.&nbsp; A Texas historical marker honoring the women who fought for suffrage was dedicated in 2010 outside the Dallas County Courthouse.

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A Texas Historical Marker honoring the role of Dallas women in achieving full suffrage rights for Texas women was dedicated October 14, 2010, outside the Dallas County Old Red County Courthouse. The marker is located in front of the 1892 Dallas County Courthouse, also known as the Old Red Museum. 

Women's Suffrage in Dallas County Historical Marker. 

When the extension was constructed, the building became the largest office building in Texas. It remained a prominent structure after the bank left (a new building was constructed)&nbsp;until the 1970s when occupancy reached a low of 30%. Revitalization plans in 1983 and 1993 failed to come to fruition. However, plans in 1997 did proceed and the building opened as apartment residence&nbsp;in 2003.&nbsp;

An apartment building today, the Davis Building is one of the city's most important buildings. Built in 1926, it was designed by architect C.D. Hill in the Classical Revival style. Perhaps its most interesting feature is the large cupola on the roof, which can be easily seen from the rooftop pool area. Until 1954, the building was the headquarters of the Republic National Bank and as such remains a key symbol of the city's prominent and powerful banking industry. The west portion was an extension built in 1931. Other businesses and organizations were located here as well including insurance companies, the Texas baseball league, Coca-Cola, and Texas Instruments, which got its start here. The building, which is named after Wirt Davis, one of the bank's former chairmans, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. 

Davis Building

Unfortunately, Adolphus Busch passed away before he could see the building completed. His heirs sold it to the&nbsp;Kirby Investment Company of Houston in 1918, which was founded by John Henry Kirby, a prominent figure in the state's financial industry. The building's name is derived from this company, although it has also been known as the Busch building. Interestingly, the A. Harris store could have expanded upwards but at the time&nbsp;department store planners found that five stories was the best height so the A. Harris expanded outwards. Like other downtown buildings during the 1970s and 1980s, the Kirby went into decline and became vacant. However, it was the first to be renovated and became a hopeful symbol for the city's efforts to revitalize downtown.

Designed the in Late Gothic Revival style, the 17-story Kirby Building is one among the most architecturally pleasing buildings in Dallas. The original and largest part of the building was constructed in 1913 by prominent developer Adolphus Busch, who also built the Hotel Adolphus located one block to the south. It was an office building and also home to the A. Harris & Co. Department store, one of the prominent stores in the southwest during the first half of the 20th century. The store built three additions, in 1925, 1930, and 1955; the last addition is the least architecturally significant but still an important part of the building. Today, the Kirby Building is now an residential building featuring apartments and lofts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Kirby Building

The Adolphus underwent expansions in 1916, 1926, and 1950, but none were as expensive as the 1980s renovation. $80 million was spent enlarging and modernizing the already-luxurious guestrooms, and bringing the total number of guestrooms down from 1,200 to 428.&nbsp;

Built by the founder of the Anheuser-Busch company, Adolphus Busch, the Adolphus Hotel was opened on October 5, 1912, intending to establish the first grand and posh hotel in the city of Dallas. With 22 floors standing a total of 312 feet, the building was the tallest building in Texas until it was dwarfed by the Magnolia Petroleum Building (now the Magnolia Hotel) just down the street in August 1922. Otto Schubert took over management in 1922 and it was under his watch that the hotel attained national prominence. Dallas architects Beran and Shelmire headed the hotel's renovation in the 1980s, thereafter attracting guests like Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. Queen Elizabeth II gifted the hotel an official portrait to be hung in the lobby as a token of gratitude for the extraordinary service she and Prince Philip received there during their state visit in 1991. The Adolphus was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Hotel Adolphus

<div>The Pegasus stopped working in 1974. Three years later Mobil Oil moved out of the building and sold it to the City of Dallas. The building was sold to&nbsp;developers from Denver&nbsp;in 1997 who converted it into the Magnolia Hotel. </div>

