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Discovering the Southwest Metroplex

Amon Carter Museum of Western Art

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Exterior of the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, UNTA_AR0327-023-004

Exterior of the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, UNTA_AR0327-023-004

In 1961, the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art opened its doors in Fort Worth, Texas. Plans for a museum were left in the will of Amon G. Carter, Sr., who passed away in 1955 after suffering several strokes. His acquisitions, including the work of Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington, would become part of the museum’s holdings. The Amon G. Carter Foundation, established in the summer of 1945, took on the task of establishing Carter’s vision for a public museum of American art. His daughter, Ruth Carter Stevenson, was especially involved in this endeavor.

In 1959, the city of Fort Worth donated a parcel of land downtown to the Foundation, so that construction on the museum could begin. Philip Johnson designed the building with Texas shell-stone, and used bronze and teak in the interior of the museum. The museum was completed and open to the public in 1961, and an expansion was completed two years later, providing the facility with a basement, a storage vault, and more ground-level exhibition space.

Aerial view of the Kimbell Art Museum (bottom left), Will Rogers Memorial Center & Colliseum (top left), Fort Worth Community Arts Center (top right), and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (right middle, below the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, UNTA_AR0327-023-003

Aerial view of the Kimbell Art Museum (bottom left), Will Rogers Memorial Center & Coliseum (top left), Fort Worth Community Arts Center (top right), and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (right middle, below the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, UNTA_AR0327-023-003

The holdings of the museum are unique and inspiring. Rather than focusing on regional artwork, the “western” art at the museum portrays the powerful need of Americans to continually move westward. The excitement of the frontier, as well as the sense of it diminishing with American expansion, is prevalent in the work at the Amon Carter.

The museum quickly rose to national acclaim, and the Carter Foundation continued to utilize the museum in its mission to educate the city of Fort Worth and enrich the community. In 1966, the museum received a $30,000 grant from the National Foundation of Arts and Humanities to focus on education. The museum received the same grant in 1969. The museum used this grant to research how museums and educational institutions can cooperate together to supply a fulfilling learning experience for children. In 1977, 36,000 square feet were added to the museum, including a larger library and a movie theater.

The Amon Carter museum celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011. As part of its anniversary campaign, the museum decided to change its name to the “Amon Carter Museum of American Art.” The museum continues to excite, entertain, and educate residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with its collection. To learn more about the Amon Carter museum’s holdings and other endeavors, view their webpage here.

The photographs of the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art come from the Lester Strother Texas Metro Magazine collection. The Texas Metro was largely founded to publicize the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and the many economic opportunities in the Southwest Metroplex. The collection includes 183 linear feet of articles and photographs from the magazine, as well as other grey literature.

The Kimbell Art Museum

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The exterior of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-023-002

Patrons enjoy the exterior of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-023-002

You can’t visit DFW without visiting Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum. The museum’s permanent collections are impressive and free to view, and the touring exhibits are exciting and rotated often. This isn’t just a museum for tourists, though. The artistic, the worldly, and the cultured of the Southwest Metroplex pay the Kimbell many a visit throughout the year. It became a staple in our culture when it opened its doors to the public in 1972.

A woman and child admire a sculpture at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-023-001

A woman and child admire a sculpture at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-023-001

The museum is owned and operated by the Kimbell Art Foundation, which was founded in 1936 by Kay and Velma Kimbell and Dr. and Mrs. Coleman Carter. In 1964, Kay Kimbell died, leaving his fortune to the foundation for the purposes of establishing a museum. Seven months after his passing, the city of Fort Worth donated 9 ½ acres of land in Amon Carter Square, now known as the Cultural District, for the museum site.

Construction of the museum began in 1969 and took place under the directorship of Richard F. Brown. World-renown architect Louis I. Kahn designed the building, which is a piece of art in itself. Kahn received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Society of British Architects. The building is composed of a series of cycloid vaults that surround 12,000 square feet of space. The length is greater than a football field, and the building utilizes a unique system of lighting that allows patrons to view the artwork in a light similar to when the artist created it.

