Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pageant Club Lounge

Formally opened October14, 1954, across from "New Titches". Hyped as "Dallas' Newest and Finest Lounge", one ad read "Our magnificent decor will enchant your every moment...serving your favorite beers and wines (no liquor, eh?) -- your evening is sure to be most pleasant at the the beautiful new Pageant Club - modern throughout..." .  I wonder how many of the clientele appreciated the connection between the RA phone prefix and the Ra Sun-God logo on the matchbook.

Just over a year later on Oct. 19, 1955 the news read, "A 1-alarm fire caused about $8,000 damage early Tuesday at the well-furnished Pageant Club..."  The 1:25 a.m. fire was confined to the back of the lounge and about one tenth of the business area was destroyed. I couldn't find anything else in the newspaper about "the rest of the story." The Pageant Club apparently vanished as the smoke cleared.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Earl Hayes Chevrolet


Earl Hayes had already worked for Chevrolet from 1925 in a variety of managerial positions in Dallas, Detroit, and Oklahoma, when he returned to Dallas in 1945 and partnered with Roy Hill to purchase the John E. Morris Chevrolet Co. at Ninth & Lancaster (also listed as 132 Lancaster). In 1949 Hayes bought the dealership outright from Hill and built one of the largest showrooms in Dallas at the 9th & Lancaster location.  He also operated a used car and truck dealership at Commerce & Industrial.

The slogan "Come out our way, trade your way" appeared in ads in 1949, and Hayes apparently stuck with the saying for the duration of his dealership.

About 1974 Earl brought his son, Robert T. (Bob) Hayes on board, and in June 1975 the result of their partnership, Bob Hayes Chevrolet Co., began operating at its new location at Marvin D. Love Freeway and Wheatland Road. Sometime in the 1990's the dealership became Powell Chevy. In 2011 Robert T. Hayes was Chairman of the Board of Hayes Truck Inc. in Dallas.

See also the Phorum discussion at Dallas Historical Society about the Hayes dealership.
Also a 1986 article from D Magazine on Dallas family dealerships.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Casa Linda State Bank


Casa Linda State Bank's application for a charter was okayed by the State Banking Board in October 1953. The bank's directors were all Dallasites: B. H. Bishop, Carl M. Brown, John A. Maxwell, Carl A. Reed, W. E. Stone, J. M Tuttle Jr. and Edward L. Vint. The bank officially opened on March 6, 1954 at 234 Casa Linda Plaza. My best guess is that it was located in the quadrant that housed the Casa Linda Theatre, and probably occupied the site that was home to Soup'R'Salad in the 1990s.

The bank officially changed its name to First Citizens Bank in January 1960, and in 1961 it moved to a new building in the Lochwood Village Shopping Center at Garland Road and Jupiter.