The adventures and various works of a photographer, road tripper, former patron of the local arts, aspiring app developer, and late night coffee drinker and conversationalist.
The first fifty years or so of the twentieth century were the heyday of Dallas's "Theater Row." If you're not familiar with that term, it refers to the now long gone entertainment district that once comprised approximately four blocks of Elm Street, just to the west of pre-Central Expressway Deep Ellum. For several decades, this stretch of Elm between Akard and Harwood was lined with theaters showcasing the latest in modern entertainment. Before the ascent of Hollywood, a theatergoer might find a vaudeville show or Nickelodeon-style film to his or her liking. By mid-century, it might instead be a big budget Cinerama feature showing inside one of multiple big picture palaces. The brightness of the marquees and street lamps illuminating the night sky gave Theater Row the nickname of Dallas's "Great White Way."
Looking down Theater Row in 1942
Continue reading "A night at the Majestic, March 1913"
This is part of a continuing series of posts exploring locations of former DFW musical landmarks and the histories behind them.
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It’s 1994, and you’re in the mood for some local flavor. The DFW music scene has come into its own, and Deep Ellum is a hoppin’ place on the weekends. Local music has been taking off on the radio, and the composers and performers of said music are gaining real traction with the teen- and twentysomethings sets. Some bands are even getting signed to national labels and their music is beginning to be stocked in the big name, big box outlets. But on this particular day you’re looking for something a bit less mainstream and a bit more underground in ethos. You pile your things into the car and head out in the direction of the historic Exposition Park strip. It’s in one of those areas where people are supposedly afraid to go thanks to a reputation for being crime-ridden, but this particular carve-out is said to be safe. You pass by Forbidden Books and The Bar of Soap, negotiating the never-ending road construction, and arrive at a small retail store on Parry Avenue, sandwiched inside a row of businesses just across the street from the entrance to the fairgrounds.
These are the primary online resources I've utilized in researching my historical posts. Note that the Ghosts of DFW Music History series makes use of various other online and human sources in addition to these, including personal interviews, social media pages, and articles from other publications. But for my other posts, these are the most fruitful sources I have regularly consulted:
For the Dallas Public Library-based archives, you'll need an account based on your Dallas Library card. Information on how to obtain this access can be found HERE. As far as printed materials go, the following are also good resources:
Dallas: The Deciding Years - A Historical Portrait by A.C. Greene, published 1973 by The Encino Press
Dallas Yesterday by Sam Acheson, edited by Lee Milazzo, published 1977 by Southern Methodist University Press
Dallas Rediscovered: A Photographic Chronicle of Urban Expansion 1870-1925 by William L. McDonald, published 1979 by The Dallas Historical Society
This Used to Be Dallas by Harry Hall, published 2020 by Reedy Press
And if social media is your thing (it isn't for me, but I do sometimes utilize it as a necessary evil for my research), here are some active groups on Facebook that are worth a look:
I picked up these ticket stubs inside a Fort Worth antique store a few months ago. The original theater operated from 1922 until sometime in the 1970s, eventually being demolished to make way for a 20-story office building. The theater opened in 1922 as the Hope Theatre and underwent multiple name changes until being christened The Capri in 1960.
Continue reading "Capri Theatre ticket stubs"