The collection policy of the museum is unique. Rather than attempting to portray a complete period of artistic history, the museum simply acquires what it considers to be landmark pieces of art, no matter what time period. The permanent collection includes artwork from all periods and places, including African, American, Pre-Columbian, Asian, and Ancient.

The photographs of the Kimbell Art Museum’s first days come from the Lester Strother Texas Metro Magazine collection. The Texas Metro was largely founded to publicize the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and the many economic opportunities in the Southwest Metroplex. The collection includes 183 linear feet of articles and photographs from the magazine, as well as other grey literature.

Fort Worth’s “Tunnel Train”

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Leonard's Department Store in Downtown Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-076-001

Leonards Department Store in Downtown Fort Worth, UNTA_AR0327-076-001

When I was a little girl, my dad and I had a favorite pastime: riding the downtown “tunnel train.” The “tunnel train” was actually the M&O Subway that connected passengers from a large downtown parking lot to the Tandy Center, which was home to RadioShack headquarters. But, of course, my favorite part about Tandy Center was the train ride. Sometimes Dad would let us ride the subway back and forth a couple of times just because I asked. The mall and ice skating rink at Tandy Center were also pretty cool in the eyes of a five-year-old.

The subway has been gone for a long time now (since 2002) but its memory continues to enlist nostalgia from all who enjoyed it. This transit system’s life spanned nearly forty years, with its beginnings at Leonard’s Department Store in the early sixties. Leonard’s occupied the space Tandy Center (now City Place) eventually took over, from 1918 to 1967. Similar in size to a modern day Walmart, Leonards offered most everything you would need, from groceries to automotive parts, from chicken feed to kitchen appliances.

In 1963, Leonard’s decided that it needed a subway. Their parking lot was massive and not especially close to the actual store, and a subway would be the perfect way to transport shoppers from their vehicles to the air-conditioned indoors. Prior to this time, they operated a fleet of buses to transport their customers. But a subway was much more modern and exciting! The line ran about three-quarters of a mile, and less than a fifth of that (about 1,000 feet) went through the underground tunnel.

As a child, when Leonard’s was long gone, the tunnel seemed much longer. I can clearly remember the darkness pushing through the windows of the subway car and the rumbling sounds of the engine becoming tinny, all while sitting on my dad’s lap, who was finishing up his time at North Side High School when Leonard’s left town. I’m sure he had traveled on the “tunnel train” for decades before I came along, making this an adventure that spanned generations.

Originally, the subway began its journey at a terminal just northwest of 2nd Street (by the parking lot) and terminated its journey in the Leonard’s basement. When Tandy Center took over, the terminal was relocated near where the intersection of 1st Street and Taylor would be if Taylor ran all the way through and ended its journey near the Tandy entrance.

Fort Worth said farewell to the “tunnel train” in 2002. RadioShack was moving its headquarters out of the Tandy Center, which had been sold to PNL companies in 2001, and it no longer needed the subway. During its time, it was the only privately owned and operated subway line in the country. Part of the tunnel now runs beneath the Tarrant County College Trinity River campus, and the terminals are chained up to keep out all of those who love tunnels–train enthusiasts, zombies, and geocachers are all prohibited. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram took an adventurous trip into the tunnel this April, though, and you can watch a video about that experience here.

The photograph of Leonards comes from the Lester Strother Texas Metro Magazine collection. The Texas Metro was largely founded to publicize the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and the many economic opportunities in the Southwest Metroplex. The collection includes 183 linear feet of articles and photographs from the magazine, as well as other grey literature.

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

 

Shh… Texas Wiretaps

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Header of "Capitol Dialogue" Newsletter, UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01

Header of “Capitol Dialogue” Newsletter, UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01

Drugs weren’t really a big scandal in the United States until the 1960’s. A few anti-drug laws were established earlier than this, but drugs were not an enigmatic or scary aspect of American culture. This was mostly because drugs circulated among minority groups, like Mexican immigrants, African Americans, and even the Chinese in the late 19th century. Eventually, the trend became popular among whites, as well. During the Vietnam War, drug use became a symbol for youthful rebellion–and rebellion was daunting. Government leaders feared such a large dissent, and parents feared the sex, rock music, and organized protests that frequented circles of low-to-high frequency drug users. Some of these youth ended up being killed at protests. It’s no wonder people were scared.

