Laninga's Travel Blog

Our AD EX tours continued today, this time of the major buildings on Main Street.  This encompassed most of the entire history of Dallas, from the original founding by John Deely Bryan to today.

Unlike Europe, here it’s all recent history, dating back only to the 1850’s.  From skyscrapers by American Pritzker winners Philip Johnson and I.M.Pei, to a hemicycle theater by Frank Lloyd Wright, and a 1970s-era observation tower named Reunion, Dallas architecture says it all. A tour of the city is a fun-filled crash course on designs by world-class architects.

Much of the history is in hotels and banks. There was huge competition to outdo the last building, resulting in one-upmanship in height, materials used and so on. In fact, at one time Dallas had the county’s largest building (Federal Reserve, 1914).

And part of the fascinating history is learning about how the buildings were used, or not used. There are several major buildings (including what is now the Statler Hotel) that were vacant for years and even decades before they were updated and repurposed.

It is almost impossible to photograph these building from the ground, the perspective makes images appear distorted. Nevertheless, I’ve enclosed some pictures to give you an idea of the buildings.

Side note: St. Patricks day is being celebrated in Dallas today, so you may see the occasional green in my pictures… especially of the AT&T Plaza!