Index
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149 facts and trivia nuggets with 24 links to
more resources.
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The World's Fair and Exposition Information and
Reference Guide is now on CD.
11,216 facts and 1,362 web links covering 24 World's Fairs and Expositions.
Further information can be found
here.
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To Convert Dollar Amounts to the Year 2003:
divide the amount by .076
The
following categories are on CD |
High
Resolution Images (4) |
More Facts and
Trivia (41) |
More Fair Park
(15) |
Foods
Building (14) |
Some
Dallas, Texas History (25) |
The
Midway (12) |
Commemorative
Half Dollar (12) |
Bonus:
Timeline 1936 (28) |
Bonus:
Timeline 1937 (31) |
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Statistics
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Dates: June 06 - November 29, 1936 as the
Texas Centennial Exposition.
June 12 - October 31,
1937 as the Greater Texas and Pan American Exposition.
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Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas.
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Area: 180 acres.
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Theme: "An Empire on Parade", 100th Anniversary of
Texas Statehood.
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Type of Exposition: Special Exhibition.
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Symbol: none.
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Cost: $25,000,000.
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Revenue: unknown as of time of this writing.
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Attendance: 6,345,385.
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Projected Attendance:
10,000,000.
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Daily Admission (unconfirmed): 50˘ for adults (12 and up),
25˘ for children
(2-11).
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Attraction Admission Fees: unknown as of time of
this writing.
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Hours: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM. Exhibits: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM, seven days a week.
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Special Admission Day: Every Tuesday children
under 12 were admitted for 5˘.
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Mascot: None.
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Official Guide Book: 112 pages, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2
inches, 25˘.
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Employment: 15,000.
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Entrance Gates: 5.
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Buildings: 50.
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Transportation: Automobiles, Street Cars, Trains.
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Participating Nations: China.
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Permanent Facilities: Dallas Aquarium, Hall of State, Agriculture Complex,
Civic Center, Magnolia Oil Company, Lone Star Gas, Continental Oil, Federal
Building.
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Legacies: Dallas Aquarium, Dallas Horticulture Center, Dallas Museum of Natural History, DAR Museum,
Texas Discovery Gardens, Texas Hall of State, The Science Place and the Planetarium.
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It was the first
World's Fair held in the Southwest.
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Facts
and Trivia
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The Texas Centennial Board of One Hundred established in Austin on February 12, 1924.
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A temporary Texas Centennial Commission was appointed on December 28, 1931 And became permanent in June 1934.
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The population of Dallas in 1936 was 330,000.
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Dallas outbid San Antonio, Austin, and Houston
with a bid of $7,791,000.
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Major construction began in October 1935 with a
workforce of 8,000. Construction is completed in eight months. Another source
indicates construction took over 14 months.
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The flag chosen to fly over the Texas Centennial Exposition
was based on the banner which was carried by Cortez during the conquest of
Mexico.
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The idea for a Centennial celebration goes back
to around 1900.
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Texas Centennial Survey Committee was established
on November 6, 1923 with the goal of advertising Texas to the world.
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Additional information can be found in the Handbook
of Texas Online.
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On June 6 The Texas Centennial Exposition opens with a downtown parade viewed by 150,000 spectators and a gala "Ceremony of Flags" in the Cotton
Bowl.
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Six nations flags have flown over the state.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the
exposition.
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The Fair was credited with pulling Dallas out of the depression.
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The livestock coliseieum was the first building converted for the Centennial Exposition. The New Hall of Administration building housed livestock by day, and
hosted Opera at night.
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Ironically, Dallas did not exist when the Republic of Texas was founded in 1836.
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The Hall of Negro Life represented the first
recognition of black culture at a world's fair.
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Visiting celebrities included: Amelia Earhart,
Gene Autry, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple and the Sons of the Pioneers.
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Gene Autry made a movie, "The Big Show", on the
Exposition grounds.
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A rookie radio announcer named Art Linkletter
Provided news coverage.
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The Esplanade of State was 300 feet wide and 1000
feet long. It ran from the main entrance to the Texas State of Hall.
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In the center of the Esplanade was a 70 foot wide
and 700 foot long reflecting pool. At night it was illuminated by 24 brightly
colored spotlights.
