Coordinates: 32°46′38.7″N 96°45′31.3″W / 32.777417°N 96.758694°W / 32.777417; -96.758694 Dallas Fair Park is a 277-acre (1.12 km 2 ) recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas (USA). The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America. Many of the buildings on the complex were constructed for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936 which drew over six million visitors. Most of the buildings built for the exposition still survive and Fair Park is recognized as a significant example of Art Deco architecture.
History
The site was established as an eighty acre fairground on the outskirts of East Dallas for the Dallas State Fair in 1886. In 1904 after a fire and financial loss by the fair association, voters approved the "Reardon Plan," which strove to keep the site out of the hands of real-estate developers. It became Dallas' second public park and became known as "Fair Park."
A milestone year in the history of Fair Park was 1936, when the Texas Centennial Exposition was held on the site. In preparation for the six-month long event, the appearance of the park was dramatically altered by architect George Dahl and consulting architect Paul Cret. The park was transformed from an early twentieth century fairground into the Art Deco showcase it is today. While many of the exposition's buildings were meant to be temporary, several have survived and are now restored. Over the years the park was expanded to its current 277 acres.
Fair Park was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and in 1988 administration of the park was transferred to the Dallas Parks Department. Today, the cultural facilities and annual events attract 7+ million visitors each year.
Historic Core
The historic core of Fair Park contains significant examples of art deco exposition architecture constructed for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Many of these buildings have been restored and are most actively used during annual festivals such as the State Fair of Texas. It has been called "one of the most spectacular public spaces in the United States."
Hall of State
Main article: Hall of StateBuilt in 1936 at the astronomical price of $1.2 million USD, the Hall of State, formerly the State of Texas Building, was the most expensive per unit area of any structure built in Texas and the centerpiece of the Texas Centennial Exposition. It is considered the best example of Art Deco architecture in Texas. The Hall of State is the terminus of the Esplanade of State. It currently houses the Dallas Historical Society.
Beyond its monumental entrance and limestone exterior is its use of art to express the history, culture and geography of Texas. A team of international, national and regional artists – including several winners of the prestigious Prix de Rome – assembled to augment the Art Deco architecture. That collaborative effort produced some of the most splendid, and awe-inspiring interior spaces in the United States.
Parry Avenue Entrance
This symbolic entrance to Fair Park is the largest of the four original Texas Centennial Exposition entry gates. The striking 85-foot-high pylon greeted the hordes of pedestrians who accessed the 1936 event from the streetcar terminus on Parry Avenue. The base of the pylon displays a sculptural frieze by Texas Artist Buck Winn. The entrance was restored in 2009 and is adjacent to DART's Green Line Fair Park Station.
Esplanade
Developed along the existing layout of the State Fair grounds, the esplanade was the principal axis of the Texas Centennial Exposition. Monumental facades and projecting porticos were added onto existing State Fair exhibition halls on each side of a 700-foot-long reflecting pool.
The porticoes establish the visual framework of the Esplanade and accentuate the grand perspective leading up to the Hall of State. Monumental artwork deftly combines with additional site features to complete the visually complex – and dramatic – spectacle. The esplanade was restored in 2009 and new fountains have been added.
The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future
Main article: The Women's MuseumThis was Dallas's first municipal coliseum. It was constructed by the State Fair primarily for livestock shows and was also used for musical entertainment throughout the year. In 1935, Texas Centennial Exposition architect George Dahl renovated the building into the exposition’s Administration Building.
The central arched opening, or entrado, of this elevation contains two key pieces of artwork. The Texas-themed mural is by Italian artist Carlo Ciampaglia. The sculpture – the "Spirit of the Centennial" – is by Raoul Josset.
In 2000, adaptive reuse of the building resulted in the nation’s first museum devoted to the historical achievements and contributions of women.
D.A.R. Building
This modest imitation of Mount Vernon served as the Conoco Travel Bureau Hospitality House during the 1936 exposition. It now hosts the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Museum of the American Railroad
Main article: Museum of the American RailroadThe collection of railroad locomotives and passenger cars sits on the site of a similar exhibit of outdoor transportation that took place during the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition.
Centennial Building and Automobile Building
The Centennial Building originally debuted in 1905 as the first steel-and-masonry exhibition building at the fairgrounds. George Dahl’s renovation in 1936 included three new monumental porticos built as part of a frontal expansion of the building.
Dahl made similar architectural gestures on the opposite side of the Esplanade, where he also incorporated an earlier exhibit hall into the new axial ground plan. This building, however, burned after the exposition. In 1948, the Automobile Building replaced it.
The design for the two original buildings included a giant mural under each portico by Carlo Ciampaglia (on the Centennial Building) and Pierre Bourdelle (on the Automobile Building). The cameo reliefs are by Bourdelle. In front of each portico, monumental sculptures by Laurence Tenney Stevens or Raoul Josset represent the six flags that have flown over Texas since Spanish exploration in 1519.
Artists recreated the original murals on the Automobile Building in 1999 and restored the original murals on the Centennial Building in 2000.
Food & Fiber Building and Embarcadero Building
George Dahl consolidated the livestock and agricultural facilities of the exposition on the north side of the Cotton Bowl. The main axial approach into this "Agrarian" district uses the matching porticos of the Food & Fiber Building and the Embarcadero Building as objects in the foreground to frame the view of, and focus attention on, a distant pylon.
Workers completed restoration of the Food & Fiber Building in 1999 and conservation of its mural in 2000.
Tower Building
The 179-foot-tall triangular tower of the original "U.S. Government Building" marked the geographic center of the Texas Centennial Exposition. It also stood in splendid, isolated contrast to the fair’s predominantly horizontal sprawl. Workers completed exterior restoration of this structure – now called the Tower Building – in 1999. This restoration included artist Raoul Josset's gilded, stylized eagle sculpture and a bas-relief promenade of Texas history by Julian Garnsey.
Cultural District
Many Dallas cultural institutions call Fair Park home. Several of the buildings were constructed for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, loosely organized around a naturalistic water feature named The Lagoon.
Old Mill Inn
The Old Mill Inn was one of the few Texas Centennial Exposition buildings not to incorporate Art Deco styling in its design. Clad in fieldstone and incorporating heavy-timber construction, this was the exhibit building for the flour milling industry. It now serves Fair Park as a restaurant.
Magnolia Lounge and (former) Hall of Religion
This little-known project by New York architect William Lescaze introduced European Modernism to Texas in 1936. The design of this hospitality lounge for the Magnolia Petroleum Company included elements commonly found in Art Deco architecture. However, the building’s overall image was radically different from that of any other structure at the Texas Centennial Exposition.
The lounge now serves as the offices for the Friends of Fair Park and also contains the Margo Jones Theater. Site of Theatre '47, the first professional, regional theater company in the United States, the small performing space pays tribute to the visionary founder of America's regional theater movement. Immediately adjacent to the Magnolia L
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