After the second World War, people across the nation were staking claims in North Texas. In Fort Worth, the population jumped 57% between 1940 and 1950 (177,662 to 278,778), and the population mushroomed another 28% by 1960 (up to 356,268). And in Dallas, the population rose 47% between 1940 and 1950 (294,734 to 434,462), and… Read more »
Remember when your grandmother’s farm was “the brick house with a basset hound out front, about three miles south of the old cemetery?” Now, that farm probably has a real address, something more like 123 Country Road. Beginning in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s, communities began implementing 911 Addressing standards, which meant that… Read more »
This spring, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transportation) started service on its new streetcar route, a 1.6 mile stretch connecting Oak Cliff commuters with Union Station in Dallas. The city’s new streetcar is the latest in a trend sweeping urban centers across the country. (Tucson, Arizona launched a successful streetcar project in 2014, and Kansas City… Read more »
This spring, most North Texas lakes and rivers saw a sudden, sharp surplus in their water levels, and the Trinity River was certainly among them. Areas of Dallas were flooded by the river at the end of May, causing many businesses to close. It also gave several citizens cause for concern over the proposed Trinity… Read more »
School hasn’t been out for long, but many North Texas parents already can’t wait for summer vacation to be over. While the youth of today may be more likely to play video games than engage in outdoor shenanigans, they are also more likely to take part in interracial friendships than the Dallas children of prior… Read more »
The collections being exposed within the Southwest Metroplex blog all share the chaos and excitement that overcame the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the decades following World War II. UNT’s Special Collections department houses items documenting the enormous population boom in North Texas, tremendous strides made in transportation and urban planning, political environments, and a… Read more »
The Lester Strother collection not only contains information about the growth and development of the Southwest Metroplex, but also surrounding communities and other regions throughout Texas. Many small towns that were just beginning to grow would send information to the Texas Metro Magazine about upcoming events to attract people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. One such… Read more »
With a population hovering around 63,000 today, the city of Flower Mound is a vibrant and prosperous Dallas suburb. However, the city at one time hoped to harbor a population of 100,000 before the start of the 21st century. This lofty goal sprung from a 1968 decision, in which the town was chosen to take… Read more »
In 1992, the Trinity Route, an idea born in 1967, was granted a new chance at life. Dallas political leaders began promoting a plan to build a section of the planned toll road around downtown, from SH 183 to US 175. This stretch of road would connect the northwest and southeast parts of the city…. Read more »
It may be difficult to believe that, until 1966, a non-stop route between eastern Dallas and western Fort Worth didn’t exist. Today, the highways connecting the two cities, as well as all the cities in between them, make Dallas-Fort Worth inseparable. The two stretches of road that contributed most to this feat are the Dallas-Fort… Read more »
