Hall of State -- Fair Park, Dallas TX - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

The WPA writers must have been dazzled by Fair Park: They spent several pages detailing its wonders!

By far, the grandest building at Fair Park is the Art Deco Hall of State. Made of Texas shell limestone and featuring a grand arched entry, a Tejas Indian sculpture, and the names of Texas heroes carved around the facade, the Hall of State is a must-see during the State Fair, or on any trip to Fair Park.

From Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State:

"9. FAIR PARK, in East Dallas, main entrance on Parry Ave., covers 178 acres of landscaped grounds and is the site of the State Fair of Texas. The Texas Centennial Exposition was held here in 1936, the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition in 1937.

In 1886 the State Fair of Texas was organized, and 100 acres of land purchased in 1887. Since then it has developed rapidly into one of the State's major enterprises. Twenty-one of the Centennial buildings of 1936 were retained as the permanent home of the State Fair. In a setting of trees, shrubs, lawns, and lagoons, the buildings of cream limestone, relieved by murals and trimmings of rose-colored Texas granite, reflect the ancient Aztec style of architecture in straight formal lines, combined with modern treatment with a leaning toward sharp angles and large unbroken planes.

Of the permanent Fair Park buildings, the six museums, the Texas Hall of State, also a repository for records of the Dallas Historical Society, the Museums of Natural History, Fine Arts, Horticulture, and Natural Resources, maintained by the Dallas Park Department, remain open throughout the year. Other important buildings are the Auditorium, the Petroleum and Educational Buildings, and the Amphitheater. The museum buildings are grouped about the lagoon in the southwest section of the park. George L. Dahl was director general of the group of architects who designed the buildings.

The TEXAS HALL OF STATE (open 9-5 workdays; 2-6 Sun.), facing the State Court of Honor, is a permanent monument in the form of a historical museum and memorial to the pioneers who won Texas independence. It is built of Texas materials in neoclassic design. The Dallas Historical Society Museum, containing a large collection of Texiana, Mexicana, and Indian artifacts, is in this building.

In the entrance is the statue, TEJAS BRONZE INDIAN, by Allie Tennant. Life-size bronze portrait statues of six Texans occupy the Hall of Heroes: Stephen F. Austin, General Sam Houston, David Crockett, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Thomas J. Rusk, and Colonel J. W. Fannin, Jr. The statues were sculptured by Pompeo Coppini. The two front wings of the building are devoted to the Halls of East Texas, West Texas, North Texas, and South Texas, and with interior finishing largely of Texas materials. Murals by Savage adorn the walls."

Book: Texas Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 236 Year Originally Published: 1940

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