Dallas Fair Park - 19. African American Museum. (original) (raw)

19. African American Museum

Standing behind the Magnolia Lounge and the former Hall of Religion, the African American Museum pays tribute to black history, artwork, and culture. However, the building was not the first place to house such displays. The original museum began in 1974 as part of a special collection at Bishop College. Five years later, it gained independence from the black college. Thanks to private donations and a local bond election, construction on a new building began. The former Hall of Religion served as a storage facility for the collections during this time. The project, which had a price tag of seven million dollars, successfully came to a conclusion in 1993.

TX Dallas Fair Park African American Museum

African American Museum
Photo courtesy Clint Skinner, February 2016

The ivory stone structure is shaped like the letter X and covers an area of 38,000 square feet. Its top is covered with a sixty-foot-high dome. Each of the four galleries contain various historic relics and pieces of artwork. For educational purposes, it has classrooms, a theater, an art studio, and a library. The free museum contains one of the largest folk art collections in the nation and boasts the distinction of being the only African American museum in the Southwest.November 12, 2016
© Clint Skinner

| References: 1.Bigtex.com 2.Dallashistory.org 3.Dallas Morning News Archives 4.Fairpark.org 5.Slate, John H. Historic Dallas Parks. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. 6.Tshaonline.org 7.Watermelon-kid.com 8.Wikipedia.org 8.Winters, Willis Cecil. Fair Park. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |

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