photo by Terry Houchins

Is this old bridge still hanging over Clarendon? (somewhere west of the zoo)

Thanks to Steve Bonner for setting me straight on the bridge – here’s what he says:
This trestle for the interurban track crossing Clarendon was last used in 1948 when the interurban quit running to Waco.  The trestle extends father on the south side of Clarendon and is parallel to Moore St. on the east side of Moore..  It is all still there and is located east of the Dallas Zoo nearly to Corinth St.

One more bridge before I get back to actual Oak Cliff subjects. This is a view circa 1906 of the wooden span that was located near the current location of the Houston Street Viaduct. It’s the bridge that was famously washed away in the flood of 1908. I read somewhere you can still find remnants of the piers in the river bottom near Cadiz Street, probably big ol’ Bois d’Arc stumps.

Is everybody tired of the Houston Street Viaduct? This’ll be the last one for awhile. Notice The Republic National Bank Building’s spire is now the tallest thing in the skyline, and advertising has finally crept into the scene via the Seagram’s 7 billboard.

A more crudely rendered interpretation of the Houston Street Viaduct. Probably from the 1940s, but it’s hard to tell from the cars. I haven’t discovered the era of these particular automobiles; they appear to be half the size of a Smart Car. The Magnolia Building was still the most prominent skyscraper.

An especially nice rendition of the viaduct, probably from the 1920s. Someone expressed surprise at how popular this scene is, as it appears with great variation on old Dallas postcards. Until this bridge was completed in 1912 there were only a couple of precarious causeways linking Oak Cliff to Dallas. The “permanent” wooden bridge near Cadiz Street was condemnd as unsafe even before it was washed away in the great flood of 1908.

I found a series of postcard views of the Oak Cliff Viaduct. Here’s one from the 1940s. I guess the city lights are reflecting brightly on the Trinity, although I really think it’s someone’s flight of fancy. Maybe they were wishing for a town lake.