Alas, the waves of time take a toll on memories. Places, organizations, institutions from the past have all but faded into memory. Oak Cliff is no exception. But here on the web you can remember those old haunts. Here you can join with others to share memories, stories and photographs in a place called "YesterCliff."
Have other memories? Let us know.
Remember these places and people?
Mmmm... give me a triple dip. Or a hot fudge sundae! This Polar Bear ice cream store, in its iconic ice castle building across from Lake Cliff Park served up many a dip of chololate chip ice cream. It's now a Tex-Mex restaurant.
Move over Putt-Putt. One of the most popular Oak Cliff teen hangouts on warm summer evenings in the 50s and 60s had to be Wee Saint Andrews Miniature Golf Course. Who could forget the strings of lights illuminating the carpet-covered putting greens, and the Top 40 rock-and-roll hits blaring from the speakers? (Photo courtesy of Bill Melton.)
Dad, are we there yet? Back when Davis Street was State Highway 80, it was lined with dozens of motels such as this "Dallas Motel" between Cockrell Hill Road and Gilpin Avenue. The "Turnpike" which is now I30 took most of the business traffic away from Davis, and many of the motels that remain are only "a shadow of their former glory..."
Burger and Fries? This is what remains (as of 2008) of the old Penguin Drive-In on Lancaster just South of E. McVey Street. I remember going there as a kid and getting the kid-size frosty mug rootbeers - Alan. (Photo compliments of Randy A. Carlisle.)
Ronnie Bridges remembers: I grew up in Trinity Heights on Harlandale street. Harlandale street was unpaved then. I was born in 48. One of the things I remember, maybe a little morbid, was the Penguin root beer stand on Lancaster, across the street from the Veterans Hospital. The hospital, when the weather was nice, would roll out men with no limbs, or unable to get around on their on. My parents told us that these men had been wounded in the war. Everything that I heard growing up from adults was a reference to either before "the war" or after the "war" Each year as I grew up, there would be less and less of those amputees out front. (Does anyone have another photo of the Penguin?)
Originally owned and operated by Pappy Dolsen, Pappy’s Showland, at 542 West Commerce Street, hosted numerous B-grade entertainers, some Big Band groups, and a scattering of larger acts, among them Bob Hope and Chubby Checker. A popular nightspot after World War II, the club and the surrounding businesses later degraded, ushering in a string of alcohol-laced bars and trades. Because of this escalating vice atmosphere, area pastors, citizens, and community leaders were able to accomplish Oak Cliff voting itself ‘dry.’ (Courtesy of Joe Whitney.)
KLIF (oaK cLIFf) Radio blasted onto the airways in November 1947, from a studio in the Cliff Towers Hotel. The station became one of the most influential in the country, helping propel the Top 40 format into a national model. In the 1960s, KLIF’s most cherished personality, Ron Chapman, under the pseudonym “Irving Harrigan,” spun tunes from the station’s downtown Dallas home. Chapman, a Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee, is an icon in North Texas radio broadcasting. (Courtesy of Cindy Womble-Billman.)
A large flood in May of 1908 cut Oak Cliff off from Dallas for a number of days. As a result, measures were taken to build a better bridge across the Trinity River, and on February 22, 1912, the Dallas and Oak Cliff Bridge (now known as the Houston Street Viaduct) was opened. It was 5106 feet long, cost a staggering $675,000, and was said to be the longest bridge of its kind in the world.
A boom in business and housing followed the end of World War II. Jefferson Boulevard had every convenience and store possible and served as the “main street” of Oak Cliff. The 1949 photo shows the hustle and bustle of Oak Cliff in this era.
The house where Lee Harvey Oswald rented a room still stands in North Oak Cliff. Oswald probably got off of the bus near here following the assassination, but walked several blocks away where he killed officer J.D. Tippet. He then went to the Texas Theater where he was captured. This house was also used in Oliver Stone film JFK.
Oak Cliff has been home to many talents. This Kimball High School photo includes famed blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn (center with guitar) and Steven Tobolosky (far right) who has appeared as a character actor in over 200 movies including Groundhog Day and a number of TV shows include Seinfeld.