Fair Park - Historic Core

Historic Core

The historic core of Fair Park contains significant examples of art deco exposition architecture constructed for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Many of these buildings have been restored and are most actively used during annual festivals such as the State Fair of Texas. It has been called "one of the most spectacular public spaces in the United States."

Hall of State

Built in 1936 at the astronomical price of $1.2 million USD, the Hall of State, formerly the State of Texas Building, was the most expensive per unit area of any structure built in Texas and the centerpiece of the Texas Centennial Exposition. It is considered the best example of Art Deco architecture in Texas. The Hall of State is the terminus of the Esplanade of State. It currently houses the Dallas Historical Society.

Beyond its monumental entrance and limestone exterior is its use of art to express the history, culture and geography of Texas. A team of international, national and regional artists – including several winners of the prestigious Prix de Rome – assembled to augment the Art Deco architecture. That collaborative effort produced some of the most splendid, and awe-inspiring interior spaces in the United States.

Parry Avenue Entrance

This symbolic entrance to Fair Park is the largest of the four original Texas Centennial Exposition entry gates. The striking 85-foot (26 m)-high pylon greeted the hordes of pedestrians who accessed the 1936 event from the streetcar terminus on Parry Avenue. The base of the pylon displays a sculptural frieze by Texas Artist Buck Winn. The entrance was restored in 2009 and is adjacent to DART's Green Line Fair Park Station.

Esplanade

Developed along the existing layout of the State Fair grounds, the esplanade was the principal axis of the Texas Centennial Exposition. Monumental facades and projecting porticos were added onto existing State Fair exhibition halls on each side of a 700-foot (210 m)-long reflecting pool.

The porticoes establish the visual framework of the Esplanade and accentuate the grand perspective leading up to the Hall of State. Monumental artwork deftly combines with additional site features to complete the visually complex – and dramatic – spectacle. The esplanade was restored in 2009 and new fountains have been added.

The Women's Museum

This was Dallas's first municipal coliseum. It was constructed by the State Fair primarily for livestock shows and was also used for musical entertainment throughout the year. In 1935, Texas Centennial Exposition architect George Dahl renovated the building into the exposition’s Administration Building.

The central arched opening, or entrado, of this elevation contains two key pieces of artwork. The Texas-themed mural is by Italian artist Carlo Ciampaglia. The sculpture – the "Spirit of the Centennial" – is by Raoul Josset.

In 2000, adaptive reuse of the building resulted in the nation’s first museum devoted to the historical achievements and contributions of women.

D.A.R. Building

This modest imitation of Mount Vernon served as the Conoco Travel Bureau Hospitality House during the 1936 exposition. It now hosts the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Museum of the American Railroad

The collection of railroad locomotives and passenger cars sits on the site of a similar exhibit of outdoor transportation that took place during the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition.

Centennial Building and Automobile Building

The Centennial Building originally debuted in 1905 as the first steel-and-masonry exhibition building at the fairgrounds. George Dahl’s renovation in 1936 included three new monumental porticos built as part of a frontal expansion of the building.

Dahl made similar architectural gestures on the opposite side of the Esplanade, where he also incorporated an earlier exhibit hall into the new axial ground plan. This building, however, burned after the exposition. In 1948, the Automobile Building replaced it.

The design for the two original buildings included a giant mural under each portico by Carlo Ciampaglia (on the Centennial Building) and Pierre Bourdelle (on the Automobile Building). The cameo reliefs are by Bourdelle. In front of each portico, monumental sculptures by Laurence Tenney Stevens or Raoul Josset represent the six flags that have flown over Texas since Spanish exploration in 1519.

Artists recreated the original murals on the Automobile Building in 1999 and restored the original murals on the Centennial Building in 2000.

Food & Fiber Building and Embarcadero Building

George Dahl consolidated the livestock and agricultural facilities of the exposition on the north side of the Cotton Bowl. The main axial approach into this "Agrarian" district uses the matching porticos of the Food & Fiber Building and the Embarcadero Building as objects in the foreground to frame the view of, and focus attention on, a distant pylon.

Workers completed restoration of the Food & Fiber Building in 1999 and conservation of its mural in 2000.

Tower Building

The 179-foot (55 m)-tall triangular tower of the original "U.S. Government Building" marked the geographic center of the Texas Centennial Exposition. It also stood in splendid, isolated contrast to the fair’s predominantly horizontal sprawl. Workers completed exterior restoration of this structure – now called the Tower Building – in 1999. This restoration included artist Raoul Josset's gilded, stylized eagle sculpture and a bas-relief promenade of Texas history by Julian Garnsey.