Digging on the Swine Building and Other Notes After Spending the Weekend at Fair Park

• It was especially worthwhile to see a few children on the Fair Park tours - love the comments from the little Wilonsky! He gets it! Yes, the blue is historically accurate. Look at the mosaic tile at the Hall of State,the plaster reliefs on the Centennial Building and the Pegasus fountain pylons, or the murals - the original ultra-marine blues are still there. There are also some historic color photographs that document a blue color, as well as colorized postcards.

• I saw Abby Hoffman at the Band Shell. Architects consider the Swine Building to be one of the best buildings at Fair Park. Take a step back and you can see the elegance. In 1936, the shingled porch was a glass window where you could see cows being milked.

• OK, not to obsess or anything but when I went back to look at my Fair Park postcards from the 1937 Pan-American Exhibition, um, wow. The buildings along the Esplanade (and "Reflection Basin") are all kinds of crazy colors. The images are of daytime but are illustrated so I don't know if these cards are meant to capture the effects of colored lights or what. Anyway, there's a similar postcard here -- http://www.oldpostcards.com/e/exp110064.html

• From Dallas Architecture 1936-1986 by David Dillon (copyright 1985, Texas Monthly Press, p. 19): "Except for the Hall of State, the major exposition buildings were simple massive shapes, low-slung like desert mesas and painted terra cotta with blue trim." So maybe the blue is historical? I also think this part is funny: "the Centennial buildings were built primarily of masonry and stucco, intended to stand after the fair had closed, though not necessarily for a half a century."

• I'm actually curious about Sid Nancy's question as well. Wondered the same thing....

• Common folks, why the ugly blue? Is it historical? Or did someone find a sale on paint at HoDepot.

• WGC, To clarify, the current Art Deco buildings at Fair Park were actually constructed for the 1936 Centennial Exposition, not for use specifically for the State Fair. Granted, the State Fair has been at Fair Park since the late 1890's, but they didn't build what is there now. It should be noted though, that the continued use by the State Fair since 1936 probably saved what we enjoy today.

• It's not a dormitory, it's a domitory. It's for something completely different.

• Has the word dormitory been misspelled since 1936?

• I don�t get the argument that we should kick the State Fair out of Fair Park. They are one in the same to me. Fair Park was built exactly for that purpose and the process of landing the fair here in Dallas � on that site � is one of the great moments in our city�s history. All that wonderful architecture was built to accommodate and celebrate not just �elegance� and the arts, but agriculture, industry and domestic arts from all over Texas. The fair keeps all that alive. I mean, how pointless do those murals become if the only event that ever takes place inside the Centennial Building is the flea market? When those barns are filled with FFA kids and students competing for scholarships and people who might not otherwise ever come to Dallas, Fair Park seems very vibrant and still in touch with history. We have Fair Park all to ourselves for 10 months. It�s kind of an honor to share it with the whole state for a couple weeks.

• Wilonsky, your interest in all things Dallas is contagious. Keep up the good work.

• After attending one of the saddest new car auto shows I have ever been to at CalExpo, where California holds their "state fair", I was yet again reminded of how incredible Fair Park is, how it makes the Texas State Fair truly one-of-a-kind, and how sad it is that all the money put into Fair Park area "revitalization" (ie: slush money paid to the politicians/preachers/community organizers, etc.) has gone totally to waste. If Dallas were just able to clean up the area around Fair Park, I think the city would see exponential growth in attendance at Fair Park events, which would increase funding for the maintenance and development of Fair Park itself.

• Robert, maybe your son will grow up to be some great developer or preservationist. He might just be the one to finally save the Statler or Crozier Tech.

• Congrats to Preservation Dallas and Nancy McCoy, FAIA on a great tour! I concur with what everyone has said about the treasure we have in Fair Park. We need to get the word out...how about regular tours? And, while I'm wary of putting myself up against Master Wilonsky, Photographer Extraordinaire, here are a few pics I shot on the tour. http://www.flickr.com/photos/45472278@N07/sets/72157623284025000/

• P.S. Walking along abandoned railroad lines is quality time for me and my 6-yr-old; methinks yours would dig it, as well. There's no shortage of them about, and the photos would practically take themselves. Technically, it's not legal, I guess. When my older one was a little older than my younger one is now, we'd prize entry into abandoned buildings -- the old Fishburn's complex on Ross was a favorite -- and just dawdle about, looking for artifacts and imagining the place's past. Not only illegal, but somewhat dangerous. But congratulations, it's a boy -- y'know?