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The Electrical Hall had exhibits from: Eastman
Kodak, Elgin National Watch Company, IBM, Singer Sewing Machines, Western Union
and Westinghouse.
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The Elgin Exhibit featured 30 historical models
of watches, a reproduction of an astronomical observatory and an actual working
wrist watch - 10x actual size. The watch is now in the Rosenwald
Industrial Museum in Chicago.
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The Western Union Exhibit featured: a Talking
Clock, an Electric Eye, the Lumiline Lamp, Micarta wall panels, an oil well
pumping rig, electric train models, electric kitchens, household appliances and,
stock and news tickers. They also operated the Centennial Exposition Telegraph
Service.
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The Kodak display featured Kodachrome color
motion picture film and an x-ray exhibit that displayed for the first time, two
complete human body x-rays.
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One of the exposition's most popular attractions was the "Cavalcade of Texas," a historical pageant depicting four centuries of Texas history.
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In the Hall of Communications, the Southwestern
Bell Telephone Company dedicated it's exhibit to the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company. Long distance phone call demonstrations were conducted daily
with a different town or location featured each day. Visitors used special
telephone booths to communicate long distances with friends and relatives. A
large relief map had lights indicating where in the country the calls were being
placed, and they let you "eavesdrop" on conversations. Other exhibits
including a hear your own voice demonstration and "speech scrambling"
used in transoceanic telephony.
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The Rock Island Railway celebrated it's 84th
anniversary on October 10,1936. They had a display a special Pullman caboose.
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Bethlehem Steel company displayed the new
Bethanized Fence and Barbed Wire, and Bethlehem Galvanized Steel Sheets.
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The Katy Railroad exhibit used colored slides on
a Balopticon
machine in describing their passenger and freight service.
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The Burlington Railroad System had the Zephyr
Theatre. The air conditioned theatre showed a sound film of the new Zephyr
trains in Rocky Mountain National Park. The ramped entrance was flanked by a
full scale replica of the Burlington's Diesel Zephyr engine on one side and a
scale model replica of the rear car on the other.
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The Chyrsler Hall had a large silver star set in
a deep blue tiled floor that blended into the walls, deep blue wall mirrors that
blended into the ceiling, a large three-dimensional Texas Lone Star in the
ceiling marking north and south, and was illuminated with opalescent lighting
from all sides.
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The Agrarian Center is first for World's Fairs.
It contained the Agriculture Building, Poultry Pavilion and Livestock Pavilion.
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The Poultry Pavilion cost $40,000 and was a
permanent structure. It had two exhibit halls, one for an egg laying contest and
the other was a coop for 2000 chickens. It also included a fully equipped
veterinary hospital with a resident doctor.
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Livestock Building I had stalls for 650 cattle
and 350 horses, a milking parlor, quarters for 75 "herdsmen and
grooms", and a judging arena that can hold up to 6000 people.
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Livestock Building II was for sheep, goats and
swine. It contained 196 swine pens, 126 sheep pens, 840 square feet of mohair
by-products, a milking parlor, quarters for 65 people and an arena that could accommodate
500 people.
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The Gulf Radio Studio cost $50,000 and had two
main working acoustical studios with an area that can hold 500 spectators. They
could play 6 different programs over the PA system and produce two broadcasts at
the same time. More than 80 live shows a week from 3 Dallas radio stations were
produced. They had a library of over 3000 transcripts and could broadcast 12 programs at
one time.
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Gulf Oil Corporation furnished the $150,000 Radio
and Public Address System. 26 amplifying units were needed to connect the 6 main
circuits and 23 remote stations used to cover the Exposition grounds.
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The Smithsonian Institute had on display a
prehistoric fossilized skeleton.
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The Coca-Cola exhibit in the Varied Industries
Building contained a complete bottling plant. It produced 100 bottles of Coke a
minute and supplied beverages to all the concession stands on the grounds.
Coca-Cola also celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1936.
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The Ingersoll-Waterbury Company produced a
special Texas Centennial watch model.
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Many Texas heroes were born in Tennessee
including: Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and William Barrett Travis.
