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.
This series of images presents a view of one portion of downtown Elm Street over a period of approximately 11 decades. The view is facing east in the general area of present-day Akard Street.
This first postcard, published by S.H. Kress & Co. around the early 1910s, shows Elm Street as it would have appeared circa 1911/1912. Kress was a five and dime chain of stores that once dotted the country, known for its distinctive architectural designs and, later, for its segregationist company policies. According to contemporary newspaper articles, the Kress store shown in the postcard was commissioned and built in 1911 for a cost of $38,000 (around $1.2 million in 2024 dollars). The Wilson Building, seen behind the W.A. Green & Company building, housed the Titche-Goettinger Department Store until the end of the 1920s. The vantage point of the artist is Scollard Court, or present-day Exchange Place, renamed to the latter following the 1916 construction of the Exchange National Bank. Today Exchange Place is little more than a narrow, alley-like walkway sandwiched between the one-time Exchange bank building and that of its rival Republic National Bank, long since christened "Money Alley" and designated as a historical landmark. Note the streetcar lines running down the center of Elm Street.
While working to compile photographic images for my DFW in vintage photos post a few months ago, I managed to get my hands on an old postcard for the city of Plano. If you didn't know, finding and acquiring historic images of the city of Dallas proper is not especially difficult; all you really need is a bit of vigilance and a healthy dose of patience while keeping an eye out at antique stores, estate sales, and online auctions. Just give it some time, and the photos will turn up. Finding interesting period photos of the suburban areas, though, can be considerably more difficult. So it was with some delight that I acquired this particular real photo postcard. And, unlike other similarly aged RPPCs that I've found, this one came with a mystery attached: where was the Plano Dam?
Plano Waterworks, circa 1907
Among the local memorabilia I've collected have been a few matchbook covers. Essentially an extinct means of advertising as of in the twenty-first century, vintage matchbooks can serve as an easy and inexpensive way to get a peek into the establishments and hangouts of the previous century. In most cases, these places are now long gone, but once in a while you come across the rare business that's still operating today in some form. One of these establishments is the old Valhalla of Dallas motel. Once I'd gotten my hands on the matchbook cover and confirmed the motel's continued existence in 2024, I took a trip down to South Dallas for a look.
From what I've found researching historical newspaper archives and city directories, the Valhalla was constructed in 1952 off what was then (and technically still is today) U.S. Highway 77. Located some six miles' driving distance from Downtown Dallas, the motel boasted a total of twenty* air-conditioned units and a swimming pool, and a total of 1.9 acres of land. Electric heat and in-room telephones and televisions were among the advertised conveniences. The long gone A. Harris shopping center, converted by the Dallas Independent School District into Nolan Estes Educational Plaza in 1978 and today the site of Maya Angelou High School, was situated behind the motel, adding yet another draw for travelers who opted to make the Valhalla their home for the night. The overall picture painted is a rosy one of great accommodations and area conveniences. But as demographics changed and money and investment began to leave the neighborhood, it appears that the complex, in keeping with the rest of the area, fell upon less prosperous times. An early 1960s postcard depicts a nice, clean motel with the swimming pool being enjoyed by apparently relaxed and happy patrons. It seems that even by then, the Valhalla was becoming a bit more of a seedier establishment. "It was a great motel for those of us who went to South Oak Cliff High School to have drinking parties on weekends. It was cheap and no one asked questions," remembered one commenter on a 2011 Flickr posting. "It was called The Valhalla back then & was probably a "no tell" motel even back in the 60's," recalled another.
The last post in my "Ghosts of DFW Music History" series was on April 30th, a full 3 1/2 months ago. I managed to get the post up just before starting my sabbatical from work and embarking on my long road trip up to Alaska. Since my return, following a couple of weeks taken to recharge and recover, I resumed work on my other long-term projects with the aim of returning to the "Ghosts" series in a couple of weeks. Those couple of weeks have, without my ever intending them to, extended to over three months. I have been at work gathering historical materials and following up on a couple of leads, but overall I have been focusing heavily on getting all my other in-progress tasks out of the pipeline - clearing the table, so to speak. Vintage photo galleries, research on a few historical DFW sites, working on my long-delayed road trip travelogues, and, notably, finally getting some business cards created, have been my main priorities since returning from Alaska. But now it's time to get back to work on the "Ghosts" series. If all goes according to plan, I hope to edit and post about half a dozen more entries over the next few months, and to wrap up the entire series by the end of 2024. I'm also strongly considering making an eventual print edition of the completed project, which would not only allow me to expand upon a few things that were left out of the online posts, but also to update the overall text with additional information I've gathered since the original versions went up on the site. I have a potential cover image and design already put together as a proof of concept, and I have some ideas on whom I would like to tap for a potential foreword. This won't happen until sometime in 2025 if I do indeed proceed with the idea. In the meantime, be on the lookout for new series installments in the coming days. I'm waiting to hear back from a few sources and have found new wells to tap for memorabilia, so fingers crossed.
Among the local memorabilia I've collected have been a few matchbook covers. Essentially an extinct means of advertising as of in the twenty-first century, vintage matchbooks can serve as an easy and inexpensive way to get a peek into the establishments and hangouts of the previous century. In most cases, these places are now long gone, but once in a while you come across the rare business that's still operating today in some form. One of these establishments is the old Valhalla of Dallas motel. Once I'd gotten my hands on the matchbook cover and confirmed the motel's continued existence in 2024, I took a trip down to South Dallas for a look.