• <em>Robert, are you too young for Dallas Black Hawk games?</em> Not at all. Went to quite a few.

• If only we had someone run for mayor on Fair Park platform. "Myriad gems", indeed. Even though I've never missed a Fair in my life and have also attended uncounted events at Fair Park at other times of the year (Robert, are you too young for Dallas Black Hawk games?)there is always something new to discover and relish. You are planting that seed in your kid that a lot of us native Dallasites have blooming: an enduring interest and fascination with the history of our hometown. We are very proud of our city. Whoever says that Dallas has no soul must have grown up in Plano.

• I ain't dig a pig, me.

• Your son seems to have natural photography chops. Congrats. Look forward to more of his images. On another note, I with Wick. It's time for Dallas to grow up and oust the "fast-talking carnies and pigs" from Fair Park, giving Dallas denizens a chance to embrace the elegance and outdoor fun the place can provide year around. It's a sad habit we have here: not loving what is right beneath our noses because we are preoccupied with the promises of the new.

• I loved that description of time with you and your boy. He's a lucky young man. Thanks for sharing all of this. I love Fair Park too. I also love having a cold one across the street at the Meridian Room.

• Well done Harry. I might add, it's a great place to ride a bike and skateboard. Not necessarily at the same time. Speaking of paint, wassup with the ugly blue? Is that historical? Its such an ugly contrast. Also, Is the history of rock n roll photography show still up at the womens museum?

• Rita, thanks and done -- as I told him when we discussed the restoration of the murals. He was likewise fascinated with, and returned with many photos of, the medallion located on/in some of the restored murals, beneath which is the dark color of paint that isn't battered by sunlight and weather. And, I'll add this: I've been on the Fair Park grounds hundreds of times in my life -- from concerts at the Band Shell (David Byrne, Joe Jackson, Ramones) and at the Coliseum (Pantera, Nirvana) to performances at the Music Hall (<em>Nutcracker</em>, Frank Sinatra) to the Aquarium as a kid to weekly lunches with my grandfather (Harry too) at the Old Mill Inn to the State Fair of Texas but of course and on and on -- and not till this weekend did I realize the myriad gems it secrets away. Unburdened with State Fair traffic, and without time constraints save Harry's lunchtime needs, we marched up and down every inch and still didn't see everything. I envy Fair Park employees who get to spend every day there, and I envy the actors about to turn that place into a TV-show set -- that's quite the place in which to kill time. ("So, these Lawrence Tenney Stevens statues represent the six flags over Texas -- you don't say.") You know who lived there when he was a kid: Burton Gilliam. His father was a security guard, and Burton lived on the fairgrounds. More than once he's told me how magical that was. I see it now reflected in the kids's eyes when we hang out at Fair Park or any other historic jewel (we'll also spent whole Saturdays walking around downtown and into its old buildings or driving through the remnants of historic neighborhoods -- when we're not at Jimmy's or buying comic books). We came home Saturday night, and he spent hours looking at my books filled with historic Dallas. I hope he loves Dallas, past and present, as much as I, for he is its future. 'Nother drink?

• I actually spent most of Sunday down there with the Old Lady myself. The new fountain looks great, the Hall of State is still the most beautiful building in this entire city, and I never realized that there was the Butterfly Garden down there which was, as gay as it sounds, kind of a cool think to do. Also didn't realize they were re-doing that abortion of an aquarium. Glad to see it, on the way down there I'd warned her that it was a terrrrrrrible aquarium, or so it was the last time I'd been there. Love me some Fair Park, it's an under-utilized crown jewel for this city. Great art and great architecture.

• The great Wilonsky paying homage: "I just don't dig on swine" As Romey would say "aawwwsome"

• Congrats on having a young preservationist with an opinion in the family. Kids do pick up their parents' values. And I'm so glad you enjoyed Nancy's tour and the fountains. However, do explain to your son that it is necessary to paint and maintain historic structures.

• I've always liked the Swine Building as well. They should turn the two sets of old dormitories into a bed and breakfast during the State Fair. Sleep with the pigs/sheep and all the Corny Dogs you can eat!

• The fountain made everyone on the Preservation Dallas tour of Fair Park REALLY smile. I liked it so much that I came back for the 1 PM show!

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