The Magnolia Hotel, formerly the Magnolia Petroleum Building, is one of Dallas' most iconic buildings. It was built in 1922 in the Beaux-Arts style with the company's logo, the famous winged horse "Pegasus", featured at the top. When Mobil Oil merged with Magnolia Petroleum the logo was retained. The Pegasus, which could rotate, quickly became a Dallas landmark. After several years, the condition of the original Pegasus deteriorated and eventually, it was unable to rotate. In 1999, the current Pegasus replaced the original and was officially lit on January 1st, 2000. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Magnolia Hotel

Tony
Tasset was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1960.1&nbsp;At the age of three, Tasset began to draw monsters and sell his drawings to his
classmates.2&nbsp;In
1983, he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Two
years later, he earned his Master of Fine Arts at The School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.3 Originally, Tasset planned to major in Design and Illustration but met a girl
who was “a real hardcore painter” so he changed his major to fine arts: they
are now married.4 

<div>In
his 40s, Tasset became unsatisfied with his art as accessible to only
intellectuals, so he started creating art for both intellectuals and the
general public.5 In
his decision to become a public artist, Andy Warhol was his inspiration.6&nbsp;He has
said that he likes to work with everyday objects that make the public still
ask, “What’s it mean?”7&nbsp;Tasset says that people still seek a meaning for everyday objects because “People
have been so conditioned to not understand art that when something’s obvious
they feel like they’re missing something”.8&nbsp;He works with multiple mediums in a way that satirizes our pop culture and make
us question our own understanding.9&nbsp;Ty Tabing, Executive Director of the Chicago Loop Alliance and member of the
committee of the locals that picked Tasset for Art Loop, said that “His art is
not too highbrow and still very provocative and thought-provoking at the same
time”.10&nbsp;The
Eye is a three-story fiberglass orb that is a replica of Tony Tasset’s own eyeball.11&nbsp;In Chicago, near the completion of the Eye, Tasset’s team, made up of
fiberglass workers from Sparta’s Fast Corp. (Fiberglass Animals Shapes and
Trademarks), came across a natural obstacle: rain.12&nbsp;With heavy rain and the public unveiling approaching, the team had to push
their limits to assemble the structure’s twenty-four pieces and add all the
details such as the veins and iris.13&nbsp;After assembling the Eye, the team had to cut it into seventeen pieces in order
to safely transport it from Sparta to the Loop.14 

<div><div>Ty
Tabing anticipated buyers to secure Tasset’s Eye in the Loop, Chicago’s
official downtown; however, that did not occurred and the Eye had to be
dismantled and returned to Sparta’s Fast Corp.’ factory.15&nbsp;With a background rooted in the arts, Timothy Headington, the owner of the
Joule Hotel, decided to purchase the Eye in 2013 in partnership with the
Nasher Sculpture Center.16&nbsp;Now, the Eye, is joining “the hotel’s thriving collection of contemporary
works like Dan Rees' "Shaker Peg Painting" 2013, Tony Cragg's
"Outspan," 2008, Callum Innes' "Untitled," 1996, Andy
Warhol's "Electric Chairs" 1971, and more.”17&nbsp;Tony Tasset’s art is influenced by the culture of the moment and it affects how
the public reacts to his art: negative or positive, but a reaction is always
welcomed.</div></div><div>

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The Giant Eyeball, also known as the Eye, is one of Tony Tasset’s many eccentric artworks. Known for transforming mundane objects into art pieces, Tasset originally created the Eye in 2010 as a commission for the Chicago Loop Alliance, as part of its Art Loop installation. The Art Loop works to install a new and temporary artwork in the Loop every summer. The Eye was brought to Dallas in 2013 when Timothy Headington, the owner of the Joule Hotel, bought it. 

