Texas isn't widely known for its Art Deco design, but the Lone Star State has more than its share — particularly in North Texas, where cotton, cattle and oil combined to create a rich variety of modernistic buildings, artwork and monuments in the 1920s, '30s and '40s. Preservation Houston's David Bush and Jim Parsons explore the region's Deco treasures in DFW Deco: Modernistic Architecture of North Texas, the pair's fourth book chronicling Art Deco in the Lone Star State.
DFW Deco explores the full range of modernistic building styles and some of the uniquely Texan influences that shaped the growing cities of North Texas. Classic zigzag skyscrapers promoted by Fort Worth boosters and Dallas businessmen, Art Deco storefronts in the booming towns of the great East Texas oilfield and streamlined facilities inspired by innovations in transportation and communications all have a place in this book. DFW Deco looks not only at whole buildings, but also at their finely crafted details, ranging from vibrant tile murals depicting the scope of Texas history on Fort Worth’s monumental Will Rogers Memorial Center to stylized gold-leaf pinecones and cotton bolls in the ornate People’s National Bank Building in Tyler — a surprising skyscraper designed by Houston architect Alfred C. Finn.
Parsons and Bush will bring these structures to life during their illustrated lecture, discussing not only the design of North Texas' Art Deco buildings but also the intriguing stories behind their construction.
DFW Deco will be for available for purchase and signing by the authors after the event.
History in Print will be held in the Proper Chapel at Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Boulevard. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:30. Free parking is available in the garage located behind the synagogue; enter from Sunset using either driveway and proceed to the back of the property to find the garage. A covered walkway will lead you from there to the main building's North Entrance. Congregation Emanu El is a short walk from the Hermann Park/Rice University station on MetroRail's Red Line.
Admission to History in Print is free for members of Preservation Houston/Pier & Beam and Congregation Emanu El. General admission is $5.
If you have any questions, please e-mail or call (713) 510-3990.
History in Print is part of the Bart Truxillo Program Series, which honors the memory of pioneer preservationist and Preservation Houston co-founder Bart Truxillo. The Bart Truxillo Program Series is made possible by the generous contributions of Preservation Houston's members and friends.