empty buildings, chipped paint

Even after restoration, Fair Park in the middle of February offers a revealing look at what's under the shine, gloss, and fried butter of it all.

Author

Kate Morrison
February 19, 2025

In 1886, the city of Dallas established a fairground on what was, at that point, the southeast outskirts of the city to host the Dallas State Fair. It began as 80 acres of cotton fields dedicated to a grand fair and exposition, similar to the livestock shows and gatherings which had long been established on the east coast - and quickly gained a rival, in that most classic Texan way. After some mishaps, the Dallas State Fair and the Texas State Fair and Exposition joined forces (it turns out running two separate fairs at the same time is not a good way to make enough money to cover expenses) to become the monolith we all know today: The State Fair of Texas.

A view down the esplanade, a shite shallow fountain with no active jets towards an imposing white building, partially blocke by a blue-and-white column.

The Texas-Oklahoma game, ferris wheels, and enduring racism1 pre-date the buildings that make Fair Park what it is today. Most of the Art Deco structures were built for the Texas Centennial in 1936, an event envisioned as a “World’s Fair,” like those hosted in New York and Chicago. Grand pavilions were built representing the eras of Texas history - the iconic Six Flags, the lionized founders of the Republic of Texas, and an idealized idea of the grand country-state. Oil, gas, and auto money contributed to the development of museums and exhibition halls.

A high-contrast image of a sign that should say "Magnolia Lounge" in meta letters next to a flying red horse, but the "O" is missing. Some of the letters are also slightly askew.
Looking up at the damaged chin and nose of a limestone of concrete statue of a woman, her head haloed by a silver star.
A portion of a beige building with architectural features picked out in red. The red fades to the top of the building, though if this is intentional or sun damage is unclear.

In some ways, wandering around Fair Park when the fair isn’t happening is eerie in the way that dying malls seem to hold ghosts in their echoes. On this particular Sunday, there was a concert happening on the far corner of the property, but that did nothing to dispel the stillness that gathered around the locked doors and empty livestock arenas. That emptiness makes it both easier to appreciate the genuine jewel that is the nationally-registered Art Deco complex and to see the cracks where life and neglect shine through.

1 

Some things have been restored to close to their original glory - I think no photography student in Dallas has been able to resist the lure of the golden archer, or the grandeur of the Hall of State itself. The bronze doors advertising the economy of Texas-that-was2 , the self-importance of the statuary - the enduring artistry of the tile work. We ducked inside, surprised that they were open and happy to escape the wind for a second. The docent at the front had the University of Texas women’s basketball game on, and greeted us warmly over the sounds of ESPN.

A gold statue of an archer in the art deco-greco style stands in the middle of four whie stne columns that have a background of brilliant blue tiles.
A view from underneath of an art deco chandelier hanging from a beamed ceiling covered in colorful designs.
A corner of a room where light from a tall window with blinds shines through on a silver-painted wall. In the left corner a there is a door with an elaborately carved lintel featuring a magnolia.
Lines of shadows and light cross a flagstone floor lined with benches along the right side.
A view looking down a long portico with a bightly blue painted ciling and a large art-deco lantern as the focal point.

Only after we had seen the (honestly, kind of impressive) diorama of the battle of the Alamo on display in a side room were we allowed to leave the Hall of State, to make our way back to the other side of the Cotton Bowl, where the trappings of the fair wait, covered up, tucked away, waiting for the fall. It’s here that we came across a mythological creature, as one might expect when one is wandering around the back side of a park ostensibly for the public but dim, shuttered, and silent.

A yellow tower with inset glass blocks rises against a deep blue sky.
Decorative motifs cast shadows against a beige and rust building in the late-afternoon sunlight.
A sign for the "Lucky 7 General Store" and "Deli" stands against a beige building, the yellow of it drawing an eye to the yellow of the tower behind it.
A prickly pear cactus sits in a bed of red mulch, casting a shadow on the beige building behind it.
Two cyclists ride past the Woofus, a mythological creature made up of the face of a sheep, the mane and neck of a horse, the body of a pig, the wings of a duck, the tail of a turkey and a pair of horns from a Texas Longhorn.

A green metal building with sharp angles is contrasted against a blue sky and a brown pole in the foreground.
A forest of colorful umbrellas stands closed behind one open orange umbrella in the foreground.

A fun fact about Fair Park - when the wind is from the north, it lies directly in the descent path for Dallas Love Field3 . If you’re paying attention on a blustery day, you could set your watch to the passage of Southwest and JSX jets overhead, taking their approaches to runways 31 L and R.

A Southwest Airlines 737 is seen in the background behind the Texas Star ferris wheel.

Footsore and cold, we must now finally make our way back to the gates, trekking back across Dallas history. Maybe some day this area will live up to the lofty goals of the City Beautiful movement it was supposed to bring to Dallas, becoming a destination for all of Dallas to explore and enjoy - but for now, it sleeps, trapped in nostalgia, a mirror for the city that always seems to fall a bit short.

1  It’s hard to write anything of substance around images of Fair Park without having to stare the history of inequality in the face. While you’ll never see this on their website (they focus on Juneteenth and Booker T. Washington), we cannot ignore the fact that this land has been taken from historically Black neighborhoods, even as Black citizens of Dallas were only allowed one day a year to attend the State Fair. The city continued to take land from South Dallas residents to put a skimpy bandage over a legacy of poverty and marginalization, hiding “undesirables” out of sight, just beyond the parking lot gates - a legacy that lies at the feet of the majority white history of Dallas city governance, and the money they’ve always courted. This article from SMU goes a little bit more into the history here, and while I’ll focus more on the architecture that I photographed last weekend, I would be remiss if I didn’t link it and one of the resources contained within it for more depth on the subject.
SMU article: “January 30th, 1886: Fair Park is First Created in Dallas.”
D Magazine: “The Long, Troubled, and Often Bizarre History of the State Fair of Texas.”

I also have to both recommend the current African American Museum, Dallas, which is located on the site of the Texas Centennial’s Hall of Negro Life.

2  Other resources consulted in the writing of this newsletter:
The Cultural Landscape Foundation: Dallas, Fair Park
Fair Park Dallas: History
The Texas State Historical Association: Fair Park
The Dallas Historical Society

3  This is actually one of the coolest ways to fly into Dallas, honestly. Flying into DFW is boring no matter what direction you come from, and flying over North Dallas provides some decent landmarks, but coming in from the south? You fly right over both Fair Park and downtown Dallas (and some would say the best way to view Dallas is from the air).