From The Bottom to Tenth Street Exhibit

The Dallas History & Archives Division, in partnership with the Tenth Street Residents' Association features an exhibit celebrating the rich history of the Tenth Street and The Bottom neighborhoods. The exhibit, on the 7th floor of the Central Library, combines historic imagery from the archive with items of historic significance provided by Tenth Street and The Bottom residents.

The exhibit will be on display through October 20, 2023

From The Bottom to Tenth Street

The first African Americans to live in the city of Oak Cliff were slaves, brought here by settlers such as William H. Hord in 1845 to work the land. The Tenth Street District in Oak Cliff and a nearby  unincorporated area known as “The Bottom” or “The Bottoms” along the Trinity River were home to a growing African American population, and both flourished as Freedman’s Towns after the Civil War.  These areas were incorporated into the City of Dallas in 1903, and experienced rapid growth into the early 20th century.  The building of the Trinity River levees in the 1930s coupled with the Great Depression began a decline in the vibrancy of The Bottom as many residents moved out, and both areas were negatively impacted by the construction of Interstate 35E in 1955 when hundreds of homes were demolished and Tenth Street was bisected by the freeway.   

Despite these challenges, the communities have continued to maintain a strong African American cultural heritage, and while the City of Dallas recently invested millions of dollars for infrastructure including sidewalks and streetlights in The Bottom, Tenth Street has not yet received the same investment. The Tenth Street Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 in recognition of its cultural significance and architectural value, but decades of redlining, city neglect, and devastating ordinances have taken a toll on the historic Freedman's Town.  In 2019 the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized it as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places. The Tenth Street Residential Association was formed in 2017 to advocate for the preservation of the community, and the fight to preserve it, and its stories, continues.

Special Thanks to Contributors

Shaun Montgomery
Tenth Street Residential Association
Bessie Slider Moody 
Lou Nell Sims
Juneeta Boyd
Benny B. Walker
bcWORKSHOP

About the Exhibit

This exhibit was created in partnership with the Tenth Street Residents Association to celebrate the rich history of the Tenth Street and The Bottom neighborhoods.  Combining historic imagery from the archive with items of historic significance provided by Tenth Street and The Bottom residents, the display features art, photographs, memorabilia, and other objects borrowed from or created by community members from these neighborhoods.  This partnership was made possible through the collaboration with residents coordinated by Tenth Street resident Shaun Montgomery.

Archival quality scans or photographs of exhibit items will be used to create a digital collection to preserve these community memories within the special collections of the Dallas History & Archives at the Dallas Public Library. Contact us if you wish to contribute to the neighborhood archive.