Scope and Content

​Collection consists of black and white and color photographic prints and color slides documenting the construction of and activities in the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena. Also included is a series of photographs of scoreboards at various sports arenas around the United States, presumably used for research.

The original Dallas Memorial Auditorium, renamed the Dallas Convention Center (DCC) during its first expansion in 1973, was designed by George Leighton Dahl in 1957.  The dome is supported by one column. It holds approximately 10,000 seats.  The DCC was expanded once in the 1980s and once again in the 1990s, to accommodate a Dallas Area Rapid Transit terminal underneath the facility.  The most recent expansion was completed in 2002.  

The DCC is over 2,000,000 square feet in size and contains over 1,000,000 square feet of exhibit space.  The largest contiguous exhibit space in the structure is 726,726 square feet.  A 203,000-square-foot column-free exhibit hall in the center is the largest of its kind in the United States. The east side of the structure contains the original element of the Dallas Memorial Auditorium. The complex also houses a 1,740-person theater, 105 meeting rooms, and two ballrooms.  Furthermore, a heliport/vertiport sits atop the structure.

Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks and the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. Its capacity held accommodations for 18,190 basketball spectators and 17,000 for ice hockey spectators. It was completed in 1980 at a cost of $27 million dollars and opened April 28, 1980. Reunion Arena was demolished in November 2009.

Organization​

​The collection is arranged by subject and chronologically.  The collection has oversized materials.

Access

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives.  All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.  The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Citation​

Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena Photographs, 1957-1990 (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives

Related Materials​

Collection 1991-060 Dallas Convention Center Master Plan Proposal, 1986
Collection 1997-006 Dallas Convention Center Expansion, 1969
Collection 2013-003 Dallas Memorial Auditorium Time Capsule
Collection 2014-001 Reunion Arena, 1978-2010
Collection 2015-007 Dallas Convention Center Event Files, 2008-2010

Index Terms​

Convention facilities -- United States -- Dallas
Dallas -- Texas -- History
Dallas Convention Center (Dallas, Tex.)
Reunion Arena (Dallas, Tex.) 

Container List