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Dallas History

Tales from the Dallas History Archives: Travel Back In Time to 1923

As we settle into 2023, we take a look back through the archives at the Dallas Public Library to get a glance at the city coming of age 100 years ago.
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It’s opening day for the Majestic Theater nearly 100 years ago, in 1923. From the Interstate Theater Collection, Dallas Public Library
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Tales from the Dallas History Archives: Travel Back In Time to 1923

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One month into 2023, I find myself pondering the past. What moments will shape history over the next 12 months, and how has the world changed in the past 100 years? Warner Bros. Studios was founded in 1923, the same year the first issue of Time magazine was published. That year, Calvin Coolidge took office as the 30th President of the United States and the International Criminal Police Commission (Interpol) was established with headquarters in Vienna.

What was Dallas like in 1923? 

Take a look at Dallas 100 years ago with this gallery of images from the photograph collections of the Dallas History & Archives Division. There are some heartwarming images, such as a lovely group photograph of women gathered together on the porch of the Salvation Army Young Women’s Boarding House on Corsicana Street near the Cedars. There is a nighttime exterior photo of “Big Time Vaudeville” at the Majestic Theater in its first year of operation, and the Dallas Times Herald held an employee picnic for the now long-gone newspaper.

However, there are sobering images too. Most notably, a photograph of the first parade of Klanswomen, also known as the Order of American Women, held in Texas as they marched down Elm street in Dallas.

Visit the gallery to see our city a full century ago, courtesy the archives of the Dallas Public Library.

Dallas Public Library has many other images related to life in Dallas in years past. You can learn more by searching through the library’s online catalog. Go to “Advanced” and use the “Limit By” option to select “Digital Archive” then type in your topic. 

Author

Brandon Murray

Brandon Murray

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Brandon Murray is a librarian and archivist in the Dallas Public Library’s Dallas History & Archives Division. He writes about…

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