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1947 Community Fair Parade

The 1947 Richardson Community Fair Parade, which took place on Thursday, August 28, was, according to The Richardson Echo, "one of the biggest and best" parades "ever seen in Richardson" and these four photographs (seen below), which were discovered for sale on eBay by a Richardson memorabilia collector in 2022, certainly seem to confirm that assessment. They also offer us, more than 75 years later, a rare glimpse of Historic Downtown Richardson, where the parade took place, back in the days when downtown was the beating heart of the city -- just a few years before the arrival of Central Expressway, Texas Instruments, and Collins Radio led to the burst of rapid growth that transformed Richardson from a somewhat sleepy small town at the center of a widespread rural region into the dynamic technology-oriented city that it is today.

If the photos appear a little dark, that is almost certainly due to the fact that when the parade began, the sky was overcast, as the photos clearly show. In fact, no sooner had the procession started than Mother Nature began to literally rain on the parade! But, as The Richardson Echo reported in its issue of Friday, August 29, the rain "did not stop it."

The parade, which consisted largely of "floats and cars gaily decorated," was led by the Richardson High School Drum Corps and Pep Squad, who are seen in two of these photographs, which tells us that they were taken near the beginning of the parade, before it began to rain.

Unfortunately, the identity of the photographer, who stood near the west end of the 100 block of East Main Street (then known as Smith Street), is unknown. Nor do we know if these photos were taken by a professional photographer for some publication or just simply by a private citizen. We know for sure, however, that none of the four photos appeared in either The Richardson Echo or The Dallas Morning News.

What's most interesting about these photographs now, some more than 75 years later, is that they show us a downtown in which there were still a few wood frame buildings mixed in with the handful of brick buildings. Today, there are no wood frame buildings in downtown, except for the little shed-like structure at 110 East Main, which was bricked over in 1938.

Each photo is accompanied by commentary about both the parade and the buildings and other structures, some of which are still standing, and some some of which are not. So, scroll down and take a look at Richardson in 1947!

View a Colorized Version of this photo! PLEASE NOTE: The colorization process isn't alway accurate.

Above, the north side of Smith Street (now East Main), from left to right (with current address numbers): Jordan's Cafe (107 E. Main); Shelton's Grocery Market (107 E. Main); Citizen's State Bank (111 E. Main); Harben's Drugstore (115 E. Main)--advertising Coca Cola, Boedeker's Ice Cream and the fact that Greyhound Bus Tickets could be bought there; Harben-Spotts Printing (117 E. Main)-- with loudspeaker or air raid siren atop it?; Bowman's Self-Serve Laundry (119 E. Main); Christie's Cleaning & Pressing (201 E. Main); Roland Service Garage (205 E. Main); G. M. McNeese Sinclair Service Station (207 E. Main--where Fountain Corner is today). In the background: Richardson's first water tower, erected 1926. In the parade: The Richardson High School Drum Corps and Pep Squad.

View a Colorized Version of this photo! PLEASE NOTE: The colorization process isn't alway accurate.

Above, the south side of Smith Street (now East Main), from left to right (with current address numbers): Earlrose Service Station (100 S. Greenville Ave.); Poole/Ashby Hotel (206 E. Main)--now a vacant lot; unknown (118 E. Main); U.S. Post Office (116 E. Main); Newt Harris' Barber Shop (114 E. Main); Richardson Insurance Agency (110 E. Main); Lee Baker's Grocery Store (108 E. Main). In the parade: The Richardson High School Drum Corps and Pep Squad.

View a Colorized Version of this photo! PLEASE NOTE: The colorization process isn't alway accurate.

Above, the north side of Smith Street (now East Main), from left to right (with current address numbers): The Ritz movie theater (105 E. Main); Jordan's Cafe (107 E. Main); Shelton's Grocery Market (107 E. Main); Citizen's State Bank (111 E. Main); Harben's Drugstore (115 E. Main)--advertising Coca Cola, Boedeker's Ice Cream and the fact that Greyhound Bus Tickets could be bought there; Harben-Spotts Printing (117 E. Main)-- with loudspeaker or air raid siren atop it?; Bowman's Self-Serve Laundry (119 E. Main); Christie's Cleaning & Pressing (201 E. Main); Roland Service Garage (205 E. Main); G. M. McNeese Sinclair Service Station (207 E. Main--where Fountain Corner is today). In the background: Richardson's first water tower, erected 1926. In the parade: Fire chief car followed by Volunteer Fire Department truck, followed by line of automobiles carrying who?.

View a Colorized Version of this photo! PLEASE NOTE: The colorization process isn't alway accurate.

Above, the north side of Smith Street (now East Main), from left to right (with current address numbers): The Ritz movie theater (105 E. Main); Jordan's Cafe (107 E. Main); Shelton's Grocery Market (107 E. Main); Citizen's State Bank (111 E. Main); Harben's Drugstore (115 E. Main)--advertising Coca Cola, Boedeker's Ice Cream and the fact that Greyhound Bus Tickets could be bought there; Harben-Spotts Printing (117 E. Main)-- with loudspeaker or air raid siren atop it?; Bowman's Self-Serve Laundry (119 E. Main); Christie's Cleaning & Pressing (201 E. Main); Roland Service Garage (205 E. Main); G. M. McNeese Sinclair Service Station (207 E. Main--where Fountain Corner is today). In the background: Richardson's first water tower, erected 1926. In the parade: Reddick Butane Gas Company trucks.

No copyright is claimed for these photos, which are believed to be in the public domain. Anyone who knows otherwise is asked to contact the host of this website.