Hall of State: Restoring the Showpiece of Fair Park

On March 30, you have an incredible opportunity to learn about the $14.4 million restoration of the Hall of State completed in late 2020. Preservation Dallas, AD EX, and the Dallas Architecture Forum are hosting a virtual program that we think you will find educational and inspirational.

The Hall of State was built as the showpiece of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and remains one of the outstanding examples of Art Deco design in the United States. Its blend of modern architecture, murals, sculpture, and decoration led architecture critic David Dillon to call the structure “one of the finest, and last, artisan-architect collaborations in the country.” A $14.4 million restoration completed in late 2020 returned the Hall of State to its 1930s glory, repairing and uncovering damaged and long-hidden elements of the building.

In this program, key figures in the restoration will discuss the painstaking work that went into the restoration, including disassembling and cleaning elaborate metal doors, restoring detailed plasterwork, and refinishing the iconic “Tejas Warrior” sculpture at the building’s main entrance. The speakers will be accompanied by a video showing the restoration work in progress and the spectacular finished product. An update on damage the Hall of State sustained in last month’s winter storm, and a Q&A with the panelists will follow the presentation.

Last week we brought you an insightful column by Veletta Lill on the damages at the Hall of State brought on by the massive power grid failure. I want to emphasize that although there is indeed a lot of repair work ahead, most of the restoration project was not affected. 

“The program is a great way to learn about the restoration and see the work in progress,” Preziosi said. “Only a small part of the building was damaged. The restoration work to the building included the exterior envelope, which was not impacted by the storm. The stone was cleaned, and the restoration of the doors is incredible. They were removed and taken apart piece by piece. The exterior lanterns under the portico were restored and taken back to the original colored glass. The two fountains in front of the building had been filled in with dirt and turned into planters. They are once more working fountains, and you can now see the decorative tiles inside. They also restored the Tejas warrior, re-gilding it with 12 pounds of gold leaf.”

Included in the program is an abbreviated version of a film by Mark Birnbaum about the process of restoration. Several professionals involved in the work provide a running commentary, including preservation architect Marcel Quimby.

Quimby has been instrumental in two restoration projects on the Hall of State. Most people don’t know that about ten years ago when she was a partner in Quimby McCoy, their firm received the commission to deal with mechanical issues.

“We replaced all the electrical and mechanical systems,” Quimby said. “We removed equipment from the roof and did a lot of infrastructure work and a little restoration and realized the next project needed to be more about restoration.”

Fortunately, Quimby was also involved through Gensler Architects in the most recent restoration and provided some incredible insight into some of the work. As most people know who’ve visited or read about the Hall of State, the front doors are bronze. And what does bronze require? Polishing. 

“About 20 or 30 years ago, the doors stopped being maintained,” Quimby said. They originally had bronze and gold-tone elements, so someone spray-painted the doors with gold paint.”

I know. We all cringed when we heard that. But the good news is conservators took those doors apart (each door has about 100 different pieces) and carefully removed the paint, cleaned, and restored them, so now they look as they did in 1936.

This is the sort of detail you’ll learn from the virtual program.

“You just cannot imagine or understand the work done to restore the Hall of State unless you see this program,” Preziosi said. 

We here at CandysDirt.com will be tuning in, and we hope you will take advantage of this wonderful presentation.

Tickets are available here.