Raven's Pharmacy

Thanks to Gretchen Goetz for use of her photo.

One of my favorite signs in Oak Cliff has always been the Raven at the corner of Jefferson & Zang.I love Gretchen Goetz’s description of him as “a good lookin’ dude staring daggers at his rival across the street on every turn.”  (See more work by this Oak Cliff artist at http://thegretchenshow.com/ )

ad from 1972 Sunset High School yearbook

Raven's Pharmacy was founded by George A. Raven, a native of Bridgeport, Wise County, Texas. After completing pharmacy college he came to Dallas in 1937 as a medical service representative for Eli Lilly & Company. Raven was a well-known business and civic leader in Oak Cliff.

In 1946 Raven Pharmacy was located at 326 W. Jefferson.

In 1956 there was a Raven Prescription Pharmacy at 3411 S. Lancaster.

In 1957 Raven owned two drug stores in Oak Cliff.

In 1972 there were four Raven Pharmacies in Oak Cliff; at 122 W. Colorado, 500 W. Jefferson, 400 E. Centre St., and 2401 W. Kiest.

The Raven Pharmacy at 500 W. Jefferson is concrete masonry, tilt-wall building built in 1957. The property remained in the Raven family until 2002, when it was sold. After four years the property was sold again. The building is now owned by Patel Vikas, doing business as Raven's Corner Pharmacy.

The Raven Pharmacy at 2401 W. Kiest, on the NW corner of Hampton & Kiest was a podiatrist office in 2009.

Lake Cliff Park

Entrance to Lake Cliff with Interurban Rails

Entrance Detail

Did you know there was once an amusement park situated at Lake Cliff? It included a merry-go-round, the "mystic river", a ride called Chute-the-Chutes, even a Casino. The Garden Theater provided a venue for live performers.

 from Dallas Morning News, June 14, 1909

Marsalis Zoo

Entrance to the Marsalis Zoo, circa 1970. In the skyline the Southland Life Building is on the right and it's no longer the tallest office building in town.

Golman Oak Cliff Bakery

It was a real feather in the cap for Oak Cliff when the Golman-Oak Cliff Baking Company opened May 12, 1930. Two years earlier the Oak Cliff-Dallas Commercial Association had sought out a number of businessmen, hoping to attract large industry to Oak Cliff. Jake Golman responded by building a 15,000 square foot bakery at Eighth and Marsalis. The architect was J.A. Pitzinger, who designed a number of Dallas buildings, including the Science Place at Fair Park and the building on Commerce Street now known as Mitchell Lofts. Doris Jane Black of Oak Cliff High School was named "Cliff-Maid" to represent the bakery. The company employed about 45 Oak Cliff people and had a fleet of six trucks to deliver the bread to local retailers. The plant manager had the unlikely name of Herman Munster.

By 1953 the bakery had been sold to the National Bakers Services, Inc.

Avalon Motel

1015 Fort Worth Avenue, about a block west of the Belmont. It was open as early as 1954, and was the site of at least one suspicious death, a parking lot murder, and an odd tenant who persisted in smashing thermostats.

I couldn’t find any evidence the Avalon hadn’t been razed, but Steve Bonner told me the place was alive and well at the end of 2009 after some rehab work.

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 Phorum at Dallas History Society.

Where the South Breezes Strike First

1911 Advertisement from Oak Cliff Civic League