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June 6, 1936: Texas Centennial Exposition opens

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/daybyday/06-06-003.html

On this day in 1936, the Central Centennial Exposition, part of the
Texas Centennial celebration marking 100 years of Texas independence,
opened in Dallas's Fair Park.

Construction on the exposition began in October 1935 with George L.
Dahl as the architect. The official $25 million central exposition
occupied fifty buildings and was the first world's fair held in the
Southwest. The "Cavalcade of Texas," a historical pageant depicting
four centuries of Texas history, became one of the exposition's most
popular attractions. The Hall of Negro Life marked an exposition
milestone, the first recognition of black culture at a world's fair.

The competing unofficial Fort Worth Frontier Centennial Exposition
opened on July 18. The Fort Worth exposition closed on November 14, the
Dallas exposition on November 29. Although attendance at both fairs
(Dallas, 6,345,385; Fort Worth, 986,128) fell far short of
expectations, civic leaders felt the publicity they brought to both the
area and the state was well worth the cost. The Dallas exposition
reopened in June 1937 as the Greater Texas and Pan American Exposition
and closed in October.

Many of the exposition buildings, including the Hall of State, are
still standing and were renovated along with Fair Park in the 1980s.