Lewisville, Texas Back In The Day

03/06/2024

Early Lewisville view, north from Main Street on Poydras Street.

27/01/2024

One of Texas’ first drugstore chains, Skillern’s, was founded in 1885 in Lewisville by James Arthur Skillern. By 1895, Skillern’s established its first Dallas location near the old courthouse downtown. The chain quickly expanded, and by the 1930s Skillern’s storefronts were sprinkled throughout Dallas. During back-to-school season, customers enjoyed a free Big Shake milkshake for every $3 to $5 spent on school supplies. In 1980, Revco Discount Drug Stores purchased the 145-store Skillern’s chain. Today the former Skillern's locations are part of the CVS Pharmacy chain.

06/12/2023

Locally-owned and operated by Gayle and Lucille Albritton.

12/11/2023

The bridge that crossed the spillway of old Lake Dallas (the original lake). Originally engineered in 1927 as Lake Dallas, the reservoir was expanded in the 1940s and '50s and renamed Lewisville Lake.

28/10/2023

Postcard view of Main Street in Lewisville, about 1954.

20/10/2023

A bakery on Main Street, date unknown. The Ford Model T, in the foreground is a 1920 or later model. Photo contributed by Kerry Vance.

02/10/2023

Willie Carroll Loard operated a general store on Main Street in Lewisville, changing the location three times. The first store was on the south side of Main, on the east side of Mill Street; the photo of the second location shows Willie's father Tom Loard, at left; this building was later occupied by B. Graham’s barbershop. The third location was later occupied by Cobb's variety store. The business closed around the end of WWII.

01/07/2023

James Polser talks about the founding of Lewisville and the factors that led to the city's growth.

James Polser talks about the founding of Lewisville and the factors that led to the city's growth.We invite you to be a part of preserving and celebrating Le...

30/06/2023

Lewisville, Tx celebrating the 4th of July in 1911

The Lewisville Texan Journal
Visit Lewisville Texas
Lewisville, Texas Back In The Day
Lewisville City Hall

09/06/2023

Lewisville residents talk about their experience during the filming of the 1962 episode 'Love is a Skinny Kid' from the TV show "Route 66".

Lewisville residents talk about their experience during the filming of the 1962 episode 'Love is a Skinny Kid' from the TV show "Route 66."We invite you to b...

19/02/2023

Texas Historical Commission 2015

This slideshow presents an introduction to the architectural history of Denton's town square, and was produced for our heritage travel app, Texas Time Travel...

19/02/2023

Denton, Texas in 1883.

10/01/2023

Missouri-Kansas-Texas 117 at Lewisville in February 1986. Photo by John Leopard.

07/07/2022

As those who are much younger than me say, this photograph is "totes adorbs." It's of J. Henry, a farmer in Lewisville, Denton County, Texas, proudly showing off his cantaloupe crop to the county's extension agent.

The reason I think it's adorable is the understated pride that Mr. Henry's has in his crop. His not-really-but-almost-a-smile tells the story of a job well done.

He also grew some fine tomatoes, which I've heard is an unrecognized superpower. Go, Fighting Farmers!

(UT Arlington, undated. Y'all can probably figure out the time frame from the photo quality and the vehicles).

26/06/2022

The Magnolia Petroleum Company’s Pegasus, a forty-foot long and thirty-foot high red neon winged horse, was placed in 1934 atop a 50-foot tower anchored to the roof of the Magnolia Building. The Pegasus and its 1,000 feet of neon tubing rotated every minute and a half.

It was Dallas' tallest point for almost a decade and remains one of the city's most famous landmarks. Soon after its installation, Dallas citizens could claim that the city, still considered a provincial outpost of cowboys and cattle by the rest of the nation, was no longer a one-horse town, since technically two horses⁠—one on each side⁠—made up the sign.

The Magnolia Building was completed in 1922, at the time the 16th-tallest building in the country, and housed the offices of the Magnolia Petroleum Company.

The building’s architect, Sir Alfred Charles Bossom, British baron and member of Parliament, created a blend of Beaux-Arts classicism and modern 20th-century high-rise in his design for the building.

Today, the building serves guests as the Magnolia Hotel, a boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Dallas. The building and its red Pegasus are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

📷: Dallas Public Library

12/06/2022

PHOTO ALBUMS

The NEW PAGE for "Lewisville, Texas Back In The Day" - May 9, 2011.

12/06/2022

27 Oct 1969 - NHRA World Finals - Dallas International Motor Speedway. 1962 Dodge Dart station wagon called 'Behemoth', racing in the G/SA class. (Getty Images)

11/06/2022

The Dallas skyline in 1943. It looks almost ---- ALMOST ---- quaint.

Photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt for LIFE magazine.