At least a couple of times every October, and several other times during the year, I get to revisit what I consider to be the crown jewel of our part of town. I’m talking about Fair Park, which you may or may not consider part of East Dallas, but given its close location to where most of us live, I think we can at least lay partial claim to it.
Fair Park, in the unlikely event that any of you reading this have never been there, is designated as a National Historic Landmark and has the largest collection of Art Deco architecture, much of it dating to The Texas Centennial Exposition of 1936, of any place in the country. After a long period of being neglected, the City is spending millions of dollars on restoration of the Park’s buildings, including their interior spaces as well as many of the exterior murals and other artwork.
Perhaps the most exciting thing going on there right now is the restoration of the old opera house building — used only for storage for many years — and its renovation into the Smithsonian-affiliated Women’s History Museum, to open in October 2000. This should be a terrific addition to the already-strong group of year-round facilities at Fair Park.
Of course, the highlight of the year, and the time when most people see Fair Park for the most amount of time, is during the annual State Fair of Texas. Billed as the largest state fair in America, the Fair draws about three million visitors per year and showcases everything from livestock judging and auctions to the latest advances in high technology. The Fair also is the closest thing we have in North Texas to a true melting pot of our very diverse population.
There’s nothing anywhere else around here like going to the Fair on a nice fall day and being part of a happy crowd of people from all over the area and from all types of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Going to the Fair gives you a really good idea, like no other event does, of the true diversity, both historically and today, of our state, region and city. Just listening to the number of different languages being spoken around you is an eye-opening experience.
One of the two times we went this year, we took along a couple of friends, one from East Texas and one from Germany, both of whom were surprised by the amazing variety of attractions and sights at the Fair, from Big Tex to the high tech laser and light show. The annual blowout is a great way to get people to see what the redeveloping urban center of Dallas, including nearby East Dallas, has to offer both visitors and residents.
Having said all that, I want to make the point, too, that a trip to Fair Park shouldn’t be limited to a pilgrimage once every October to eat a corny dog and stroll down the Midway. Not just the new Women’s History Museum, when it opens, but the Hall of State, the African-American Museum, the Science Place and IMAX Theater, the Natural History Museum, the Aquarium and the Horticulture Center are all open year round and well worth a visit. Add to this the Opera and other performances at the Music Hall, concerts at Starplex, events at the Cotton Bowl, the annual North Texas Irish Festival and lots of other things going on, and you can count on there being something worth seeing at Fair Park any time of year. If anything, we should support efforts to attract more events to Fair Park at times of the year other than October. A nearby DART station, when built in the future, should also help make the Park more accessible.
So next time you have a weekend afternoon free, drive over to Fair Park, park your car and walk around for a while. After visiting one or two of the museums or other institutions, give yourself a few minutes to enjoy this magnificent landmark as the architectural jewel it is without the distractions of the State Fair’s crowds and noise.
I think you’ll come away with a renewed sense of awe and appreciation for Fair Park and of hope that it will continue to be restored for the benefit of future generations.
