Dallas Market Center

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The campus

The four-building campus includes the World Trade Center, Trade Mart, International Trade Plaza (The Plaza), and Market Hall. Inside these buildings, nearly 2,300 permanent showrooms offer more than 35,000 product lines from manufacturers around the world.

Trammell Crow developed the nearby Dallas Decorative Center, which opened in 1955.

The two-story International Trade Plaza, which opened in 1957, is the first building at the current site of Dallas Market Center. The original name for the building, designed by Donald H. Speck, was the Southwest Homefurnishings Mart, or sometimes called the Dallas Homefurnishings Mart. The 434000 sqft building was repurposed in 1999 as the International Floral & Gift Center, and then later in 2012 as the International Trade Plaza. The current name is the Interior Home + Design Center, following a renovation in 2017.

The Dallas Trade Mart, the second Dallas Market Center building, was designed by Harold Berry, Donald Speck, and Harwell Hamilton Harris, and it opened its doors in 1958. The project provided 980000 sqft of showroom space and cost US$12.64 million (equivalent to $ million in ). It is four stories tall, and the atrium at its center is named the Grand Pavilion.

Market Hall, which opened in 1960, sits across Market Center Boulevard from the rest of the campus. It is the only building open to the public, with more than 60 shows per year. It has 202000 sqft of floor space.

In 1964, the Apparel Mart opened for business at a cost of US$15 million (equivalent to $ million in ) with 1.6 e6sqft of space. For four decades, the building served as a trading center for women's, men's, and children's apparel and accessories. It closed in 2004, and the 600 tenants were moved to the World Trade Center.

The largest building and centerpiece of the campus is the World Trade Center, opened in 1974 with seven stories. It was expanded in 1979 to have 3.1 e6sqft of floor space and 15 stories. Inside the World Trade Center are showrooms including gifts, home accessories, lighting, floral, holiday, jewelry, rugs, toys, gourmet foods, furniture, and linens.

Today, apparel and accessories showrooms reside on the top floors of World Trade Center, and apparel trade events held at Dallas Market Center attract buyers from around the world.

File:Furniture Mart entry canopy photo.jpg|Southwest Homefurnishings Mart c.1957 File:Trade Mart exterior.jpg|Dallas Trade Mart c.1958 File:Trade Mart pergola photo color.jpg|Pergola in the Dallas Trade Mart Grand Courtyard c.1958 File:Dallas Market Center (Trade Mart), Dallas Texas (28113712988).jpg|Market Hall (2018) File:Dallas Market Center (Trade Mart), Dallas Texas (41085072405) (cropped).jpg|Dallas World Trade Center (2018)

History

In 1957, real estate developer Trammell Crow founded Dallas Market Center.

The first trade event at Dallas Market Center was held in July 1957 and was attended by 1,850 visitors. By the 2020s, the largest events were attracting more than 50,000 attendees from 50 states and 85 countries.

On November 22, 1963, the Trade Mart was the destination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's motorcade when he was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. He had been scheduled to give a speech to 2,600 people at a sold-out luncheon in the Grand Courtyard. Notable guests awaiting Kennedy's arrival included: Market Center partners Trammell Crow and John Stemmons; J. Erik Jonsson, one of the owners of Texas Instruments; and Dallas Mayor Earle Cabell. Since the event fell on a Friday, special dispensation had been arranged to allow the Catholics in attendance to eat meat (the planned main course was steak) at the luncheon.

On October 12, 1964, English sculptor Elisabeth Frink created the bronze sculpture The Eagle, on display outside the main entrance today. It features a William Blake quote and a plaque which reads:

By the late 1980s, Dallas Market Center had expanded to six buildings offering 6.9 e6sqft of space, housing 3,200 tenants with 60,000 employed workers.

Trade events and markets

Dallas Market Center hosts dozens of trade events throughout the year, including 50 markets attracting some 200,000 retail buyers.

The Accessories Resource Team (ART), the trade association for home decorative accessories, partners with Dallas Market Center to sponsor the annual ARTS Awards gala, which recognizes excellence and achievement in retailing, manufacturing, design, and representation.

In the 2010s, the Toy Industry Association held its Fall Toy Previews at Dallas Market Center. This show for mass market retailers was the industry's most important preview of toy products under development for the following year.

In popular media

Portions of the blockbuster science fiction film Logan's Run (1976) were filmed in the Apparel Mart and World Trade Center buildings.

Portions of the cult classic slasher film The Initiation (1984) were filmed in the World Trade Center building.

References

Bibliography

References

1. Brown, Steve. (2016-04-14). "Major redo coming at Dallas Market Center northwest of downtown". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
2. (March 12, 2015). "Crow Holdings to Acquire Property at Dallas Market Center".
3. (October 21, 2024). "Dallas Market Center". Crow Holdings.
4. Tartar, Clarissa. (1984-04-01). "Anatomy of the Apparel Mart".
5. "Decorative Center Dallas".
6. "About Our Campus".
7. Henderson, Jim. (2003-05-11). "Dallas' Apparel Mart to close". [[Houston Chronicle]].
8. (February 3, 2003). "Dallas Apparel Mart is Closing ...". SGB Media.
9. Haber, Holly. (June 22, 2005). "Wide-Open Spaces".
10. (2005-01-18). "CNL Income Properties, Inc. Plans to Acquire Majority Interest in Property at World's Largest Wholesale Merchandise Mart". CNL Income Properties.
11. (January 12, 2026). "A Record-Setting Dallas Total Home & Gift Market".
12. (2013-11-22). "Fifty Years Ago at the Trade Mart in Dallas".
13. (November 1, 2013). "Unease, then shock followed wait at Trade Mart for JFK speech that never came". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
14. "Our Heritage".
15. (December 6, 2018). "Ashore Expands, Debuts New Lines at Dallas Market Center".
16. Venegas, Lauren. (July 10, 2013). "ARTS Awards Academy of Achievement Announced". Accessories Resource Team (ART).
17. (June 10, 2008). "20th Annual Arts Awards Announces Judges".
18. (August 2015). "Toy Industry Association’s Fall Toy Preview to Remain at Dallas Market Center through 2018".