"Downtown" Business District
Tour
Old City Park has recreated an often
over-looked aspect of turn-of-the-century life. The one critical factor that allowed a
community to grow was the opportunity to establish a thriving business. Take a walk down
"Main Street" and walk back in time!
The coming
of the railroads in 1872 and 1873 established Dallas as a major commercial center and
created the population boom that made Dallas the largest city in Texas in 1890. This
depot, built in 1886 at Fate, Texas, is typical of the board and batten construction used
by the MKT Railroad during the period. It now serves as a standing case exhibit gallery
for the museum. A free orientation video for Old City Park and the history of North
Central Texas is also presented here.
Built near
the railroad tracks in Carrollton, Texas, this structure is typical of small town hotels.
Catering to traveling salesmen (sometimes referred to as "drummers") as well as
local boarders, the hotel was a popular dining spot for townspeople. The furnishings could
have been ordered from a catalogue and shipped cheaply by rail. Originally this hotel had
a wing at the back housing a large dining room and kitchen. Guests would sometimes have to
sleep two-to-a-bed whenever the hotel was full.
Built in
Justin, Texas, a small community north of Fort Worth, the Citizen's Bank provided necessary
credit for farmers and security for local depositors. Housed in a brick building with
classical architectural elements and located on a prominent street corner, the bank was
typical of many banks built in North Central Texas around 1900. Since banks often rented
space to attorneys, doctors, or dentists, the room at the rear of the building has been
equipped as a turn-of-the-century dentist's office.
Originally
located on Jefferson Street in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, this house is an example
of the Queen Anne style of architecture popular throughout the U.S. between 1880 and 1910.
The bay window, decorative shingles, and multi-color paint scheme are all characteristic
of this style. The building is now furnished as the office of a general practitioner,
complete with an apothecary shop in the rear.
Originally located on Wolf Street in Dallas, this General Store was built and operated
by Albert F. Mueller, a German immigrant. This one-room, frame building with a flat roof and
squared off facade is typical of many store buildings in the region at the turn of the
century. The General Store was a popular gathering spot in any community, serving as a
grocery, dry goods, hardware, and notions outlet as well as a post office and news center.
Constructed
in 1904 by D.B. McCall, this general store served the small community of Snow Hill, Texas,
near McKinney. The "false front" rising above the pitched roof was a common
feature in store buildings of the period. Today the building houses the Old City Park
Museum Store, where visitors can purchase the type of goods available in North Central
Texas between 1850 and 1910.
This
simple brick building was originally constructed at the corner of Oak and Nussbaumer
Streets in East Dallas. For forty years it housed a neighborhood grocery store, operated
by Italian and Hispanic immigrants. Today it provides the setting for a
turn-of-the-century law office, reflecting the contributions of the legal profession and
judicial system to the development of North Central Texas.
This
building was constructed in Savoy, Texas, a small town 14 miles east of Sherman. The cast
iron storefront and accompanying tin canopy were typical features of commercial buildings
in Texas at the turn-of-the-century. The brick work on the entrance facade indicates the
quality of craftsmanship
available in masonry structures of the period. Originally the home of a dry goods store,
the building now houses a fully functional printing shop, containing equipment used in the
North Central Texas region between 1875 and 1910.
|