City of Dallas

Triple underpass on divided highway with signs on bridge saying Elm, Main, and Commerce. Two large buildings behind bridge

Triple underpass into Dealey Plaza and Downtown Dallas (TxDOT)

Five storey stone building with arched entry way and many round turrets surrounding all sides

Old Red Courthouse in downtown Dallas (Dallas Historical Society)

Green space between several streets with commercial buildings in background

Dealey Plaza

City street at night with lighted signs and cars parked along both sides, dated 1942

Elm Street ca. 1942 (Library of Congress)

Wall mural with man playing guitar saying Deep Ellum

Deep Ellum neighborhood

Dallas

The world got to know Dallas during the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and has been captivated by the city’s storied history ever since. Dallas is a major commercial, financial, and education center, and its influence is felt across the state. The Bankhead Highway winds its way through the heart of downtown, past the historic 1892 courthouse (now housing the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture), and into Dealey Plaza and the site of the Texas School Book Depository, places that forever remind us of the death of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Continue east on Commerce Street and you’ll find yourself in Deep Ellum, a former Freedmen’s community with a powerful heritage relating to music and the arts, which are now celebrated in the area’s live music venues, cafes, and lively murals.    

Dallas is packed full of history, entertainment, recreation and interesting sites, so hop in your car, get on the road and let it lead you, like it has so many others, to Big D!  

Gold

Hall of State detail at Fair Park.

Long reflecting pool surrounded by low buildings on sides and large building with many columns on end

Esplanade in Fair Park during the 1936 Texas Centennial. (Dallas Historical Society)

Very wide building with columns along front and a broad entrance plaza

Hall of State during the 1936 Texas Centennial. (Dallas Historical Society)

Colorized postcard of several buildings, three Texas flags, palm trees, and streaks of colored lights in the sky

Postcard of the lights at Fair Park during the 1936 Texas Centennial. (Boston Public Library)

Fair  Park, 1200 S. Second Ave. 
In 1886, Fair Park opened as fairground and city park. Fifty years later, a great building project for the Texas Centennial Exposition transformed the site into the Art Deco masterpiece that it is today, and earned it the designation of National Historic Landmark. Home to museums, performance facilities, gardens, North America’s largest ferris wheel, and a shiny new Big Tex, there’s something here for everyone.

Dallas Tourist Information Center at the Old Red Courthouse
100 S. Houston St.
214-571-1316
Visit Website

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