The Texas Centennial Exposition was a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of

's independence from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western American culture. More than 50 buildings were constructed for the exposition, and many remain today as notable examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture. Attracting more than six million people including US President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, the exposition was credited with buffering Dallas from the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Background

The Texas Centennial Exposition was held at Fair Park in

, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from

in 1836. It was also a celebration of Texas and Western culture. Three Texas cities (Dallas,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

) competed to host the exposition, with Dallas receiving the nod from the Texas Centennial Commission because it offered the largest cash commitment ($7,791,000), the existing facilities of the State Fair of Texas, and a strong group of leaders. George Dahl was director general of a group of architects who designed the more than 50 buildings constructed for the exposition at Fair Park, a landscaped expanse then comprising 178 acres. Some 30 of the structures remain, representing one of the largest intact groupings of world's fair buildings and open spaces remaining in the United States. Chief among these buildings is the Texas Hall of State, which was not completed until after the opening of the exposition.

Event

The Texas Centennial Exposition was held at Fair Park in

, June 6 – November 29, 1936. The event attracted 6,353,827 visitors, and cost around $25 million.Dallas Historical Society

. Retrieved 20 April 2006. The exposition was credited for buffering Dallas from the

, creating over 10,000 jobs and giving a $50 million boost to the local economy. The Cavalcade of Texas, a historical pageant covering four centuries of

history, was one of the most popular attractions at the Exposition. The Hall of

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

Life was another popular attraction and is believed to be the first recognition of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

culture at a

. The Hall was decorated with four murals by the celebrated painter Aaron Douglas. The Texas Centennial Olympics, held in the Cotton Bowl, hosted the first integrated public athletic competition in the history of the South. Universal produced a newsreel of preparations for the Centennial beauty pageant, which shows models attempting to fit into life-sized cutouts of the Texas Centennial Committee's concept of the "perfect figure". The celebrated

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', adapted and directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

with an all-black cast, was featured August 13–23 in the new band shell and 5,000-seat open-air amphitheatre. The production was one of the most talked-about features of the exposition and drew large, enthusiastic audiences. For many it was their first opportunity to see a professional dramatic performance by African American actors. Integrated seating was a unique experience for theatergoers in Dallas. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

visited the exposition in a widely publicized event on June 12.

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

's film '' The Big Show'' was filmed on location and shows many of the buildings and events of the event. The Centennial Exposition required a massive publicity effort, but the promotion department was stymied by a lack of photographs. Never before had the state been photographed for advertising purposes. The Centennial Exposition hired Polly Smith to travel the state and tell the story of Texas through photos. After a successful five-month run, the Texas Centennial Exposition was closed. The exhibits changed and reopened the following year as the Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition.

Legacy

The Fair Park Texas Centennial Buildings were designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1986. In October 2010, the National Building Museum in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, opened an exhibition titled ''Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s''. This exhibition, which was available for view until September 2011, prominently featured the Texas Centennial Exposition.

References

External links

Videos of archival film footage of the Texas Centennial Exposition
at th
Texas Archive of the Moving Image

Photos of the Texas Centennial Exposition
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

"Light and Color Magic at Texas Exposition" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1935
— ''pp. 846–847''. {{Dallas World's fairs in Texas Festivals in Dallas 1936 festivals 1936 in Texas Regional centennial anniversaries United States historical anniversaries History of Dallas 1936 in the United States 20th century in Dallas Articles containing video clips

Background

Event

Legacy

See also

References

External links