In celebration, we have a guest writer, LiveFreeOrPie, celebrating the art deco buildings at the State Fair of Texas.  Whoop, whoop, y’all!

Fair Park in Dallas is home to the largest collection of Art Deco exposition buildings in existence.  The fairgrounds as we know them today were mostly built in 1936 to host the Texas Centennial Exposition.  While the State Fair was already quite large, Dallas architect George Dahl updated many of the existing buildings with Art Deco facades, and built more from the ground up.  Notably, the esplanade greets you with symmetrical porticos, leading up to the Hall of State.  The Automobile Building and Centennial Hall are both adorned with murals.  Most of the original murals were painted over shortly after the Centennial celebration in 1936, but a restoration in 2000 uncovered many of the original and vibrant paintings.

During the State Fair, many of the buildings (and their gorgeous architecture) are hidden by temporary signs and tents for various vendors at the Fair.  At all other times of the year, the park is beautiful and quiet.  It is almost like a ghost town full of amazing buildings and tales of a time when a building facade was never plain – always ornate, always artful.  It is a lovely walk on a late fall or early spring day away from the bustle of the Fair.  But while the Fair is going on, be sure to look behind the carnival-esque festivities to see some really fine examples of Art Deco architecture.

What is Art Deco?  Read more and see examples here.
Quite a bit of architecture is covered on the tours – book one and get fancy.

Highways, T. (n.d.). Art Deco Achievement – Texas Highways. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from http://www.texashighways.com/culture-lifestyle/item/8270-art-deco-achievement-dallas-fair-park

Whisperer, D. (2013, September 27). How the State Fair of Texas in Dallas became the largest annual Fair in the World. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://thedallaswhisperer.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/how-the-state-fair-of-texas-in-dallas-became-the-largest-annual-fair-in-the-world/