Dallas Noir: 1942

I was living on Eastside Avenue and Carroll Street in Dallas in 1948. I was 10 and recall getting on my bike and riding downtown to the Majestic to see "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

I don't remember locking my bike and I know my parents never locked our doors. It was a different time in America.

The Majestic had a big living room up the stairs with a TV which most people didn't have as yet. After watching a movie I would sometimes watch TV with other patrons.

Having lived in Dallas all my life (born 1936), I can recall the scene looking exactly as pictured above. In response to Brent who spied the FAKE sign past the Palace Theater, allow me to clarify that it actually said F-A-K-E-S, as in Fakes Furniture & Carpet Co., located at 2509 Elm.

For what it's worth, I still own a bedroom suite my parents bought at that Hart's store beside the Majestic.

The street actually takes a pretty big dip where that sign is. I can vouch for that as I walked that sidewalk two days ago and drew a picture of the Titches building on the left from where that sign was.

This photo is taken looking west down Elm Street from the corner of Olive. The good news is that not all those buildings are gone. On the right side, the Majestic Theater (1921) remains, as well as the Hart Furniture Store Building (1888) next door to it. Do you see the heart-shaped neon sign that reads "Hart's"? That building is still on the NW corner of Elm and Harwood Street. The Tower Building is also still standing just beyond the Majestic with the stair stepped roof. The entire block between Harwood and Olive on the right side of the photo however is now surface parking. On the left side of the photo the Titche-Goettinger department store building is still there and is condos and apartments (at Elm and St. Paul). The White Plaza Hotel is also still there but is now called the Aristocrat Hotel. The left side of the street across from the Majestic is now a 5 story parking garage. What a great photo! Thanks for posting!

I love your addition to the "supersize" wallpaper!

Most of these wonderful buildings are gone. Go to Google Maps and enter 2036 Elm Street and click "streetview" and look west. Mostly parking lots and garages. It looks like a street (Harwood St.) now runs perpendicular to Elm a couple of buildings east of the Majestic, about where Winn Furniture stands in the photo.

This area got pretty seedy in the late 40's and 50's.
Two blocks south of the photo location was The Carousel Club, owned by Jack Ruby - the guy who shot Oswald.

"Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night?
Well Dallas is a jewel, oh yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight. And Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light." - The Flatlanders

Goober Pea

The Majestic is playing "Tarzan's Secret Treasure" which was the fifth Tarzan film that MGM did. Released in December 1941, it starred series regulars Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Johnny Sheffield as "Boy." It co-starred English character actor Reginald Owen, and Irish character actor Barry Fitzgerald just three years before his double Oscar nomination for "Going My Way." (Fitzgerald was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the role of Father Fitzgibbon - he lost Best Supporting Actor and won Best Actor and spawned a new Academy Awards rule that you couldn't be nominated in two acting categories for playing the same role in the same movie.)

The other sign is something I see at the very end of the street, just to the left of the Palace Theater sign [below]. I swear the letters are

F
A
K
E

Weird huh?

I always wanted a high-res pic of world famous Shorpy building!

Cute watermark on the wallpaper!

That's Elm Street in Dallas = Deep Ellum as in Deep Ellum Blues as in "when you go down in Deep Ellum, keep your carburetor clean, 'cause the women in Deep Ellum sellin' dirty gasoline."

The Majestic Theater opened in 1921 - history here: http://www.liveatthemajestic.com/history.shtm

Goober Pea

[Thanks, Goob. - Dave]