"Social Life" Tour
"All work and no play makes Dallas a
dull City."
Social interaction was more than just
"fun." It was also a way to meet your neighbors, conduct business, create
community ties, and to keep up-dated on local and national news.
Built about
1895 in the small community of Pilot Grove, Texas, southeast of Sherman, this church
originally served a Methodist congregation. The pine pews inside are original to the
building. Churches provided an important focus for frontier communities, and Sunday was a
time for social gatherings as well as spiritual renewal. Today the church is available for
weddings and meetings.
Built in
1888, this structure served the community of Renner, Texas (now part of North Dallas) as a
school until 1919. The exterior displays elements of Greek Revival architecture typical of
schools, meeting houses, and Masonic Lodges constructed across the South in the 19th
century. Inside are a foyer, a large restored schoolroom downstairs, and one large
schoolroom upstairs.
Early
photographs of City Park reveal a Classical Revival bandstand, the site for Sunday
afternoon concerts. The present bandstand is one of three structures in Old City Park that
have been reconstructed. It is a combination of architectural styles popular in the 1880s.
The bandstand is available to the public for concerts, weddings, receptions, and special
programs.
Inspired by the adult education programs at Lake Chautauqua, New York,
communities around the country erected open-air pavilions in which to present their own
"Chautauqua's." Here, musicians, actors, and lecturers brought a wide range of
cultural attractions to small towns at the turn-of-the-century. This pavilion, constructed
in 1996, is modeled on one built in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1902, the only original one
remaining in Texas.
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