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The LE Waterman Company had a microscope where
you could compare the tip of your pen to a Waterman nib.
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The General Electric "House of Magic"
demonstration featured: a Stroboscope, the sodium vapor lamp, ultra-violet
radiation, audible light, visible sound, an artificial fever machine, the
versatile phototube (electric eye) and the inductotherm.
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The Ford Building covered 55,000 square feet and was the largest single exhibit
building. On display was Henry Ford's first car, one of the first Model A cars
(1905) and one of the first Model T (1908) cars. And in the 36,000 square foot
outdoor area, was a reproduction of 9 historic Southwest Roads: Butterfield
Stage Road, Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth Pike, Magazine Street, Main Street in
Dallas, Pan American Highway, San Antonio Road, Santa Fe Trail and Yuma Road.
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The General Motors Auditorium was the remodeled
State Fair Auditorium. The walls were leather (brown and three shades of blue)
and the building was air conditioned by Delco-Frigidaire. On display were 16
motor cars. The small movie theatre had seating for 280 people. Chief Pontiac
was a mechanical Indian that answered questions in the lobby
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The National Cash Register Building was a large
cash register on which hourly attendance figures were displayed. It was 65 feet
tall and sat on a base 50 feet by 50 feet square. On display were various models
of cash registers along with a display of the 7,857 parts that make up a cash
register. These large "registers" were also at the 1933 Chicago and
1939 New York World's Fair.
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The Sinclair Dinosaurs were at the Exposition
including "Thunder Lizard". Thunder Lizard was a 21 foot high, 70 foot
long Brontosaurus. He stood atop a large rock which was the exhibit hall. All
the Sinclair Dinosaurs were mechanically operated and the two biggest monsters,
Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops would engage in combat. Each were about 30
feet tall. The Dinosaurs were also at the 1933 Chicago and 1939 New York World's
Fair.
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The Hall of Fine Arts cost $400,000 and became
home to the Museum of Fine Arts after the Exposition.
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The Old West section contained: log cabin Texas
Ranger Headquarters, a replica of Judge Roy Bean's Saloon, a reproduction of the
Alamo and a wilderness camp exhibit by the National Park Service and the
Civilian Conservation Corps.
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The Chinese Government sponsored The City of
China. China was the only foreign government to participate in the Texas
Centennial and it's exhibit cost $1,000,000.
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Some of the exhibitors included: Agfa Ansco,
American Telephone and Telegraph, Armour and Company, Beech-Nut, Bethlehem
Steel, Brown Cracker and Candy Company, Champion Spark Plug, Coca-Cola, Dr
Pepper, Elgin Watch Company, Firestone, General Electric, Harley Davidson, IBM,
King Kandy, The Praetorians, Singer Sewing Machine, Southern Pacific Lines,
Western Electric and Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
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John Sirigo was the Official Photographer and he
had an outlet in the Electrical Hall.
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The Dallas Exposition reopened on June 12, 1937, as the Greater Texas and Pan American
Exposition. It closed on October 31,
1937.
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In 1936 the official hostesses were known as "Rangerettes". In 1937 they were known as
"Texanites".
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Texas Centennial Rangerette, 16 year old Helen Ramsey, posed for Sculptor Lawrence Tenney Stevens' statue, 'Texas'. It was one of six major sculptors for the Esplanade of State. The 20 foot statue stands on an 11-foot pedestal.
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In keeping with the Latin American theme of the 1937 Pan American Exposition, only brunette "Latin type" women were to be hired as official hostesses. However, after a strike led
by Helen Ramsey, a blonde 16 year old 1936 hostess, the competition Judge McClelland Barclay was "instructed to include blondes in his choices for successors to ... famous Rangerettes" (Dallas Times Herald 2/16/37).
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Hall of Administration building is now the new Women’s Museum.
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Twenty-one of the fifty buildings were permanent.
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Fair
Park
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Fair Park is also the site of the State Fair of
Texas (Texas State Fair).
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A group of Dallas business formed The Dallas
State Fair and Exposition Association on January 30, 1886.
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The original 80 acre site was purchased for
$16,000 in 1886 and deeded to the Dallas State Fair and Exposition Association.
