TRADING CENTER / 1873–1918

Planning for Beautiful Cities

In 1912 the City of Dallas hired renowned city planner George Kessler. There were growing concerns about the city’s dirty and disordered physical environment, spurred by a series of articles in The Dallas Morning News. Kessler proposed construction of a single Union Station for all of the railroads, and it was done. The city also heeded his advise to remove the railroad tracks from Pacific Avenue, where trains obstructed traffic, and to realign some confusing downtown streets. The city was much slower to follow his plan the move the Trinity River away from downtown.