In June 1971, President Nixon declared the War on Drugs.

Prosecution rates for drug use and trafficking were high in the next few decades. In Texas, wiretapping was introduced in House Bill 360 during the 67th legislature, and it was largely meant to serve as a weapon against drug traffickers. In a letter to a concerned citizen, Tarrant County Representative Lanny Hall states that his constituents have given “overwhelming support” to the bill. On May 4, 1981, the bill was passed with a non-record vote of 98 yeahs, 47 neighs, and 1 present, not-voting.

According to the law, a prosecutor must request an order authorizing the wiretap from a judge; and the prosecutor must show “probable cause to believe that the interception will provide evidence of the commission of a felony (other than felony possessions of marihuana) under the Texas Controlled Substances Act” (Wire or Oral Communications–Interception and Use, H. B. 360, Sec. 4). Only one party of the conversation needs to consent to the wiretap for it to be legal. Other offenses for which a wiretap can be used are murder and child pornography. More detailed particulars of the law can be viewed at the link above.

The law has been renewed, and it is still in effect today.

The Lanny Hall Collection contains letters on this matter from concerned Tarrant County citizens. Hall served the county as a Representative in the Texas House during the sixty-sixth, sixty-seventh, and sixty-eighth legislatures (1979-1984). The collection also contains records pertaining to subjects such as public education, tuition rates and funding for colleges and universities, equal rights and LGBT issues, transportation, and health topics.

 

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

 

The Tarrant County Women’s Political Caucus

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A newsletter from the Tarrant County Women's Political Caucus, August 1981, from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-066-001_01

Front of a newsletter from the Tarrant County Women’s Political Caucus, August 1981, from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-066-001_01

In the summer of 1981, a group of Texas ladies banded together to form the Tarrant County Women’s Political Caucus (TCWPC). This local chapter became a member of the Texas Women’s Political Caucus, and subsequently the National Women’s Political Caucus.

Officers were elected during a business meeting in early August, and included Katherine White as President, Jeannie Samuel as Secretary/Treasurer, Kay Fulgham as Membership Chairperson, Karen Roudebush as Political Action Chairperson, and Sharon Rodine as Public Relations Chairperson.

The group supported women running for office, and they lobbied for policies that were in favor of women’s rights. The caucus worked extensively to promote and pass the Equal Rights Amendment on the national level. For more information about Texas women and the ERA, check out this earlier blog post.

These goals were widely shared with the statewide caucus, which began life in 1971. At that time, there were only two women in the Texas Legislature: Barbara Jordan of Houston and Frances Farenthold of Corpus Christi. In 1991, ten years after the founding of TCWPC, Fort Worth elected its first woman mayor, Kay Granger.

One Tarrant County woman who had a big impact on women’s rights is Katie Sherrod. A journalist, and activist at heart, she paved the way for women journalists to be taken seriously through her work at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, PBS, and other venues. In the early seventies, she wrote a series on rape in north Texas, which was largely ignored at the time, as well as other news stories on battered women. By publicising this cruelty, the Rape Crisis Center and Women’s Way (a shelter for battered women that is sponsored by the United Way) were established. An interview from UNT’s Oral History program can be read here.

A newsletter from the Tarrant County Women's Political Caucus, August 1981, from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-066-001_01

Backside of a newsletter from the Tarrant County Women’s Political Caucus, August 1981, from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-066-001_01

Much more information about the Tarrant County Women’s Political Caucus can be found in the Lanny Hall Collection. This collection contains records from his time in the Texas House of Representatives, pertaining to subjects such as public education, tuition rates and funding for colleges and universities, equal rights and LGBT issues, transportation, health topics, and many more.

