Therefore, with this much activity going on for a hundred years now, is it any wonder that the DFW area is chock full of goodies for architectural and roadie buffs to explore?  Let me show you a few gems I've captured along my old Highway 80 jaunts through the area.  Beginning at the eastern end of the DFW area, our journey onto this internet off-ramp will begin in Forney...

     Though Forney is a part of the DFW megalopolis today, it wasn't always so.  At the birth of the highway system, Forney was (believe it or not) still a couple of hours journey from downtown Dallas.  These earliest road-trippers were following what was then known as The Dixie Overland Trail (which would become Texas Highway 15 before it became Highway 80).  Indeed, if one takes a left off of Broad St. onto County 740 then a quick right onto Trinity St., you will be following the earliest auto trail through the area.  There is a placard in the park (just as you turn onto Trinity) that commemorates a historic 1899 auto trip that took 5 & 1/2 hours to travel the thirty miles from Terrell to downtown Dallas.  The fad aspect quickly wore off and it was soon apparent that the auto was on its way.  Stations such as this one sprang up (junction of Broad St. & 740), and the first concrete roads were laid out.  An exquisite example of early concrete can be had by following Trinity St. NW through a very nice neighborhood before you hit a dead end and have to backtrack back to Broad St.  Trinity St. originally followed the RR (this is now boggy river bottom land and is private property) on into Mesquite before angling up to meet Samuell for the rest of the ride into Dallas.  

     From here on into the heart of the DFW area, there is, I'm afraid, not much vintage architecture remains.  A few older stations line the south frontage road between Forney and Mesquite, but nothing really eye-catching or unique.  The die-hard roadie will want to exiting onto Samuell (which has been 80 since the beginning) at the Town East exit, but don't expect too much here either.  This area along Samuell Blvd. is archetypical of far too many areas in this country...the explosion of suburban 60's/70's area shopping and strip malls which don't seem to be able to peacefully co-exist with vintage properties that retain any class, character or interest.  I dare say that if one is at all pressed for time, I might advise the DFW 80 traveler to stay on newer 4-lane 80 and then follow I-30 on into downtown where exit 47 will take you right onto Elm St. (one-way westbound) and the heart of Dallas proper!

     By the early Twenties, Dallas had moved the main auto routings from Main to Commerce.  For example, per a 1922 map, the BHH (and probable  Broadway of America & Ocean to Ocean as well) routing met up with the Dixie Overland routing at the junction of Ervay & Commerce and the path to more congestion was underway!  By '61, Commerce was one-way eastbound and Elm was one-way westbound.  With so much history and activity, as you might expect, downtown Dallas has a lot to offer and is loaded with clubs, history and architecture.  Old & new co-exist in a wild cacophony of sights, sounds and textures, so plan on spending some time wandering around.   New skyscrapers such as this offer a stunning backdrop to the old Courthouse and historic West-End areas, but most of all, be sure to stop and pay tribute to that stain on American History: Dealey Plaza-the sight of the JFK assassination.

     Located at the junction of Elm & Houston Streets, Dealey Plaza will forever be immortalized by that grainy black & white home film footage of President John F Kennedy that fateful November day back in 1963.  Today, the site is marked by an 'X' on the roadbed while nearby, the old Administration Building still stands-a mute witness to these tragic events.  I've added an arrow to the building pic to show the window that Lee Harvey Oswald fired from.   Just a couple of miles south, the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson-a probable older BHH routing), still stands and is the location where Lee Harvey was arrested.

     President Kennedy's motorcade was traveling westbound on Elm on Business 80 at the time of the fateful event.  Though apparently never the main trunk of 80, Elm's more direct route over to Davis and the road to Ft. Worth ensured that this segment of highway saw a lot of travelers in its time.  I highly advise taking a little jaunt down this strip of old Business 80...a couple of gems remain to really make you stop and take out the cameras.  One such place is the old Alamo Courts.  Once a chain across the Southwest, the Alamo's distinctive styling has remained intact to delight us today.  Though catering to long-term residents now, I'm glad the ol' Alamo has resisted the trend to 'modernize' it's architecture and thus retains its distinctive character of yesteryear.  Heading eastbound?  Be sure to note the lettering on the side of the overpass just west of downtown.  It seems as if cities just don't add little things like this anymore that add a sense of class and pride. 

     If we stay with the main trunk of 80, we will head south out of downtown Dallas and cross the Trinity River on a huge (and today, strangely empty) concrete bridge to meet with Zang's Blvd. south.  For you old roadie buffs, from here on out, it seems as if there is at least something vintage every couple of miles or so to peak your interest so keep your eyes open!  For example, just south if the Trinity River bridge, take a look at this wild architecture!  Though now a Mexican Restaurant, I understand from DFW resident and fellow roadie Doc Rob Garrett that this little place used to be a Polar Bear ice cream shop back in the 40's.!

     A right turn on Davis (Highway 80 since the beginning in late '26), will take you past a smattering of 'hangers-oners' and on out to Grand Prairie and Arlington where a couple more vintage treasures await.  Grand Prairie appears to have always been on the BHH and Highway 80 routing, and as such, has an old downtown area sporting the once ubiquitous 30's-era theatre.  Unfortunately, the terrific sign of the Uptown apparently no longer works at night, but is an eye-catcher all the same.  And also hailing from Grand Prairie since 1958, another true classic: Theo's Drive-In!  Doc Rob and I ate supper here while we waited for the sun to set in order to bring you this this terrific neon shot.  Loved it.  Simple, no frills, but good.  

     Continuing west past Arlington and the small but quaint Handley historic district, original 80 entered Ft. Worth proper as it does today, but then veered north onto Main St. then west on 7th past Trinity Park to meet up with Camp Bowie to the SW.  This all changed in 1938 with the completion of the Lancaster Ave. bridge going over Trinity Park.  Be sure to admire the attention to detail and the bull sculptures embedded in the bridge.  Once again, they don't put this type of effort into modern construction anymore.  Once over this bridge, a left onto Camp Bowie will take the traveler through a nice, upscale part of town (see pic).  The old homes, the brick roads, it almost seems as if you were somewhere back in the 20's...following the ol' Bankhead Highway to parts unknown.

     To use the racing vernacular, we're "coming around turn #4 and heading down the straightaway...".  Almost a literal statement, a final turn onto Camp Bowie West (on a kind of confusing intersection) will run you out past a final few miles of sporadic motels interspersed with 60's/70's urban sprawl before heading out of town and on towards Weatherford.  Though certainly not a ritzy area, a couple of cuties stand out for the vigilant shutterbug.  For example, it's fun to see old motels advertising TV.  Now taken for granted almost as a 'right', it's hard to imagine a time when television was a novelty and was considered a 'draw' to lure in the passing motorist.  This fine example comes from the Crest Motel.  And last but certainly not least, the cute El Dorado Motel is at the end of the line out in Westland-just before you get dumped out onto I-30.  

     From here, be sure to check out my Central Texas page for more Bankhead and Highway 80 goodies.  And as always, if you want to know more detailed driving specifics, be sure to check out my East or West Texas driving pages.  Explore your world!