Dallas Rediscovered : A Photographic Chronicle of Urban Expansion 1870-1925 [Hardcover]

William Lindsey McDonald (Author), A. C. Greene (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1978

In the years between the Civil War and World War I, a raw and vibrant city was forged out of the Texas blackland prairie by Eastern promoters and local opportunists; a city of opulent Victorian Gothic mansions, of elaborate cast-iron commercial emporiums, and of sharecropper shanties where the poor struggled to survive. This city, its monuments and ideology, have today almost totally vanished, replaced by a modern metropolis of reflective glass and abstractionist concrete.

Dallas Rediscovered examines this city in all its turn of the century splendor through hundreds of period photographs expertly reproduced by a duotone printing process, complemented by a lively and informative text. The author searched for nearly two years -- in museums, archives, and private collections -- for the rich cross-section of photographs, many of which are in print for the first time. He explores Dallas through its architecture, its system of spatial growth and land utilization, and through the developers, land speculators, and urban designers who were so extremely important to the creation of the modern city. This wealth of fascinating material will be of interest to historians, architects, sociologists, urban planners, collectors of old photographs or anyone interested in the shaping of a city.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 266 pages
• Publisher: Dallas Historical Society; 1st edition (June 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932018009
• ISBN-13: 978-0932018007
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Texas

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful photos, lots of information, October 20, 2001

By 

Robin G. Sowton "rsowton" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dallas Rediscovered : A Photographic Chronicle of Urban Expansion 1870-1925 (Hardcover)

This book is filled with photographs of wonderful intriguing old buildings, and unlike many photograph-intensive books, it also provides great historical content.

Starting with Dallas' early beginnings, it follows the growth of the different neighborhoods and explains the roles of businesses, natural resources, and the spread of railroads. Much of the content addresses the major real estate transactions and how land became subdivided among families, business partners, etc. There are maps showing the early layout of streets. There are stories about how many buildings were constructed, with special attention given to architectural details. In the downtown area, some of the finest buildings mingled with the most infamous. For example, the area around what is now the "West End," used to be Frogtown--one of the most notorious red light districts.

Along the way, the book highlights the lives and contributions of many early residents--such as Robert S. Munger and Captain William H. Gaston--whose surnames are now the names of major Dallas streets.

The influence of different ethnic and religious groups is also addressed. One example was the establishment of La Reunion Colony by European immigrants who wanted to create a Utopian society. When La Reunion failed, many of the settlers moved to East Dallas in the 1850s, rather than return to Europe, and this area of East Dallas was later called 'Swiss Avenue" in deference to them.

Another movement was that of newly freed slaves at the end of the Civil War. Many freedman began settling in the area around an old rural black cemetary, which was eventually called Freedmantown. Other black communities developed around areas that provided greater employment opportunities. One of these areas was Deep Ellum, where many black-owned businesses operated in the 1920s.

North Dallas began to grow as the southern part became increasingly industrial. Such was the case of The Cedars. The Cedars was an 'exclusive' address until the railroad lines began surrounding the region and the area became very industrialized. The final straw was the fouling of Mill Creek. Many of the wealthier residents moved north toward Highland Park and Swiss Avenue.

This book is organized into several major sections based primarily on the different areas of Dallas. I would have liked to have seen better organization. The material is very interesting but there is much to wade through, and the use of minor headings to organize the material would have helped greatly. The photographs throughout the book are well-documented. In many cases, there is not only a brief history and details of the building's location, but also a follow-up on what later happened to the building.

HOWEVER, if you approach this book like I did, and first run through each of the photos, studying the buildings and reading their descriptions--then, prepare for a terrible sense of LOSS. Because the vast majority of these buildings no longer exist, and the enormity of it will become more apparent as you try to search through the photos, looking for that rare building that might be still standing. Read their descriptions and you'll find that most of them were torn down to build parking lots, highways, sub-standard apartment complexes--or simply razed 'for commercial purposes.' You may get an overwhelming sense of how Dallas has demolished much of its history in return for quick commercial expansion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dallas Rediscovered truly rediscovers Dallas, October 17, 2010

By 

Mater lady - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dallas Rediscovered : A Photographic Chronicle of Urban Expansion 1870-1925 (Hardcover)

I purchased a soft cover copy of this book years ago from a local discount store and was intrigued by the pictures and particularly the maps drawn in it of what Dallas was in those years. The brief histories of times gone by brought to life of how vibrant & bustling Dallas was in the 1800s and on into the 1920s. The 1870s were yellow fever epidemic years in Texas, but that didn't stop the railroads and the building booms.
When I moved here in 1948 as a young teenager, I began to study Dallas history and learned to appreciate the marvelous downtown buildings & mansions that were still here as well as those smaller structures that were left in the neighborhoods all over Dallas. By the 1970s so many of those were gone and didn't even seem to be missed. The 70s seemed to be a time to tear down much of Dallas' past, especially downtown.

After I purchased this book in the 1990s, I drove all over Dallas trying to see what else had been here, the street name changes, the whole areas that were no longer here. Such a sad observation.
If you want a detailed journey into what spectacular structures were in Dallas, this is the book for you. There are a couple of mistakes in a couple of the maps, but nothing major and certainly nothing that deters from the nearly 100% accuracy of what is represented. Many thanks to the author and his efforts in publishing this book. I found and ordered a beautiful hardcover copy of the book for a 94 year old friend who grew up in Dallas but has never seen this book. She will love it as I do.