Giant Eyeball

J.B. Wilson was born in Ontario, Canada in 1847. As an adult, he made his way to New Orleans where he became rich in the lumber industry. He moved to Dallas in 1872 and, as stated above, became a cattle rancher and earned even more wealth. As a result of his success in the industry, he rose to prominence as&nbsp;one of the city's top financial figures. He also owned the&nbsp;Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway Co. The building served as office space and&nbsp;was rented out to a variety of tenants. It was also home to a few variety stores including the&nbsp;Titche-Gottinger&nbsp;Department Store from 1904 to 1928,&nbsp;and the H.L. Green Variety store. Wilson died in 1920, leaving a lasting legacy in Dallas. The Wilson estate owned the building until 1971, at which point it was sold to a bank, whose plans to develop it never happened. Another real estate investment firm bought it in October 1973; it also&nbsp;had plans to restore it but it appears this did not occur either. While tenants continued to leave during these years, H.L. Green remained until the late 1990s. In 1999, a developer from&nbsp;Atlanta bought it and converted into the residential building it is today.&nbsp;

Modeled after the Grand Opera House in Paris, France, the Wilson Building is a historic commercial building located in downtown Dallas. It was built in 1904 by wealthy cattle rancher and investor Frederick P. Wilson and was the first eight-story building in Texas. The building is rectangle in shape but its northeastern and southeastern corners are rounded. The facade features numerous ornamental details made out of brick, terra cotta, and marble. These include Doric and Corinthian columns, eagles, arches, and ornamental motifs with the letter 'W'. The building is still considered one of the most beautiful in Dallas and an important early example of commercial architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Today, the Wilson is an apartment building with commercial space on the ground floor.  

Wilson Building

One of the Dallas' first large department stores, its construction represented the prosperity of the booming retail sector—specifically, the success of the department store as an economic force—of the early 20th century. In terms of the building's association with the local Jewish community, Titche and Goettinger belonged to a group of Jewish businessmen who were active in the city's cultural, political, and economic life. They contributed to charities and cultural institutions and were often the largest bank depositors (and sat on boards of local banks). As such, the two men represent the important contributions the Jewish community made to Dallas during that period. They founded the store in 1902.

Built in 1928, the former Titche–Goettinger department store building is historically significant for its architecture, its contribution to the city's economic development, and its association with its Jewish owners Edward Titche and Max Goettinger. Architect George L. Dahl designed the building in the Italian Renaissance style. Today, the building features apartments, commercial and restaurant space, and a portion is used by the University of North Texas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Titche–Goettinger Building

Majestic Theatre was constructed in 1920 as the flagship theater for Interstate Amuseument Company, a chain of vaudeville houses. The $2 million Renaissance Revival structure opened on April 11, 1921 with a seating capacity of 2,800. It replaced a previous theater of the same name (located at Commerce Street and St. Paul Street) which burned down December 12, 1917.&nbsp; In 1932, the Majestic began exclusively showing movies. It was known as the "man's house" featuring films of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and other macho heroes while the nearby Palace was known as the "ladies' house" featuring films with female leads. On July 16, 1973, the Majestic Theatre closed after the final showing of the film “Live and Let Die.” The theater was reopened on January 28, 1983. Today, the Majestic is regularly used for musical productions, dramatic plays, national pageants, dance, and concerts.

The Majestic is a historic performing arts theater in the City Center District and the last remnant of Theater Row, the city's historic entertainment center that was based around Elm Street. The Majestic hosted a variety of acts from Houdini to Mae West and Bob Hope during the vaudeville era. Beginning in 1922, films were added to the regular vaudeville offerings. The theater began hosting movie premieres and associated stars such as Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, and John Wayne. The Big Bands featuring Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington continued the tradition of live entertainment at the Majestic. Today, the Majestic has been restored and is a contributing property in the Harwood Historic District. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Majestic Theatre

The building is a splendid mix of a number of architectural styles, providing it with a unique appearance. The walls and stairs are made of dark gray brick and Stamford limestone, with imported Bedford stone used for the columnns. A front-facing, two-story portico sits atop a flight of sandstone stairs, mounted atop hand-fluted columnns with Corinthian capitals. A gilded stone double-headed eagle, the emblem of the Scottish Rite, looks over the street from the center of a sweeping balustrade. Pilasters and rounded arches in the Doric style frame the windows and doors of the entrance. The interior rooms are each uniquely decorated. One can find fine crystal chandeliers, gilded pilasters, decorative Ionic moldings, Egyptian columnns, mahogany furnishings, a marble and bronze grand staircase, and the largest banquet room and pipe organ in the Southern States. The ceiling is painted a dark shade of blue, and embedded with glass stars resembling the constellations of the Zodiac, through which the room’s lighting shines.

