For Sale: R.C. Hickman's Photo of a Late, Great South Dallas Gathering Place's Neon Welcome

Photo by R.C. Hickman

​Way back in July I stumbled across a cache of R.C. Hickman photos being sold on eBay. Some are long gone; I wound up with one, which, according to the Fort Worth-based seller, came from the legendary Dallas Star Post photographer's personal collection. Four months on many remain, and those that do have been discounted from $50 to the quiet-the-steal price of $42.50 -- among them this photo of the Clark's Liquor Store neon sign that once stood at the intersection of Hatcher and Oakland (now Malcolm X) near Fair Park. My father, who grew up nearby on Park Row, recalls the place well; says here, on The History of Jim Crow website that features other Hickman photos, there was once a record store inside as well. And in the University of Texas archives are photos Hickman took of Joe Louis visiting Clark's in 1952.