Looking Back at the Dallas Skyline, From 1914 to Today

By 1914, Dallas had grown to have at least 92,000 residents. Now, that number sits around 1.3 million. Indeed, much has changed in 111 years. 1914 was also the same year World War I started and the Panama Canal was opened. That is also the year of a fascinating photo we recently got our hands on.

The image, taken from the Old Red Courthouse, looking east, doesn’t show one of Dallas’ signature buildings, but it does show something perhaps more intriguing by providing a view of downtown that is nothing short of unimaginable today. The old Red Courthouse has become a signature spot on the Dallas skyline, but so too have skyscrapers that dwarf the classic building near the infamous former Texas School Book Depository.

To be fair, it might not be quite as wild a difference as looking at this 1872 photo of Main Street might provide, but it’s close. But looking at this image now, one might as well be looking at a photo of Pluto’s surface, since it's about as recognizable.

While we were at it, we dug up some other old photos of downtown to examine the area’s evolution over the past century.

What a difference a decade can make. In 1946, the skyline began to feature the modern look it is known for today, which is a far cry from what it looked like in 1936. A pair of prominent structures, the Magnolia Building and the 31-story Mercantile National Bank Building, were the stars of the downtown show as Dallas opened its post-war era.

Before the 1980s brought Reunion Arena and the 2000s welcomed the American Airlines Center, Memorial Auditorium was where A-list artists came to play. In 1968 alone, James Brown and The Doors played at the auditorium, not to mention this is where the Beatles made their only Dallas stop a few years prior. Led Zeppelin, Queen, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix are just a few other legendary acts to take the downtown stage before pro sports came to downtown.
  Although some people might try, it's tough to argue that the single most identifiable building in downtown Dallas is Reunion Tower. Sure, the lights of Bank of America Plaza or the colorful displays on the side of the Omni Hotel get a lot of attention these days, but nothing separates this downtown from others quite like Reunion Tower, completed in 1978, does.

In 2011, the American Airlines Center celebrated 10 years as home of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars. That was also the year the Mavs won the NBA Championship. In the image above, you get a hint of the development to come thanks to the construction cranes in the foreground. Thanks to so much construction in the past decade, it's highly unlikely a photographer standing in the same spot as this shot was taken could get a clear view of the AAC now.