Braniff International Airways founder Tom Braniff and his wife Bess are shown here returning to Dallas Love Field aboard a DC-6 Sleeper Aircraft in the early 1950's. Tom Braniff was a popular airline president and Dallas philanthropist. The airline he founded in Oklahoma City in 1929 in partnership with his brother, Paul, was the only major airline to be named for an individual. Tom Braniff was killed in a private plane crash in Louisiana in the mid-fifties.
August 16, 1953 photo of the Boude Storey Jr. High Drum Majorettes at practice for the football season. Identified as (left to right) Jo Anne Cook, Diana Schoppaul, Paula Stone, Brenda Thompson and Jo Ann Nycum.
Fabulous picture of downtown Dallas,Texas shows Dealey Plaza and the Old Red Courthouse taken as a promotional photograph in 1940. The triple underpass can be seen in the bottom center, along with the Texas School Book Depository and the grassy knoll near where President John Kennedy was assassinated twenty-three years later.
Wonderful Russell Lee FSA photograph taken in 1936 of the Brazos Fish Market located in Waco, Texas. Lee often used signs & advertising to help capture the moment in his classic images from the Depression Era. Note the Budweiser and Faust Beer advertisements along with Coca-Cola. This photograph was originally printed from negative.
A lone cowboy on horseback stands watch over a herd of cattle on the famous 6666 Ranch in West Texas sometime in the late 1940's. The Guthrie, Texas ranch, which was founded in the 1870's by the Burnett Family is still an active cattle ranch. This famous ranch played host in the past to the likes of Theodore Roosevelt & Will Rogers. The ranch includes 245,000 acres which makes it one of the largest spreads in the Lone Star State. Photo printed from negative.
Denison, Texas Chief of Police Wade Taylor and his shiny new Ford Squad Car.The vehicle is a 1932 Ford Model 18 (V-8). The chief poses with his new Ford after he was reputed to have chased the notorious Clyde Barrow Gang out of this North Texas community and across the Oklahoma line. Chief Taylor reported to the citizens of Denison that the new car performed much better than his old squad car and was safe at high speeds.
Dramatic night photograph of Downtown Dallas and the famous Magnolia "Mobil Oil" Building taken in 1941. This shot is taken looking west on Commerce Street in the heart of the downtown. Photo printed from negative.
Looking west on Pacific Avenue in Downtown Dallas, Texas. St. Paul is to the right and Live Oak is to the left. Photo taken in 1920's.
Dr. Pepper trucks and drivers lined up for a company promotional photograph in the 1950's. This picture was taken in Dallas, Texas, headquarters for the soft drink company. The beautiful Art Deco Dr. Pepper Headquarters Building on Mockingbird Lane was demolished in the 1980's to make room for a supermarket and the company moved to the burbs.
Used car lot on Texas Street in Ft. Worth, Texas originally taken in the 1940's. This car lot had a nice selection of vintage autos displayed under waving pennants and ready for inspection.
Early promotional photograph of Honky Tonk-Country Western singer and recording star Hank Thompson. Taken from his early days with "The Hank Thompson Show" over WKY Radio in Oklahoma City, the Waco, Texas native became a popular country recording star for many decades as well as a Las Vegas entertainer. Arguably his biggest hit was his 1952 #1 smash, "Wild Side of Life", which many people consider the greatest honky tonk song ever recorded.
The Highland Park Fountain & Pharmacy is a Dallas tradition since 1912. The pharmacy and fountain are still operating today at this original location at Knox-Henderson and Travis. This photograph shows a soda jerk at the counter in 1926. The fountain continues to serve grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers as well as hand dipped chocolate sodas.
Photo of the symbol for the Mobil Oil Company, the giant Pegasus sign has become more than just a corporate logo to the people of Dallas. A local landmark, the brightly lit red-winged horse rotates above the Magnolia Building. The Pegasus Project, a local nonprofit effort, rebuilt it at a cost of $650,000 between the years 1999 and 2000. The original Pegasus sign, taken down while the new one was being built, can still be seen displayed at the Dallas Farmers Market.
Excellent 1963 photograph of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President from 1963 through 1969. A Texas statesman, his vision of "A Great Society" for the American people and their fellow men elsewhere became his agenda for Congress. When he left office, peace talks from Viet Nam were under way; he did not live to see them succeed, but died suddently of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973.
1951 downtown street scene photograph of Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, looking west. The Majestic Theater is on the right, the Tower & Palace can be seen in the background. Titche-Goettinger Department Store is on the left. This photograph was taken in September as banners for the State Fair of Texas are flying above the traffic. Photo was originally printed from negative.
A Marmon Convertible Coupe is shown here in front of a dealership in the late 1920's. The automobile brand name was manufactured by the Nordyke Marmon & Co. of Indianapolis, Indiana from 1902 through 1933 and a brand of Texas made premium trucks from 1963 through 1997 in Denton, Texas. The 1909 Marmon Wasp was the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 motor race. In 1929 due to the stock market crash, hard times were felt by the manufacturer and Marmon discontinued auto production in 1933. The Marmon Automobile Company was credited with introducing the first rear view mirror, the first V-16 engine and the first use of aluminum parts for auto production.
Photo of the Missouri Pacific Trailways Station in Brownsville, Texas taken in 1951.
1950 photo of the Mobile Oil Filling Station in Casa Linda shopping center at Buckner Avenue and Garland Road in Dallas, Texas.
From the data of German aeronautical research, came the elaborate designs by the Chance Vought company which led to production of the highly unconventional tail-less F7U Cutlass. The wing, with a sweepback of 38 degrees, was of very low aspect ratio, 3:1, and almost parallel chord. Pitch and roll controls were combined in elevons on the wing; fins and rudders were located on the wing at the ends of the centre section. The first F7U-1 flew on March 1, 1950, and the entire batch of this model was assigned to the Advanced Training Command at Corpus Christi,Texas Naval Air Station during 1952. It was redesigned several times to include basic armament of four 20 mm cannon in the upper lips of the intake fairing, with provision for underwing rocket pods. Production ended in December 1955 when 290 variants had been delivered.
Bathtub gin flowed, flappers flapped, and Prohibition was in full swing when this Dallas, Texas Fire Chief and his assistant showed off the chief's shiny new Packard convertible. Whatta magnificent car! Note siren mounted on front grill. Exact year unknown, but winter photo was taken in one of the city's upscale neighborhoods, probably on or near Swiss Avenue or near Turtle Creek and Dallas Country Club.