The Scottish Rite were established in Dallas by the late 19th century, acquiring their permanent charter and Lodge in 1897. They had held their meetings in various locations around the city, including the Stafford Building and the Dan Sullivan Building until 1905, when they commissioned a Cathedral to be built on the junction of Harwood and Young Streets. A time capsule is buried underneath the northeast corner of the building, placed there by the Texan Grand Master of Masons, J. P. Bell in 1907. Until its completion in 1908 they made use of the nearby Turner Hall, the present site of the Dallas Masonic Lodge. Two years after they occupied the new building, they began publishing the Scottish Rite Herald newspaper, which was distributed amongst the order’s members. Today the building houses a library and museum that exhibits historic photographs, memorabilia of famous Scottish Rite figures, and the original Dallas Scottish Rite Consistory Banner from 1897. Statues of famous figures, such as Sam Cochran, George Fleming Moore, and James Richardson adorn the building, and there is even a bowling alley in the basement.

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is one of the oldest bodies of the Freemasons, through which Master Masons can further their education. Since 1903 the Dallas Scottish Rite has grown from its initial membership of only sixty-four to a current tally of over seven thousand. The order continues to educate its members and the wider community on the values of love, tolerance, charity, truth, faith, community, and patriotism. Theirs is the largest Valley (the term for a Lodge or jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite) in the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. 

Scottish Rite Cathedral and Museum

The museum is located in downtown Dallas and is part of a community development project called Encore Park, which was created by the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas and its homeless shelter called The Stewpot.&nbsp;

The Museum of Street Culture's mission is to serve as a catalyst for social change through historic preservation and showcasing art depicting the lives of everyday people. It presents art exhibitions inside and outside of the building and also offers various educational and public programs. The artwork is created by both Stewpot clients and professional artists. The museum's collection includes photographs, drawings, paintings, sculpture, historical artifacts, audio recordings, films, videos, ephemera, and interactive media. The museum also highlights the city's music and film history (the building was built in 1929 by Warner Bros. to store films, and in the late 1930 blues legend Robert Johnson held a recording session here). Local photographer, author, and filmmaker Alan Governar, established the museum in 2017.

Museum of Street Culture

The monument consists of a sixty-foot granite obelisk surrounded by four statues. The stone was quarried in Llano, Texas, apart from the marble of the statues, which was imported from Carrara, Italy. Atop the columnn is a figure of a Confederate Soldier, possibly Lieutenant Robert Hickman Gaston who was killed at the Battle of Sharpsburg. One side of the obelisk features the main dedication plaque, bestowing the monument to the “brazen lips” of the Confederacy. The other three faces of the columnn pay homage to the cavalry, infantry, and naval soldiers of the Confederate army. Each is given a poetic inscription and engraving of crossed swords, an anchor, and crossed rifles, respectively. An additional inscription lies on the north face, below the dedication to the Navy. It reads: “This stone shall crumble into dust ere the deathless devotion of Southern women be forgotten.” On the south side of the obelisk is a relief bust of General William L. Cabell, a Civil War veteran and mayor of Dallas. Four other statues are positioned around the central pillar. These are of Albert Sidney Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis.The memorial was originally located in the Sullivan Park, now known as the Old City Park. Its installation in 1896 was quite a small event, with only four hundred Confederate and under sixty-five Union veterans in attendance; however, when the monument was officially dedicated the following year, over forty thousand people crowded into the park. Amongst those in attendance were Stonewall Jackson’s widow, Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, and Jefferson Davis’s daughter, Margaret Howell Davis Hayes. In 1961 the monument was moved to its current location in Pioneer Park, as the R.L. Thornton Freeway was being built near its previous position. In recent years, many Americans have become increasingly concerned about the intent behind the creation of monuments honoring the Confederacy. In many cases, the monuments were made decades after the war by individuals who subscribed to some of the same racial prejudices that typified white Southerners who fought on behalf of the Confederacy. In response to the 2015 attack in a South Carolina church against African American parishioners by a neo-Confederate supporter, many city governments have contemplated removing Confederate monuments. The debates have often spurred violence against property, with monuments being vandalized by opponents while a small number of Confederate supporters have made violent threats against those who support the removal of the monuments.

