The third and final interurban photo (the next two posts will feature streetcars) is more than a little interesting. To begin with, it's photographed on the north side of the Tarrant County Courthouse, with the photographer standing across Belknap Street and behind a decorative iron fence. This, of course, raises the question of what was behind the fence. Park? Some kind of building? Or was the fence simply there to keep people from walking on the grass?As for the car itself, the steamcoach roof and the fact that it's car number 16 tells us that it was built sometime between 1903 and 1910, most likely between 1906 and 1908. The sign on the car's side identifies it as Interurban Line, Northern Texas Traction Co. While that's all well and good, photos of the NTTC on websites show a completely different layout of the same sign, as in Ft. Worth-Dallas Interurban, Northern Texas Traction Company. If anyone has information on when each sign style came in or went out of use, it would be possible to identify the exact date of this photo. Finally, the destination board on the front of the car tells us that it's on a Dallas Limited run.
Again, if anyone desires an 8"x10" print, please contact me at tennexican@mindspring.com. Cost is only $10 plus postage for each print.
2 comments:
Do you have any recollection of the state of housing build out along Meadowbrook Drive, east toward Eastern Hills in the 1950s? Many of those houses seemed well established when I came to the area in 1958, but I have no idea when they were built along Meadowbrook.
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog! I'm only 23, but I've lived on the east side (Handley) since I was ten. Before that, we lived on the south side, but my family has been active at Meadowbrook United Methodist Church since the 1960s, so I have early memories of driving across down to go to church. It's so interesting to read about how different it was 50-60 years ago, to have that different perspective. I can picture all of the places you mention, and I try to imagine what they were like before they were developed. It's a lot of fun! I hope you have more to say about our city's history!
Post a Comment