The first fair was held on October 26, 1886.
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During the first year, conflicts arose between
the directors over where to build the fairgrounds. This lead to the chartering
of two Fairs in 1886, each with their own racetrack. The Dallas State Fair would
be held in Fair Park and the Texas State Fair and Exposition would be held north
of Dallas.
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The Dallas State Fair was a bigger success but
both Fair's lost money. Despite being $100,000 in debt, they merged in 1887 to
become the Texas State Fair and Dallas Exposition and purchased an additional 27
acres of land adjacent to Fair Park.
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In 1899 the name was changed to the Texas State
Fair.
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Financial difficulties haunted the Fair at the
turn of the century: a grandstand collapse in 1900, the burning of several
exhibition buildings in 1902 and the eventual outlawing of race horse gambling
in 1903. The Texas State Fair was forced to reorganize in 1904.
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Turning down $125,000 from a real estate
developer and in lieu of outstanding debts, the Texas State Fair turned over
ownership of the Park to the City of Dallas in 1904. They continued to operate
the annual Fair with a percentage going to the city.
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At the turn of the century, John Philip Sousa
played concerts at Fair Park.
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1905 - 300,000 people visited the State Fair.
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1909 - President William Howard Taft visited the
fair.
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1911 - Woodrow Wilson delivered a speech.
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1916 - More than one million visitors.
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1918 - Fair was cancelled and the Park turned
into a temporary army encampment.
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1921 - A 15,000 seat wooden football stadium is
built south of the racetrack.
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1925 - Music Hall was completed.
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1926 - An above ground circular swimming pool is
built near the auditorium.
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1929 - First Texas-Oklahoma football game is
played.
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1930 - The racetrack is replaced with Fair Park
Stadium. And with seating for 46,200, it becomes the largest stadium in the
south.
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1934 - Horse betting is once again legalized and
a new racetrack is built.
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1935 - Park is closed to prepare for the Texas
Centennial Exposition. And an additional 26 acres at the soutwest end of the
Park is acquired.
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1936 - Park was expanded to 180 acres and the
Texas Centennial Exposition was held for six months.
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1936 - Fair Park Stadium renamed Cotton Bowl.
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1937 - Texas Centennial Exposition was renamed
the Greater Texas and Pan American Exposition and held for another 142 days.
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1937 - TCU beats Marquette in the first Cotton
Bowl before a crowd of 12,000.
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1938 - The first lighted softball field is
completed.
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1942-1945 - Fair was cancelled for the duration
of WWII.
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1947 - The New Automobile Building replaces the
old building, which burned.
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1949 - Attendance surpasses the two million mark.
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1950s - Monorail system added as well as a
fifty-two-foot cowboy figure named Big Tex.
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1966 - Single-day attendance record was set -
345,469.
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1968 - Over three million fairgoers visit.
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1979 and 1983 - Midway accidents lead to a ride
safety program.
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1985-1986 - The Automobile Building restored.
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1986 - For 31 days the State Fair of Texas
celebrated Texas' Sesquicentennial and the fair's 100th anniversary. And
recorded the largest attendance recorded for an American State Fair - 3,959,058.
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1986 -
Friends of Fair Park, a non-profit citizens’ group
established.
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1987 through 1989 - Hall of State was cleaned and
repaired.
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1990s - Length for the Fair was extended from
seventeen to twenty-four days and routinely draws crowds of over 3 million
people. Corporate sponsorship becomes commonplace.
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The Centennial Buildings are one of the largest
intact groupings of exposition buildings remaining in the United States. They
were registered as National Landmarks in 1986.
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Fair Park houses nine museums and six performance
halls with the Smirnoff Music Centre hosting over 40 concerts a year. The Park
receives over 7 million visitors annually.
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The Texas State Fair is held every October.
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Fair Park has also played host to the World Cup
and the International Gold Cup Games.
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Unofficial Guide to Historic Fair Park from the
Watermelon-kid.
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For more information, visit
Fair Park Dallas.
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Hall
of Negro Life
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Funded by the Federal Government at a total cost
of $100,000. $50,000 for the building and another $50,000 for the exhibits.