 

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

The Legacy of Lanny Hall

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Taken from the "Lanny Hall Reports" newsletter, January 1981, Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-065-001_01

Taken from the “Lanny Hall Reports” newsletter, January 1981, Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-065-001_01

Edwin “Lanny” Hall served Tarrant County as a Representative in the Texas House during the sixty-sixth, sixty-seventh, and sixty-eighth legislatures (1979-1984). He has also played administrative roles within several institutions of higher education. With plans to retire after the 2015-2016 academic year, Hall will leave behind a legacy of political and educational leadership for North and Central Texas. It’s as good a time as ever to remember Hall’s many achievements.

Though he was born in Fort Payne, Alabama, Hall moved to Tarrant County at a young age, attending Birdville Independent School District since age six. After receiving his B.S. and M.Ed. from North Texas State University, he taught high school government and history. He was selected as an L.B.J. Congressional Intern in 1974, and began working in Washington D.C. for House Majority Leader Jim Wright. He later served Wright as a staff assistant on the National Commission on Water Quality. During this period, he also worked for the House Public Works Subcommittee on Investigations and Review. When Wright was elected Majority Leader, Hall became a special assistant on the Congressman’s staff.

Taken from the "Lanny Hall Reports" newsletter, January 1981, Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-065-001_01

Taken from the “Lanny Hall Reports” newsletter, January 1981, Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-065-001_01

In November 1978, Hall was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from District 32-C. This includes most of Tarrant County, including East Fort Worth, West Arlington, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Watauga, and some of Haltom City. He took his oath of office on January 9, 1979.

During his time in the Texas House, he served as Vice Chairman of the Transportation Committee, as well as Chairman of the Interim Subcommittee on Teacher Education. He was also a member of the House Appropriations Committee, the Public Education Committee, the Interim Subcommittee on Medical Education, and the House Higher Education Committee.

After his time in the Texas House of Representatives, Hall received his doctorate degree in Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. For a time, he worked for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, then started a waffling stint between Howard Payne University in Brownwood and Hardin-Simmons in Abilene.

He served Howard Payne as Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer from 1986-1989. He then spent two years as President of Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, before beginning a ten year term as President at Hardin-Simmons. He returned to Howard Payne to serve as President from 2003 to 2009, and he is currently President again of Hardin-Simmons.

The Edwin “Lanny” Hall Collection contains records from his time in the Texas House of Representatives, pertaining to subjects such as public education, tuition rates and funding for colleges and universities, equal rights and LGBT issues, transportation, health topics, and many more.
-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

Raymond D. Nasher: A Northerner’s Contributions to Dallas-Fort Worth

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Raymond D. Nasher (left) at the site of Flower Mound New Town.

UNTA_AR0265-006-001_01

In 1921, Raymond D. Nasher was born in Boston to a garment maker. In 2007, he died in Dallas as a wealthy businessman and ambassador to the arts. After graduating from Duke, Nasher and his new wife moved to Dallas, where he would take part in a number of projects bettering the DFW metroplex.

This year, North Park Center is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Nasher took control of a piece of land on the outskirts of Dallas to construct the mall, which would become the largest climate-controlled retail center in the world. When the shopping center opened in 1965, it was anchored by Neiman Marcus, Woolworths, Titche-Goettinger and the largest JCPenney store in the Southwest. Today, North Park Center consistently ranks in the nation’s top 5 shopping destinations and is considered the number one attraction in the metroplex, receiving over 26 million visitors a year. To see photographs and learn more about the history of North Park Center, visit their webpage here.

Nasher also took on the challenge of designing entirely new communities within the North Texas region. Flower Mound New Town, though eventually abandoned, was an impressive project that was part of the Federal Model Cities Program. To read more about Flower Mound New Town, click here to read an earlier post about the endeavor. The Model Cities Program Records Collection contains grey literature about Flower Mound New Town, as well as many other projects related to the program, which was initiated under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Spring Park Community Advertisement

Spring Park Community Advertisement

Though not a part of the Model Cities program, Spring Park was another community Nasher designed. Like Flower Mound New Town, designs for Spring Park featured common recreation areas, including a lake and tennis courts, scenic views, and lots of green space. Nasher abandoned the project after only about one third of it was completed. It was later finished by other contractors and is located near Garland.

