Entrances will convey “Welcome and come on in!”
The first thing Fair Park visitors see are the main gates on Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They symbolize the entrance to a world of beautiful buildings, intriguing museums, unforgettable performances and all things State Fair. Soon the gates will feel even more open as visitors pass through.
As part of the 2003 Fair Park Master Plan, the current Grand Avenue gates, which were built in the 1980s, will be completely replaced. According to Trent Williams, Senior Architect with the Dallas Park Department, “The feeling will be more park like and welcoming than ever before, with more green space on either side. The new gates will truly be signature landmarks for Fair Park.”
A park this distinctive deserves exceptional entrances.
There will still be gates and guardhouses at the Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. entrances. “The center ticket booth will permanently remain,” states Raul De La Rosa, Senior Architect with the Dallas Park Department. “But side booths will be movable and just used for special events.” Greenery and other decorative accents will frame the plaster/glass guardhouses and steel picket gates and add a certain softness to the park atmosphere. Landscape lighting will further enhance the scene. Demolition of current gates started in May and will be completed by August in time for the 2008 State Fair. The original historic gates from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition will remain untouched at the Grand and MLK, Jr. entrances, behind the new main gates.
At the Parry entrance, the inner entry wall with see-through blocks will be removed and replaced with
a concrete wall that is historically accurate to the annual 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. “Many changes were made to the Parry Gate between the 1936 Exposition and 1937,” explains Dallas Park Department Project Coordinator Kenneth Pyland. “Our intent is to return Fair Park as a whole to its 1936 glory and standards.” Ultimately the semi-circular outer gates at Parry will be replaced with the 1936 turnstile.
Beyond the gates, there will be upgrades to pedestrian entryways and spaces between museums. “From the outside road to the front gate to parking areas, we want to make the whole experience as friendly and park like as possible,” believes Mr. Williams.
Heery International, which is also renovating the Cotton Bowl stadium, will supervise the gates project. “Heery is really on top of this whole undertaking,” says Mr. De La Rosa. “With all these people already in place for the Cotton Bowl improvements, we can get the job done faster, while saving on overall costs.”
Get your first look at the new Fair Park gates this fall. They’ll be wide open to welcoming everyone.