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Thirty-two States and the District of Columbia contributed to the
exhibit.
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The Negro Advisory Committee planned the exhibit. Eugene K. Jones was the Chairman and Jesse O Thomas was
the General Manager.
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Construction began on March 9, 1936 and was completed June 12, 1936 - 95 days. And was formally dedicated
on June 19, 1936.
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It contained four exhibition halls, each 26 feet
wide and 100 feet long.
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The main building was in the shape of an L and designed by George
L. Dahl.
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The concrete stage was outside in the bend of the
L, and had open-air seats that could handle 2000 people.
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A large sculpted plaster seal hung over the
entrance. It was10 feet in diameter and portrayed Negro life in America (that's
what it says in the official guidebook).
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Altogether there were six exhibit groups:
agriculture, art, business and industry, education, mechanic arts and progress
in curtailing diseases among African Americans.
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Aaron Douglas painted the four murals depicting black history in Texas that were displayed in the lobby.
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The Hall contained: A 2,000-seat outdoor amphitheater,
restaurant, dining room and dance hall.
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The building was razed after the Exposition.
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For more information, see this page from the
Handbook of Texas Online.
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Hall
of State
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Cost: $1,250,000 - $1,000,000 to build and
another $250,000 to furnish.
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Designer: Donald Bartheleme.
Altogether, eleven Texas architects played a role.
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Erected in 1936 and was the most expensive per foot construction project in Texas at the time.
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The building was in the shape of an inverted
"T" and was 360 feet long by 180 feet deep by 88 feet
high.
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The building was constructed using "bas-relief", an Art Deco style of carving that is used to create three-dimensional murals, and shows six soldiers marching around the
columns.
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A carved Frieze encircled the building and contained the names of historical figures and Texas
flora.
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The building is actually a monument with a group
of rooms: The great Hall of Texas, The Hall of Heroes, four regional rooms representing East, West, North,
and South Texas, and a lecture room.
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The semi-circular opening had a roof supported by
six eighty-foot columns and was surrounded by three wings extending to the left,
right and rear of the structure.
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Five bronze doors between the columns served as
entrances to the Hall of Heroes.
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The front wing encloses the Hall of Heroes and the four regional rooms representing East, West, North,
and South Texas. Each room is decorated with murals reflecting the history of its
area.
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The Hall of Heroes was decorated in colored
marble, aluminum and inset with six life sized bronze statues of: Stephen F Austin, Sam
Houston, Mirabeau B Lamar, Thopmas J Rusk, Colonel JW Fannin and William Barrett
Travis. It was 20 feet wide, 140 feet long and was the center or hub of the
three wings. The rear wing was 160 feet deep.
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The central portion of the building was called
The Niche of Heroes and contained, amongst other notables, an eight foot
decorated statue of an Indian.
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Sculptures in front of the Centennial building
were designed by Lawrence Tenney Stevens.
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A 70 foot wide and 700 foot long reflecting pool divides the sculptures and
buildings.
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The Great Hall of Texas (aka the Hall of the Six Flags)
occupied the entire central wing. It was 66 feet wide by 90 feet long with a
forty-five foot ceiling. In contrast, the ceilings of the other wings were 22
feet high.
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At the far end of the Great Hall was a 24 foot
bronze disc weighing several tons that was suspended from the ceiling. It
represented Texas and its colorful history.
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Built-in skylights illuminate the murals.
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Eugene Savage of New York painted the murals on the north and south walls. He was assisted by two local
men, Reveau Basset and James Buchanan Winn, Jr. They are
30 feet tall by 80 feet long.
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The Lecture Room was in the basement. It had a
marble stair entrance, a lecture stage and seating for 800 people.
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The materials used in building the monument came
entirely from Texas - cement, granite, limestone, marble and timber. The only
exception being the steel framework.
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The state of Texas leased the Hall of State to the city of Dallas after the Exposition.
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The lower level of the museum, the lecture room, contains a library and archive of rare Texas books and
manuscripts.
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The Hall of State is now home to the Dallas
Historical Society.
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Images of the Hall of
State, Fair Park, Dallas from Bluffton
College in Ohio.
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Links, Resources, Sources
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