What do corny dogs and funnel cakes have to do with historic preservation? In Fair Park, everything.
With The State Fair of Texas opening tomorrow, it’s a perfect opportunity to showcase how the largest and longest-running state fair in the country is relevant to the importance of historic preservation in Dallas. It should also make us pause to appreciate this meaningful relationship and perhaps consider how we can pay that forward into a more general appreciation for historic preservation and a greater effort towards ensuring our built history remains in place.
The State Fair of Texas is History
The relevancy of historic preservation seems to elude many of us. But think about it. People flock to Dallas from all over America for our State Fair of Texas. For three weeks, over 277 acres of Fair Park are transformed into a wonderland of fun, food, and entertainment, and it’s been going on since 1886. The fair draws over 2 million visitors and provides a sizable economic impact. This is where we begin to understand how historic preservation and the fair work together in harmony. It’s business, and Dallas has always been about business. Of course, we are drawn to Big Tex and the latest deep-fried delight. However, ambiance is a significant factor in why we go and keep returning. The structures of Fair Park provide a unique atmosphere and factor enormously into the success equation.
In 1886, the Texas State Fair was chartered as a private corporation by eight local Dallas businessmen, including W.H. Gaston, John S. Armstrong, and Thomas L. Marsalis, all names that are still familiar to us today. The point was simple. These businessmen wanted to make a lot of money. The Fair was successful until 1904 and then faced a financial crisis. These gentlemen sold the 277 acres to the city with the caveat that the fair continued for 24 days every fall.
The Texas State Fair And The Texas Centennial
The 1936 Texas Centennial is perhaps the most significant part of the history of the Texas State Fair and why it is revered by architects and preservationists worldwide. Of course, it was still about business in 1936.
Knowing the upcoming Texas Centennial celebrations would garner great attention and a substantial economic boost, Dallas leaders R.L. Thornton, Karl Hoblitzelle, Nathan Adams, and Fred Barns wanted the Texas Centennial held in Dallas. They made an impressive offer to the State Centennial Committee.
They put $9 million in money and property on the table along with the strategic Fair Park site and plans for new museums and cultural facilities drawn up by renowned architect Geoge Dahl. This is a fascinating bit of history, and if you want to know more, I highly recommend architect David Dillon’s book “Dallas Architecture” with Photography by Doug Tomlinson. It should be in everyone’s library.
Of course, they won the Centennial Committee vote and had just nine months to accomplish a $25 million-dollar project. Fifty city, state, and fair buildings were designed and constructed. Paul Cret of Philadelphia was the design consultant. George Dahl was the architect responsible for the overall vision and cohesiveness of the buildings and hiring the best Dallas architects to pull off this gargantuan effort. The result is one of the finest collaborations of architects and artisans in America and one of the country’s largest collections of Art Deco buildings, art, and sculpture.
It was not only a massive success in terms of attendance and economic impact. The Texas Centennial also transformed Fair Park into an architectural gem, cementing the symbiotic relationship of historic preservation and economic development that we should consider more deeply. It’s very hard to be successful in preservation without considering an economic advantage.
Preserving Fair Park For The Future
Preservation Architect Norman Alston, FAIA, has a close relationship with Fair Park. Not only is he a member of the board of directors for Fair Park First, but he is also guiding the current facilities and historic preservation efforts. He sums up the relationship between historic preservation and economics for us beautifully.
The relationship between the State Fair of Texas and Fair Park is truly unique in my experience. On the one hand, some folks (myself included) lament how the State Fair completely changes and mostly obscures the perception of Fair Park during those weeks when the Fair is in session. Many, perhaps most, only know Fair Park as the backdrop for the State Fair and don’t recognize it as one of our nation’s most important, unique, and beautiful historic sites.
But then, neither do we appreciate that there would be no Fair Park without the State Fair of Texas. One of the primary reasons Dallas won as the site for the Texas Centennial competition over Houston, Fort Worth, and San Antonio was because we already had a suitable fairground for that event, with gardens, exhibit buildings, roads, trolley access, and rail spurs already in place. Were it not for the annual State Fair of Texas, there can be little doubt that the Fair Park National Historic Landmark we know and treasure today would not have been built here, and neither would it have survived to continue to enrich our lives today.
Norman Alston
The Texas State Fair is a perfect mix of history, significant architecture, yearly celebration, and, of course, tradition.
The State Fair of Texas means tradition to me. Memories from when I was as young as five come flooding back. I remember holding my grandfather’s hand and stepping in a puddle on the Midway, tromping through the muddy maze of yellow school buses to get to the creaking wooden steps over the fence, and walking all day with my brother, looking at butterflies and bird shows. We’d marvel at the Art Deco architecture as the lights came on at dusk. There is so much history to relive every year, contrasted with the new and innovative changes. And, of course, the must-haves, ice cream, funnel cake, sausage on a stick, and Hans Mueller anything.
State Fair of Texas devotee Kathy LaMarr
When you head to the Texas State Fair this year, stop and consider what Dallas would be like without successful historic preservation efforts and the unicorn that is Fair Park.