Nasher and his wife were also well-known sculpture collectors. Their collection was extremely desireable by world-renowned museums, such as the Dallas Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the National Gallery of Art, and they each made considerable efforts to acquire Nasher’s collection. Eventually, he decided that he would rather share his collection on his own, rather than finagle with a museum and board of directors. So, he dedicated 70 million dollars of his fortune to creating a museum and sculpture garden in downtown Dallas, where he would house his life’s acquisitions. The Nasher Sculpture Center was opened in 2003, and continues to be an artistic delight to those who live in and visit the Southwest Metroplex.

Whether you live in the heart of Dallas, in the suburbs, or if you’re just visiting for the weekend, Nasher’s contributions to DFW are undeniable. His work has provided residents with a nationally-recognized shopping mall, comfortable and safe residential communities, and an opportunity to experience some of history’s finest pieces of art.

 

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

Remembering Texas Stadium

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A view of the field and open roof at Texas Stadium in Irving, 1972. From the Lester Strother Texas Metro Collection. UNTA_AR0327-101-002

A view of the field and open roof at Texas Stadium in Irving, 1972. From the Lester Strother Texas Metro Collection. UNTA_AR0327-101-002.

Football is fun. It’s a moneymaker, too. That’s one reason Irving decided to construct Texas Stadium, after the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr., expressed interest in moving the team out of the Cotton Bowl. Through revenue bonds, Irving financed the stadium, and it opened in 1971 as the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The stadium was state-of-the-art. There were seats for 65,675 fans, a stadium club, and 381 luxury suites were added in a later remodel. People were excited about the stadium, and Irving was proud of its new addition. The Cowboys were nicknamed “America’s team” for much of their time here, and the team became one of the NFL’s most valuable.

What people remember most about Texas Stadium is its partial roof. It was originally designed to be retractable, but it was discovered that the stadium couldn’t support that much weight. This resulted in a design where the fans were sheltered from the weather, but the players were not. Texas Stadium was the only open-roofed stadium in the NFL, and it certainly caused problems, such as when the field was covered in snow during the 1993 game between the Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

The 2008 season was the Cowboys’ last at Texas Stadium. In 2009, they started calling Cowboy Stadium in Arlington home. Much of the installations and memorabilia were auctioned off after the final game. In 2010, Texas Stadium was demolished by a widely-televised controlled implosion.
-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

Lanny Hall and the Texas Equalization Grant

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House Committee Report for H. B. 840, 26 February 1979. Taken from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-008-003

House Committee Report for H. B. 840, 26 February 1979. Taken from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-008-003.

1971 saw the creation of the Texas Equalization Grant (TEG) Program, a federal aid program for students attending independent colleges in Texas. The grant helped students attend independent universities, which received less financial aid than state-supported colleges. The original eligibility requirements were fairly simple, though they have become more restrictive over the years.

  1. The student must be a qualified Texas resident
  2. The student must be enrolled at least half-time as a student in an approved independent college or university in the state of Texas
  3. The student must establish financial need as defined by the Coordinating Board and the Texas College and University System
  4. The student must not be the recipient of any form of athletic scholarship
  5. The student must not be enrolled in a theological or religious degree program

In 1979, Lanny Hall, as part of the Committee on Higher Education, voted to pass House Bill 840, which outlined new eligibility requirements for the grant, as well as funding for the program. A Fiscal Note from the Legislative Budget Board states an expected annual increase of 16% in the maximum grant gifted to a student, and an annual increase of 2% in the number of grants provided.

A letter to Representative Lanny Hall from the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, 22 April 1983. Taken from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-008-002_01

A letter to Representative Lanny Hall from the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, 22 April 1983. Taken from the Lanny Hall Collection. UNTA_AR0177-008-002.

