The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 81, July 1977 - April, 1978 Page: 126
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Became the Texasmost City (1973), and A. C. Greene's Dallas: The De-
ciding Years (1973).
The works considered here continue this tradition in that they are
thoughtful and (two of them) well-illustrated. Donald Everett's efforts
are directed toward evoking the diverse flavor of San Antonio, which has
retained its individuality through decades that have reduced virtually
every other Texas city to sameness. Its "antiquated foreignness," using
the words of Frederick Law Olmsted, has persevered until today, finding
documentation among the manuscripts, newspapers, architecture, and the
people of San Antonio themselves. Everett has included the handsome
photographs of R. Jean Osborne (black and white and color) to make
the graphic point. He excerpts from numerous newspaper accounts and
manuscript sources to provide the flavorful text to substantiate the thesis
A. C. Greene relies, instead, on the well-chosen incident or illustra-
tive story to both outline and interpret the history of Dallas. He bluntly
faces such historical mysteries as how Dallas got its name, refutes the
usually-accepted suggestion that it was named for Vice-President George
Dallas, then almost whimsically attributes the name to a quirk in the
character of founder John Neely Bryan. Did Bryan really permit his fath-
er-in-law to name the city in exchange for the hand of the one who be-
came Bryan's wife? If so, we probably will never know for whom the
state's second largest city was named, but we will long be amused by the
humor of a founder who thought so little of posterity as to give away
his chance for lasting fame.
The pictorial history of Austin & Travis County represents still another
approach to city history. Here the staff of the Austin-Travis County
Collection has organized its marvelous picture collection around the theme
of the development of the Capital City, providing a minimum of words
to supply the necessary details: names, dates, and, on occasion, welcome
explanations. The record is surprisingly complete. In this volume the
reader can watch Austin grow from Edward Hall's clumsy sketch (i840)
to the beautiful State Capitol building to the University of Texas tower
on the eve of World War II-the first Too years of the city. One can
also sense its early sophistication: nineteenth century scullers on the Colo-
rado River, the sculptor Elisabet Ney at tea with friends, and picnics,
encampments, and outings in the beautiful countryside. The bathers at
Barton Springs, Knute Rockne at St. Edward's University, and J. Frank
Dobie at work in his office cannot offset the politicians and the dominant
Capitol building which crop up often enough to remind the reader of the126
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 81, July 1977 - April, 1978, periodical, 1977/1978; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101205/m1/144/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.