A Diverse Look at the Past: The Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture


Visitors to Dallas know that Dealey Plaza and Elm Street is the site where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. But in their casual exploration of this area, they may notice a red brick building whose elaborate design (including turrets and terra cotta wyverns) contrast the utilitarian design of the surrounding properties.

Built in 1892, the Old Red Courthouse looks like a storybook castle. This may account for its popularity as a wedding spot (what bride doesn’t want to feel like a princess?). But as cool as this building looks from the outside, the inside is definitely worth a visit for history buffs, Dallas tourists, or really anyone with a sense of curiosity.

Pictured above is "Little Maggie", the frozen margarita machine invented in Dallas.

The former courthouse is now home to the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture. The museum features highlights and low points of Dallas County history, dating from prehistory to modern day. Some of my favorite pieces were entrepreneur Mariano Martinez’s “Little Maggie,” the little sister to the first frozen margarita machine (which was invented in Dallas but now resides in the Smithsonian), a section on “Harlemwood” films created in Dallas by and for Black audiences (also mentioned is the 1980s East Texas discovery of a treasure trove of these films that were previously thought to be lost), and Mollie Bailey’s circus bugle. The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau maintains the Dallas Tourist Information Center located on the first floor, but the museum itself is much more than just a cheerleader for the region.

Aviation became popular in Dallas County at the turn of the century. Pictured above is stunt pilot Otto Brodie being welcomed by fashionable Dallas women in 1910.

For example, one of the exhibits I was drawn to talked about segregation and race relations. This section discusses the 1910 hanging of Allen Brooks, a middle-aged African American man who was about to stand trial on charges of sexually assaulting a child, according to the display. A lynch mob managed to get through sheriff’s deputies and break into the courthouse where they looped one end of rope around his neck and through the other end out of the second story window to the waiting mob below. Brooks was dragged through the window and believed to have died from the fall but his body was hung from a utility pole adjacent to Elks Arch, an ornamental archway that greeted visitors from 1907 until after the hanging of Brooks. The display states that a photo of the Brooks hanging was used as a postcard.

Elementary school photo of John Leslie Patton Jr.
But while Old Red is careful to balance the information provided about Dallas County, it also offers hope for the future in the form of a highly interactive children’s section. In this area, kids can check out toys from throughout the decades, play games on touch-screen kiosks, and try on clothes from different eras of Dallas County history. This section of the museum asks “Could this be you?” when presenting children with historical figures who grew up in Dallas. In particular, one story focuses on John Leslie Patton Jr., and shows a photo of him as a young student in a segregated school. The display talks about his rise through the ranks from schoolteacher to assistant superintendent for all of Dallas Independent School District.

Without playing with every interactive element or watching the movies in each gallery, it took me about two hours to go through. While the museum is at your own pace, I recommend allowing up to half a day to see and play with everything. Old Red does not currently have any special exhibits, but on November 7 an exhibit entitled “Dream No Small Dreams: How Erik Jonsson Led 1960s Dallas from Tragedy to Triumph” will open to the public in honor of the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. The exhibit will remain open through August 31, 2014.

Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture
100 S. Houston St., Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 745-1100
www.oldred.org



The museum is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, and will be closed on November 28 and December 24 and 25, 2013. General admission is $8 with a Sunday only Early Bird Special price of $5 for tickets purchased before noon, $6 for seniors and students, $5 for children age 3 to 16, and free for Old Red Members and children under 3. The museum also offers a discounted rate of $4 for visitors who show proof of serving jury duty. There is an additional $3 charge for adults (and an additional $1 charge for children age 3 to 16) for the Special Exhibit Gallery.
Location: 100 South Houston Street, Dallas, TX 75202, USA

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