North Texas has more independent universities than any other region in the state, giving local students plenty of choices and incentive to continue their education. This letter to Representative Hall from the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas claims that 1,769 of the 18,471 grants given out in 1982 went to Tarrant County students. That’s 9.5%, which says quite a bit considering there are 253 other counties in the state. Schools these students attended included Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Dallas.

Edwin “Lanny” Hall served Tarrant County as a Representative in the Texas House during the sixty-sixth, sixty-seventh, and sixty-eighth legislatures (1979-1984). The Lanny Hall Collection contains records from his time in the Texas House of Representatives, pertaining to subjects such as public education, tuition rates and funding for colleges and universities, equal rights and LGBT issues, transportation, health topics, and many more.

 

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

 

The Cotton Bowl, The House that Doak Built

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Aerial photograph of the Cotton Bowl stadium in Fair Park. From the Lester Strother Texas Metro Collection. UNTA_AR0327-101-002

This aerial photograph shows the Cotton Bowl stadium in Fair Park filled with fans. From the Lester Strother Texas Metro Collection. UNTA_AR0327-101-002.

In the years following World War II, Doak Walker (a.k.a. “The Doaker”) was the college football favorite. A true All-American, Doak led the SMU Mustangs in academics, athletics, and leadership, leaving behind a solid legacy for all Mustangs to come. He entered Southern Methodist University as a Freshman in 1945 and led the Mustangs to Southwest Conference championships and Cotton Bowl appearances in 1947 and 1948. Fans across the metroplex were so enamored with Doak and his team that the school decided to move its games away from its home field to the Cotton Bowl, which quickly expanded its seating to meet the demands of spectators. In 1948, he won the Heisman Trophy, and he graduated in 1949. He joined the Detroit Lions in 1950, and was inducted to the Football Hall of Fame in 1959. An honorary plaque hangs at the Cotton Bowl’s main entrance that reads “The Cotton Bowl, the House that Doak Built.” To watch Doak Walker receiving a “Greatest College Football Player of the Decade” award, click here.

Doak Walker passed away in 1998, but the Cotton Bowl still stands at Fair Park in Dallas. In 1930, construction on the Cotton Bowl began to replace the old wooden Fair Park Stadium. The Cotton Bowl classic was played here until 2009, when it moved to the flashier, newer Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The Dallas Cowboys also called the Cotton Bowl home from 1960 to 1971. The Red River Shootout, now known as the Red River Rivalry, is an annual football game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Sooners. The game takes place during the State Fair of Texas and ticket sales are split evenly among the two schools. The Cotton Bowl was also a venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and it has hosted the Dallas Independent School District’s football playoffs since 1974. To watch football highlights from a Chicago Bears and New York Giants game at the Cotton Bowl in 1956, click here. (Unfortunately, you’ll have to skip through a news story about a murder-suicide to get to the game.)

For those Texans that weren’t into football (admittedly, there are few), the Cotton Bowl offered musical excitement, as well. Elvis Presley attracted 27,000 fans to the Cotton Bowl in 1956, when he was just 21 years old. Aerosmith also recorded their first live album here in the late 70s, and other notable musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Heart, Journey, and Van Halen have played at this venue in Fair Park.

The sporting industry is one of the biggest industries in America, and it indirectly affects other areas of our economy that may not always be immediately evident, such as agriculture and transportation. An article in the January 1966 issue of the Texas Metro claims that the Cotton Bowl brought one million new dollars to the area every year. The Dallas Cowboys and the north Texas stadiums, like the Cotton Bowl, combined with the DFW Airport provide a lot of good to our part of the state.

The photograph of the Cotton Bowl comes from the Lester Strother Texas Metro Magazine collection. The Texas Metro was founded to publicize the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and the many economic opportunities in the Southwest Metroplex. The collection includes 183 linear feet of articles and photographs from the magazine, as well as other grey literature.

 

-by Alexandra Traxinger Schütz

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