North Central Expressway

Many people in Vickery Place (and indeed, in Dallas and the neighboring suburbs) remember how long it took for the reconstruction of the Central Expressway, which occupied the better part of a decade to complete. In fact, if you include the construction of the High Five interchange at 635, then certainly you could make the argument that it took over a decade. The reconstruction started in '92, making Central Expressway one of the more attractive urban conduits in the US today. The highway is buried dozens of feet below the frontage roads as it goes through Vickery Place, which further enhances the beauty of our neighborhood. The entertainment districts of downtown and uptown Dallas are only a couple of minutes away, thanks to the modern Central Expressway.

However, there are not too many people around today who remember how long it took to do it the first time around, when the Central Expressway from downtown Dallas to Northwest Highway was built as the pride of Dallas and one of the most modern highways in the country. Unfortunately, the project was so far delayed, that its capacity was already greatly exceeded just a few short years after it opened.

We shall tell the history of the Central Boulevard (as it was initially called) from the beginnings of Vickery Place (when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad tracks ran by the West side of the addition) in the early 1900s through the mid 50's through newspaper articles from the Dallas Morning News. The story starts in the 1910's , and ends with the construction of the sorely needed expressway in the mid 1950's. The articles chronicle 45 years of bickering between the citizens, the city of Dallas, and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

All of the newspaper clippings below are taken from the Dallas Morning News, unless otherwise indicated. The publication date appears as a caption under each clipping.