Believed to be the city’s oldest statue, this sculpture was erected by the Dallas chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1896. The memorial was removed in 2020 following a lengthy legal battle. This sculpture was designed by a German immigrant who specialized in working with bronze and granite. It is located within the Pioneer Park Cemetery, a collection of four graveyards that contain many important figures from Dallas’s history, stretching as far back as 1853. The statue demonstrates a transition in the types of monuments created by Confederate supporters. In the years following the war, Confederate markers and monuments were located in cemeteries and honored the dead. In the late 19th and early 20th century, however, Confederate monuments presented a celebratory history of the "Lost Cause". They were placed in prominent public places to send a message about the South's refusal to accept the consequences of defeat and Reconstruction. Such monuments were political and designed to erase the history of the South's defeat and occupation by Northern armies. Similar to the early monuments, this work is located at a burial ground. Demonstrating elements of later monuments, it also presents Confederate soldiers on pedestals. Many of the monuments dedicated in the next two decades placed Confederate leaders in larger-than-life poses atop horses--monuments that were similar to those created for conquerors and victors.

Confederate War Memorial (1961-2020)

The current Pioneer Park Cemetery is all that remains of the Masonic, Odd Fellow’s Jewish and Old City Cemeteries that trace their roots back to the 1850s, which is only a decade after John Neely Bryan established what would later become the city of Dallas in 1841. While those interred in the Jewish section were relocated by the Hebrew Benevolent Association in 1956, the same year the Dallas Memorial Auditorium was built, the most of the other three cemeteries remain intact. Despite the fact that the cemetery contains the remains of three veterans of the War of 1812, nine members of the Texas Revolution, six mayors of Dallas, and numerous Civil War veterans, it fell into a state of disrepair and neglect by the late 1800s. Headstones were vandalized and the only thing that checked the growth of weeds was the livestock that wandered the grounds. In 1907, the Santa Fe Railroad, while excavating along the cemetery’s western edge, unearthed numerous remains and, according to the Dallas Morning News, “…hauled away dirt strewn with bones by the wagon load.” There was a movement to disinter all the remains in order to make way for a warehouse in 1922, but local outrage prevented those plans from moving forward.In 1961, the 60-foot Confederate Memorial, that had been located in City Park, was moved to Pioneer Park Cemetery and still resides there today and by 1969 the city had taken control of the entre cemetery. The cemetery is also home to the Bryan Memorial which honors the city’s founder. In 1973 the Dallas Convention Center complex encroached on the cemetery and in 1999, when the convention center’s vehicular entrance was renovated, human remains were discovered and had to be removed and re-interred within the cemetery.Some of the more notable people buried at the Pioneer Park Cemetery include:John McClanahan Crockett -- Lawyer, state legislator, mayor of Dallas and Lieutenant Governor.Nicholas Darnell – Speaker of the State House of Representatives, delegate to the 1845 Texas statehood convention, Civil War veteran.Juliette Abbey Peak Fowler – Prominent philanthropist and charitable volunteer devoted to the causes of orphans and the elderly; founder of Juliette Fowler Homes now the Disciples of Christ Church.John Jay Good – local and state politician, district judge, mayor of Dallas and Civil War veteran.

Pioneer Park Cemetery dates back to the 1840s and combines the remnants of four cemeteries, portions of which came under the city of Dallas's control in 1951. Now located near the city center, the site for the cemetery was outside the small town of fewer than 1,000 residents when the first headstones were erected in the early 1850s.  The last burial occurred at the cemetery in 1921 and today its 800 gravesites are bounded by the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and Marilla Street on the south and east, Griffin Street on the west, and Young Street to the north.  Numerous city leaders and founders are interred within its confines and it was designated a city landmark in 2002 and features several monuments. 

Downtown Dallas Walking Tour

Dallas Municipal Building

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information